Relevance is determined by the priority development of the Arctic North of Russia. Goal: to reveal the features of the activities of schools in the Arctic North, due to the original traditional way of life of indigenous peoples. The methodological basis is the axiological approach of the mentality of ethnic groups. Hypothesis: considering the peculiarities of the traditional way of work of schools in the Arctic North ensures the socialization of children as carriers of the language and culture of their native people. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of theoretical and factual materials on the activities of schools in the Arctic North. It shows that the process of implementing the new state educational standards, taking into account the specific conditions of the northern territories and school education organizations, is based on the original traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples of the North. Research results: the socialization of children of the peoples of the Arctic North is ensured on the basis of a peculiar philosophy of life, ethnocultural and ethnopedagogical foundations of a rural school, the preservation and development of its functioning as a socio-economic regularity, village-forming, industrial, sociocultural and demographic factor. The statement that the difficult problem of a rural small school is that the concept of a “small school”, as a specific type of special educational organization in the Russian education system, has not yet been spelled out in any legislative, regulatory document. It is considered advisable to make proposals as additions to the Law of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) No. 273-FZ «On Education in the Russian Federation”.