Some Rodnovers believe that the Slavs are a race distinct from other ethnic groups. According to them, the Slavs are the directest descendants of an ancient Aryan race, whom they equate with the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Some Rodnovers believe that the Aryans originated at the North Pole but moved southwards when the climate there became uninhabitable, while others claim that the Aryans germinated in Russia's southern steppes. In claiming an Aryan ancestry, Slavic Native Faith practitioners legitimise their cultural borrowing from other ethno-cultural groups whom they claim are also Aryan descendants, such as the Germanic peoples or those of the Indian subcontinent.