The sun in Sámi mythology

The topic of this paper is the position of the sun, Biejvve, in the Sámi religion. The main source of our knowledge about Sámi religion is the accounts of the missionaries and priests from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, who measured the Sámi's beliefs by the standards of classical Greek/Roman religion. Consequently, Biejwe was seen as one of the major celestial gods. Many have continued to follow this line of thinking. There is, however, another context in which Biejwe should be viewed. In almost all circumpolar societies, there exists/existed the concept of female goddesses or ‘mothers’ who regulate fertility and protect the family, especially women during pregnancy and children. Sáráhkká, the Sámi goddess of the hearth, is one of these goddesses. Her realm is the fire in the middle of the tent, at the center of people's lives. Consequently, she intercedes in everyday life; she cares for the family and the upholding of social values. Biejvve is also part of this complex. She is the burning fire in the sky, the annually recurring force which in springtime makes the hillsides turn green again and ensures there is food for the reindeer. She protects the reindeer calves during spring and sees to it that women get milk from the animals during summer. Unlike Såråhkkå, she does not intervene directly in people's lives and doesn not have the same elaborate cult, but she does carry the same life‐giving force.     

Need and Misery in the Eastern Periphery: Nordic Sámi Media Debate on the Kola Sámi

Abstract

This article investigates Nordic Sámi discourse on the Kola (Russian) Sámi through analysis of texts from Sámi newspapers and journals 1992–2009. Among the findings are that the relationship between Nordic and Kola Sámi is frequently discussed as a donor–recipient pattern similar to that of general Western discourse on “the [global] South” and the 1990s’ “great misery discourse” on Russia. This portrayal of the Kola Sámi is here referred to as “the discourse of need”. However, the study also finds that this most divergent subgroup of the Sámi people is accepted into the border-transcending Sámi “nation” without question – it is never challenged that they are part of a larger “us”. The article also comments on some similarities between the discourse on the Kola Sámi as a “suffering” group, and certain patterns in Nordic Sámi self-representation. In comparison, a selection of non-Sámi media texts displayed less interest in the Kola Sámi; their paying attention to the group was more dependent on its members being perceived as victims of crisis and/or injustice; and they articulated the discourse of need more often. The two decades from which texts were drawn (1990s and 2000s) differed mainly by the latter period showing a general decrease in interest in the group; and by Sámi media being less dominated by the discourse of need, and containing more texts portraying the Kola Sámi as culturally and politically active.     

Research and Activism in Sámi Politics: The Ideas and Achievements of Karl Nickul towards Securing Governance for the Sámi

Abstract

Pacifist, land surveyor, friend of the Sámi people, scholar studying Sámi culture, Karl Nickul's (1900–1980) life work proves that the work of a public servant and researcher can be merged into a strong ethical stand to influence society. Nickul, an early initiator of Finland's peace movement, was by training and profession a land surveyor, who worked for the Finnish government making maps of Lapland and Petsamo in northern Finland in the 1920s and 1930s. Becoming acquainted with the Skolt Sámi, he began to study them and to take part in the official discussions about their status. With a project to preserve Skolt culture Nickul's paramount idea of Sámi governance began to grow. He actively pursued this idea after World War II through his activities in Sámi politics in Finland and in Sámi cooperative efforts in the Nordic countries. The dominant idea was that the Sámi culture was to be protected from outside pressures of settlement, and that the Sámi themselves should be allowed to determine their own identity and their own needs. The paper discusses and analyses Karl Nickul's personal development and involvement in various projects and activities to secure Sámi rights.     

Urban Sámi Identities in Scandinavia: Hybridities,Ambivalences and Cultural Innovation

One of the most significant social and cultural changes in the northern part of Scandinavia, as in other parts of the world, is urbanization. All over the northern region, towns and cities are growing, and a large portion of the indigenous population now lives in urban areas throughout all Scandinavian countries. Within these multicultural cities, urban Sámi communities are emerging and making claims to the cities. From a situation where migration from a Sámi core area to a city was associated with assimilation, an urban Sámi identity is now in the making. In this article, we discuss what seems to be the emergence of an urban Sámi culture. The article builds on findings from a study of urban Sámi and their expression of identity in three cities with the largest and fastest-growing Sámi populations in the region: Tromsø (Norway), Umeå (Sweden) and Rovaniemi (Finland). A main finding is the increasing recognition of their status as indigenous people and the growth in Sámi institutions in the cities. Another finding is an urban Sámi culture in the making, where new expressions of Sámi identity are given room to grow, but where we also find ambivalences and strong links and identifications to places in the Sámi core districts outside of the cities.     

Tourism as a livelihood diversification strategy among Sámi indigenous people in northern Sweden

Tourism entrepreneurship is frequently promoted as a livelihood strategy for Sámi indigenous people living in northern Sweden. At the same time, tourism’s ability to fully take over struggling primary sectors has been brought into question, due perhaps to a mismatch of skills or to tourism’s seasonality and low pay. In spite of that, the role of tourism development might relate less to financial autonomy but could best be characterized as being supplementary and complementary to other occupations. Additionally, the motivations behind tourism involvement among Sámi tourist entrepreneurs remain largely unknown. This interview-based study therefore aims to uncover why Sámi indigenous tourist entrepreneurs living in northern Sweden get involved in tourism and to what extent tourism is part of a livelihood diversification strategy. The findings show that a combination of factors such as lifestyle choices, existing touristic demand and readily available forms of capital lead people to become tourist entrepreneurs. At the same time, for some respondents, tourism is part of a livelihood diversification strategy where its development is not sought for replacing a struggling traditional occupation, namely reindeer herding, but for complementing it.     

A Textual Ethnography of Collaboration in Early Sámi Studies

This is an ethnographic study of collaboration for publishing textual representations of the Sámi based on ethnographic experience that reflect acquisition of agency and contingent intertextuality. The textual ethnography unravels early twentieth-century collaborative frameworks in which the investigated works were generated and their historical context. Consequently, my paper proposes to re-evaluate the role and impact of the ethnographic writing by Emilie Demant Hatt in addition to her collaboration with Johan Turi. This entails an exploration into personal histories and relationships, gendered ramifications, intellectual and political context, the creative process, the contingent editorial activities and their reception histories.     

Birkarlar and Sámi – inter-cultural contacts beyond state control: reconsidering the standing of external tradesmen (birkarlar) in medieval Sámi societies

It is not until the fourteenth century that written records offer a glimpse into the coastal societies of Northern Sweden. Records include references to a social stratum referred to as the birkarlar, who were tradesmen engaged in trading with the Sámi. The origin of the birkarlar, their prominent status and the meaning of the term, is an enigma that has been much disputed among scholars although there is consensus about the economic and fiscal supremacy of birkarlar vis-á-vis the Sámi. However, the paradox of tradesmen employing force against their most important circle of suppliers and customers remains a puzzle. The birkarla institution is analyzed by means of alternative reading of historical records from the perspective of the indigenous Sámi and coastal farming communities. The postulated animosity between Sámi and the birkarlar is critically examined in light of the social and economic context of interior and coastal communities during the Late Iron Age and Early Medieval period, and in relation to historically known Sámi kinship relationships and marriage traditions. Data are analyzed with regard to demography and social structure, and from a landscape perspective including the logistics and practicalities of inter-cultural contact. Analyses corroborate that birkarlar were deeply rooted in the coastal communities and fully involved in the regular subsistence activities. They were representatives given a commission of trust and contacts between the birkarlar and the Sámi were characterized by mutuality and inter-dependence.     

Second world war as a trigger for transcultural changes among Sámi people in Finland

One of the characteristics of the cultural landscape of Svalbard is the abundance of remnants of Russian hunting stations, in the form of house ruins, graves, and large erected crosses. These are traces from Russian Pomors from the areas along the White Sea, who were hunting here over a long period of time - a period which the author will make an attempt to delimit in this article. It is known that the last Russian hunting expeditions to Svalbard were equipped from Archangel in 1851-1852. Far more controversial is the issue of the actual start of hunting by Pomors in Svalbard. This issue has been hotly debated among historians and archaeologists ever since the end of the nineteenth century.     

Institutionalization,neo-politicization and the politics of defining Sámi research

This article critically examines recent changes in the social terrain of Sámi research in Finland, where the research field is subject to a new wave of academic institutionalization, and where questions regarding “Sáminess” have become particularly prominent. The article argues that in this conjuncture of institutionalization and neo-politicization, definitions of Sámi research which emphasize its political and ethical qualities (“Sámi research” as research done from a “Sámi perspective” or “taking it into account”) appear increasingly problematic and can actually end up doing the opposite of what was originally intended. Instead of bringing questions regarding the politics of perspective, location, representation and power/knowledge to the fore, presenting the research field in these terms might turn attention away from a variety of interests and political desires that currently are projected onto Sámi research, and hence depoliticize understandings of Sámi research and its complex interdependence with the state and society.     

Domestication,Reindeer Husbandry and the Development of Sámi Pastoralism

Abstract

A recurrent topic in ethnographic, historical and archaeological research has been the origins of Sámi reindeer pastoralism. The article discusses how prevailing theories have been influenced by general conceptual schemes, apriori constructed models and an extensive use of taxonomies. The debate has centered around how and when domestication took place, presupposing a paradigmatic change from hunting to pastoralism. However, there has probably never been an abrupt change; hunting and herding have both been parts of a multifaceted adaption existing up to the nineteenth century. What did change was the social organization of herding when a pastoral economy became the norm at that time. Such a change also had qualitative consequences in terms of new values and economic strategies.     

Sámi Citizenship: Marginalisation or Integration?

Abstract

In accordance with international conventions the Sámi is an indigenous group belonging to two populations and two overlapping civil societies within one nation state. This situation not only influences Sámi political interests and activities in general, but it also affects the individual Sámi's political orientation and decisions. Nevertheless, no thorough study has been conducted, on the individual level, of Sámi political participation and involvement. We know neither how political attitudes and participation vary within this group, nor how it varies in relation to the Norwegian population in general. Thus we know practically nothing about how recent institutional developments have influenced Sámi citizenship.

This article looks closely at variations in political involvement and participation amongst Sámi and non-Sámi living in Norway's Sámi language management area, and compares this with political involvement and participation amongst the Norwegian population in general. The Citizenship Survey shows that in terms of political interest and participation, the Sámi living in the Sámi language management area are on par with others living there, and with Norwegians in general. In several important political areas the Sámi actually show significantly more interest and involvement than Norwegians in general. Furthermore, Sámi political trust and self-confidence are as high as in the general population, and we have not uncovered any particular marginalisation with respect to women and young people's interest and participation.

There is much to suggest that our findings measure not only the Sámi's combined political interest and participation, but also their degree of participation and interest in the Norwegian political system. We do not find a picture of Sámi political segregation, nor of an extensive marginalisation. The findings point towards strong integration in the Norwegian political system, with Norwegian and Sámi public space and civil societies overlapping rather than being competitive or even antagonistic.     

Contesting the Nature Relations of Sámi Culture

Sámi culture is said to be characterized by a very close relationship to nature, regardless of time and place. However, the human–nature relation is a complex, multidimensional issue. Before we can make any substantive claims about the Sámi relationship to nature, we need first of all to define the “nature” to which the Sámi relate themselves. We study presentations of the Sámi nature relation and compare them to empirical research. We argue that there are in fact two different nature relations, which we describe as practical and discursive. It seems that on the one hand, the “special” nature relation of the Sámi refers to local habits and areas and therefore is not generalizable. On the other hand, there are political and performative constructions of indigenous Sámi identity that are tied to notions of nature relations.     

Women's ecological oral histories of recycling and development in coastal Yucatán

This article addresses the formation of the Chen Kole ‘Lob women's recycling cooperative and its relationship to urbanization, plastics consumption, and the exclusionary spaces of conservation-as-development in coastal Yucatán, Mexico. Increasing amounts of plastic containers and other nonorganic garbage contaminate backyards, protected wetlands and marine areas, and individual homes located in low-lying floodable areas. However, in this region, the majority of sponsored economic development programs are directed at managing men's activities in sustainable fishing and ecotourism within natural protected areas. Both women's work and urban issues such as recycling and waste management have frequently been excluded from state policies and development practice. I draw from oral histories of women's experience in the home, in conservation space, and as participants in grassroots plastics recycling to underscore what motivated women to become involved in recycling and garbage cleanup, and how women came to be considered local professionals who maintain clean spaces. These histories underscore the links between gendered work, urban practices, and conservation-as-development, and how women's urban recycling work affects social differences and ecological decline within vulnerable coastal areas.     

The Eastern Sámi: A short account of their history and identity

During the last decade there has been a growing interest in the history and culture of the Eastern Sami, but information on this subject is insufficient. In this article the author starts from the quite problematical question about the use of the term Eastern Sámi, and presents further data about the main historical milestones for the Eastern Sami from olden times up to the end of the 20^th century. Among other things, the author considers changes which happened in the structure of Eastern Sami social life, the cultural and linguistic environment and its influence on the Eastern Sami culture and languages, influence of the state borders and state policies, and the relationship between the Sami and the Orthodox Church. Based on this historical background, the author elucidates the issue of Eastern Sami identity and their sense of affinity. Is there still a future for their culture, language and identity? The author, who grew up on Sami land in Russia, has for more than a decade been studying the Eastern Sami culture, folklore and religion. In this presentation, the inner point of view, native Sami terms and place‐names are especially emphasized.     

Experiencing a Ritual Space – Results of Phosphate Analyses from Four Sámi Offering Places

Sieidis are offering places of Sámi ethnic religion. Between 2008 and 2010 seven sieidi places were studied in Finnish Lapland, revealing mostly bones originating from offerings. Some of the known sieidi sites were nevertheless archaeologically empty. In this article, we use the results of phosphate analyses to study the traces of ritual practices that have left no bone material. Different use of space can be seen in the variation of phosphate levels. Most of the activities seem to be concentrated in the close vicinity of the sieidi. On the contrary, the space consecrated by a sieidi could extend further than the marks of ritual activities provide evidence for. Some parts of ritual activities could be experienced from further away.     

The Image of the Sámi in Finnish Visual Arts before the Second World War

Abstract

This article examines how Finnish artists depicted the Sámi people in their paintings from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the Second World War. In the first paintings that represented the Sámi, the attitude was very romantic and artists were not interested in knowing the Sámi culture or even in encountering the Sámi people. In the nineteenth century, nationalism required building an image of the Finns, thus most Finnish artists were not interested in the Sámi. The French philosopher Hippolyte Taine's writings influenced the young artist Juho Kyyhkynen, who started to depict the Sámi culture. In the 1920s and 1930s, Sámi were thought to be primitive or Mongolian, so Finnish artists painted relatively few portraits of Sámi. All this time it was only Finnish painters who depicted the Sámi, as the voice and ideas of the Sámi themselves did not become prominent in Finland until the 1970s.     

The governance of urban indigenous spaces: Norwegian Sámi examples

How do different ways of governing urban indigenous social spaces facilitate or frustrate local indigenous self-government? A major challenge in Norway is the absence of actors that represent the entire local indigenous population. The main Norwegian Sámi NGO is a driving force in establishing and governing indigenous spaces, but is now one of several and often competing organizations due to specialization (new organizations form to promote specific subgroups' interests) and partisanization (organizations compete in elections to the Sámediggi representative organ). Social media facilitate communication across organizational divides, but do not produce any unified local indigenous “voice”. Private businesses and public cultural institutions take part in establishing and governing indigenous spaces – the former often in complete autonomy from Sámi NGOs, the latter more likely to seek cooperation or coordination. Local and regional state-based actors generally do not take initiatives to establish indigenous spaces, but involve themselves as co-organizers with Sámi leads and as sources of (often unstable) economic support. The state-based Sámediggi is increasingly proactive: financing, facilitating contact between actors, and occasionally participating directly in urban indigenous governance. The Sámediggi provides a unifying representative voice at the macro level that is missing at the local level.