[6] The Dukhan language (SIL International rejected code dkh[7]) is an endangered Turkic variety spoken by approximately five hundred people in the Tsagaan-Nuur county of the Khövsgöl region of northern Mongolia.

[2] The Tuvans are descended from a clan called the Kazylgans, who lived in modern day Tuva from the 7th to the 3rd century BC.

Following that, the Uigurs overtook the Turkish empire and became the ancestors of four modern day ethnic Tuvan groups, one of them being the Dukha people.

[10] Many Dukha, who had settled in Mongolia due to fear of Soviet collectivization of their reindeer, food shortages from World War II, and intertribal relations, were separated from their family in Tuva as a result.

Under Soviet influenced Mongolian socialism, the Dukhan way of life suffered significantly, particularly reindeer herding after it became collectivized and state run.

In 1956 the government finally gave the Dukha Mongolian citizenship and resettled them at Tsagaan Nuur Lake on the Shishigt River.

[11] The economic revolution of the 1990s, which marked a change from socialism to privatization, saw the transition of many Dukha back to reindeer herding after years of taking urban jobs.

[13] Dukha communities on the taiga are usually a group of tents of two to seven households that move camp to find optimum grazing for the reindeer.

Herding tasks are shared amongst the camp with children at a young age learning to care for the reindeer and keeping them safe.

A few of the men stay with the reindeer in the winter months, living in the open air with their herds to protect them from wolves and other predators.

Because the taiga area is typically hilly and covered with forest, reindeer are not used for pulling sledges, but for riding and as pack animals.

They take the Dukha for daily grazing, hunting, the collection of firewood, seasonal migrations, visiting relatives and friends, and traveling to the sum for shopping and trade.

[2][19] Additionally, the practice of cutting reindeer antlers has started to decline in recent years due to ethical concerns.

[17] The Dukha people have faced extensive hardship in recent years, including dwindling reindeer populations, a struggling economy, lack of access to healthcare, and a myriad of other issues.

[20] Climate change has negatively altered the taiga inhabited by the Dukha, and the effects, such as a lack of lichen as a source of food, has led to a decline in reindeer herds.

[11] Dukha dress is characterized by hats like those of the Khalkh people, and wide deels (traditional Mongolian overcoats).

All aspects of nature, such as the earth and sky, as well as ancestors, are revered as powerful forces that reign over the lives of humans.

[22][23] Other traditions include shaman ceremonies for welcoming the new moon and specific practices for retrieving river water.

[25] During the period of Communist rule in Mongolia (1924-1992) the Shamanistic religious traditions of the Dukha people were suppressed by the government.