07/08/2019
An update from Kalmyk Legacy!
Thank you all for signing up to our updates. My name is Dechen Kelden and this is an independent project I started back at Sarah Lawrence College, because I have a deep interest in Kalmyk history. To date we have 2 videos, one which is following the life story of Alexei Ivanchukov, who was from one of the first Kalmyk families to immigrate to the United States in the 1950s. The 2nd video we have is the life story of Manya Yonden of Nitsan Temple and I felt very fortunate to record his oral history right before he passed on. I did receive some criticism as to why I chose to interview Manya Yonden, considering that he is not Kalmyk, but Mongolian and I want to reiterate the reason I chose him, because of the monumental role he's played in establishing Nitsan Temple and advising numerous Kalmyk families for decades. His work I felt should be recognized and remembered.
As a disclaimer I want to say that this project is something that I work on in my own free time, completely aside from my regular work so please be patient with these videos! This is a lifelong process for me and I want to share this with all of you because I hope it will inspire you to record Kalmyk histories of your loved ones. We need more videos, films, stories, creative projects and people creating art in our archive as a Kalmyk diaspora.
The next video I'm working on is the life story of Maria Andreev who was one of the teachers at the first Kalmyk School in America and through her story I hope others will feel inspired by her deep dedication to Kalmyk culture and history.
In the meantime please enjoy this short video which is a 5 minute Kalmyk history lesson! These short videos are easier to do and I hope to do more in the future.
5 Minute Kalmyk History Lesson with Young Turquoise Bee
