My contribution is divided into three parts. Firstly, I give a brief account of my personal experience among the Tundra Nenets and their neighbours in Arctic Russia and north-western Siberia. Secondly, I present data, statistical and other, on the current status of the languages in my chosen area, with the emphasis again on Tundra Nenets. Thirdly, I try to demonstrate some of the causes and consequences of the present situation, with suggestions for future tasks for the international academic community. I will not comment on the status of the languages of relative latecomers like the Izhma Komi and the Siberian Tatars who, by definition,do not belong to the Northern peoples. Also excluded will be those Northern peoples marginal to the area, e.g. theEvenki and the Ket, because I do not have enough concrete data about them.The Dolgans will be mentioned, but only for the record. In general, my contribution is more data-oriented than I originally planned. I defend mychoice by the need for basic data about the languages under discussion.