Sámi

This article is based on indigenous research focusing on indigeneity and membership in indigenous group at the individual level. The position and rights of indigenous peoples gained a foothold at the political arenas of the world and in international agreements since the turn of the 1990s when indigenous peoples and minorities were started to be distinguished from each other. Indigenous peoples were considered to have collective rights regarding control over certain areas colonized by the mainstream population at a certain point of history. The aim is first to review the different membership criteria within different Indigenous groups in the world, and then to emphasize the definition of Sámi in Finland and its individual-level challenges. As a result of this paper, it seems that the individual-level indigenous identity does not necessarily correspond with the membership in indigenous group. When indigenous identity is not being accepted for one reason or another it violates the international declarations for indigenous peoples and may cause challenges both at individual and societal levels within indigenous communities.

The Indigenous People of the nordic countries, the Sámi, have historically been subjected to both the colonization of their customary regions (Sápmi) as well as four different nation states assimilation politics. The result of which has been felt by many in the sámi population as a loss of language, cultural heritage, both material and immaterial, and ethnic identities. Though the last 50 years or so have seen a revitalization amongst those suffering losses alongside a gradual return of political autonomy within some of these communities, substantial amounts of sámi cultural heritage are still located in non-sámi museums and have yet to be repatriated. In this article I examine how sámi duojars-the practicioners of sámi customary craftmanship (duodji)-are reproducing objects from museum collections, and I suggest that this is a way in which duojárs engage in a symbolic repatriation wherein both the material object and the árbediehtu (traditional knowledge) involved in the making of these is being re-appropriated.

The Sámi form a small indigenous people living in four countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The situation of the Sámi populations in these countries is challenging mostly because of colonial history, and new ways of researching and developing their conditions are greatly needed. The purpose of this article is to contemplate the potentials that the critical theory and research could offer to Sámi research and to indigenous research in general. The problems of cultural identity in relation to the mainstream society and within the indigenous community are discussed as the target of critical research and reflection. The value of critical 2 research as the enhancement of emancipation and empowerment are evaluated.

The special needs of indigenous peoples' education have aroused interested ever since the educational sovereignty has started to come true across the world. Therefore, it is more topical than ever to develop indigenous pedagogies. We too want to seize the challenge: the task of this book is to contribute to the educational challenges among indigenous peoples by introducing research results, educational special features, and future trends. Sámi Education is aimed at everyone who is interested in educational conditions among indigenous peoples. The especial target group is students of education; teachers and educators at various school levels; educational, schooling, social , and health care administrative authorities; and Sámi children's parents-all people who have to deal with indigenous issues, pluralism, and multilingualism in diverse contexts. In addition, we hope that research institutions and universities and researchers who study indigenous peoples and cultures from various points of view would find the information provided by this book useful. The idea of the book originates in our joint discussions aiming ambitiously at producing information about the multi-faceted educational processes serving many needs and contexts of indigenous and western societies. This book is divided into five chapters which include special viewpoints to Sámi research and education. The first chapter provides a glance at the history of Sámi education and the Sámi as an indigenous people. All historical happenings are intertwined in the assimilation processes during which some of the Sámi people have lost their cultural and linguistic special features. The second chapter concentrates on Sámi school research. We will introduce possibilities of doing ethnographic research in indigenous school contexts. Indigenous school research also involves certain ethical elements that must be recognized. The third chapter introduces the special features of Sámi education. We will provide research-based information about the practical framework of Sámi education and discuss the linguistic and cultural characteristics that should be given special attention in education. The fourth chapter brings out challenges and possibilities of Sámi language teaching. As the Sámi languages are endangered, Sámi language teaching and Sámi-speaking education require special pedagogical cultural-sensitive solutions that need to be noticed when planning, realizing, and evaluating education. The fifth chapter is oriented toward the future. Hence, we will discuss how to secure the Sámi language and what would be the key solutions of Sámi education. The aim is to introduce models that are to provide viewpoints and foundation for finding educational solutions for the sustainable future.

Archaeological evidence has become an important part of the argument for the Indigenous peoples of several countries in legal proceedings concerning their rights. This thesis aims to explore how archaeologists and archaeological research are affected by acting as expert witnesses or being used as evidence in these proceedings. Another aim is to explore the differences and similarities between Sweden and Canada in these matters. The main material consists of interviews with seven archaeologists, four Swedish and three Canadian, whose research in various ways have been involved in legal proceedings concerning the rights of Indigenous peoples: The Sámi in Sweden and the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The analysis of the interviews is based on seven themes: awareness, impact, responsibility, experience, objectivity, archaeology and law and consequences. The result shows several things. It shows that the issue of archaeology in legal proceedings is a sensitive matter, and that the archaeo...

Indigenous peoples’ participation in public policy and planning is ascribed in numerous international and national legal instruments as essential to the realisation of their self-determination. This study examines how the Akwé: Kon guidelines (AK) can promote effective indigenous peoples participation in environmental management, especially during environmental impact assessment (EIA). Special focus is drawn on the Finnish context, home of the Sámi indigenous people. The study applies an effectiveness review package by Lee and Colley (1999), supplemented by interview and questionnaire surveys, to analyse how effective the AK have been. It was found that although they were useful in promoting further interaction of the Sámi with authorities, the AK did not address their most fundamental political and legal grievances. This leaves room for EIA policy and practice, in Finland and all other jurisdictions with indigenous peoples, to consider how they can more effectively harness the pote...

Since 2001 the Sami museums in Norway have been under the jurisdiction of the Sami Parliament. As a result of this an extensive reorganization and redefinition of the Sami museums has been implemented. The focus has been on the role of the museum in establishing a Sami identity, particularly in areas where the Sami culture has been put under pressure to become Norwegian over a long period of time. One of these areas is the Marke-Sami area in the northern part of the county of Nordland and the southern part of the county of Troms. This thesis aims at analysing the role of the Várdobáiki sámi guovddás – a Marke-Sami culture center which has had the administrative responsibility of all the Marke-Sami areas – in relation to the development and reinforcement of a Marke-Sami identity in a museum practice. The analysis is based on Várdobáiki – with all its underlying musum entities – as a contact zone in which the different participants can meet and negotiate a unified Marke-Sami identity. Based on interviews with the different participants this analysis focuses on local ownership as a central topic. By closer examination of how the center promotes the participants local ownership of the Marke-Sami culture this analysis attempts to distinguish the many and varied approaches to create, negotiate, strengthen and maintain a Marke-Sami identity.

The official governance of the reindeer pastoralist system in the north of Norway relies overwhelmingly on one central argument: that in order to maintain a sustainable system, maximum numbers and densities of reindeer, as well as certain herd structures, should be upheld. If these indicators are ignored, the argument goes, the consequences are resource degradation and economic collapse. Even though this argument has been challenged by both researchers and reindeer herders across Fennoscandia, it continues to dominate management policies and practice. Here we set out to investigate the validity of the premise that there is a strong relationship between density and carcass weights over the whole of Finnmark, based on official data. We find that although the relationship is present, its explanatory power is not very strong in a variety of circumstances and propose that it therefore cannot be used to frame important governance policies for the whole system. We also critically reflect on the model’s goal of high productivity per capita of reindeer (high carcass weight). We suggest that productivity per area unit can be at least as relevant as carcass weights and perhaps a better indicator for pastoralist systems in general. For the Finnmark pastoralist system, we argue, a measure of productivity in kilogrammes per square kilometer reveals a different picture: rather than being a failed system marred by suffering animals and low economic returns, reindeer herding in Western Finnmark becomes the most productive in Norway. This shift of focus is likely relevant for other pastoralist systems where governance is premised on similar arguments.

Indigenous peoples’ participation in public policy and planning is ascribed in numerous international and national legal instruments as essential to the realisation of their self-determination. This study examines how the Akwé: Kon guidelines (AK) can promote effective indigenous peoples participation in environmental management, especially during environmental impact assessment (EIA). Special focus is drawn on the Finnish context, home of the Sámi indigenous people. The study applies an effectiveness review package by Lee and Colley (1999), supplemented by interview and questionnaire surveys, to analyse how effective the AK have been. It was found that although they were useful in promoting further interaction of the Sámi with authorities, the AK did not address their most fundamental political and legal grievances. This leaves room for EIA policy and practice, in Finland and all other jurisdictions with indigenous peoples, to consider how they can more effectively harness the pote...

Indigenous peoples' participation in public policy and planning is ascribed in numerous international and national legal instruments as essential to the realisation of their self-determination. This study examines how the Akwé: Kon guidelines (AK) can promote effective indigenous peoples participation in environmental management, especially during environmental impact assessment (EIA). Special focus is drawn on the Finnish context, home of the Sámi indigenous people. The study applies an effectiveness review package by Lee and Colley (1999), supplemented by interview and questionnaire surveys, to analyse how effective the AK have been. It was found that although they were useful in promoting further interaction of the Sámi with authorities, the AK did not address their most fundamental political and legal grievances. This leaves room for EIA policy and practice, in Finland and all other jurisdictions with indigenous peoples, to consider how they can more effectively harness the potentialities in AK.