Itelmen
итэнмън
About 2500 Itelmen live today on the west coast of Kamchatka and in the valley of the Kamchatka river, where they are also called Kamchadals. Many Itelmen also live in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski and the town Elizovo.
Fishing, hunting and the gathering of plants represent their livelihood. Their life was documented in the writings of German-Baltic scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the impressive watercolors of Friedrich Heinrich von Kittlitz. A recent study has been dedicated to the sustainable development of the natural resources of the Itelmens on the west coast of Kamchatka.
During Perestroika, many Itelmen participated in a process of cultural reaffirmation, illustrated in particlar by the annual Alkhalalalai Feast, revitalized since the late 1980s. During the feast the ensemble El’vel’ stages choreographies. These artistic performances have also been appreciated by audiences during their tour in Germany. On that occasion, many Itelmen heard about Georg Wilhelm Steller’s description of the conquest of Kamchatka. Later, drawings by children and examples of the Itelmen art of carving were shown during exhibitions. Since the early 1990s, particular efforts have been undertaken to sustain the endangered Itelmen language.