The article presents the results of the pilot study of the national consciousness in the course of which components of national identity that characterize consciousness representatives of the major nations of the Altai Territory have been identified. The conclusion is made about strengthening the role of the traditional way of life of people of different nationalities, awareness of belonging to the territory and the need to demonstrate not only knowledge of the culture, but also the traditions of their ethnic community. Analysis of the dynamics of markers of national self-determination indicates an increase in the importance of the homeland as a territory having its borders (as a kind of material embodiment of it) especially Small Homeland, the importance of accessories specifically to «their» territory, familiarity and ability to honor the traditions of their people. On the one hand, fixed at the level of the tendency, the commitment to the ancestral territory can be regarded as a positive phenomenon, possibly, combined with statehood, willingness to protect the frontiers of the historic homeland, but on the other hand, we can talk about strengthening separatist sentiment or xenophobic attitudes against «outsiders», «aliens».