Skins are used to make boots, leg- gings, coats, and hats. Tendons are made into thread. Antlers are turned into tools. The Nenet live in traditional tents called chums, which are made of reindeer skins and larch poles. Chums provide warmth and shelter and are the center of family life. About 10,000 Nenets continue the centuries-old tradition of migrating with their herds each year. More than any other native Arctic people, the Nenets have managed to hold on to their unique culture.Surviving Communism During the com- munist era, the Soviets attempted to break up Nenet clans. The Soviets organizedthe Nenet into state-run groups, called brigades, and forced many reindeer breeders to work on farms. In addition, the Soviets killed or exiled the Nenets' spiritual leaders and the wealthy, and forced Nenet children into boarding schools.
