Publikationer


  • A Decolonial Understanding of Sámi Landscapes and Human Ecology Relations in Sweden

    Lanyon-Garrido, Carla; Spik, Susanne; Spik Skum, Katarina; Helsdotter, Eva Charlotta et al.

    Ingår i Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    This paper explores the impact of colonial perceptions on Indigenous territories, focusing on the Sámi people. Maps have played a central role in reinforcing these perceptions, limiting the recognition of Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous geographers have endeavored to challenge these perceptions, emphasizing the role of Indigenous mapping in reshaping how territories are understood and thus promoting decolonization. Nevertheless, challenges persist, particularly in the Sámi communities in Sweden, where traditional mapping has reduced their complex landscape to mere grazing areas, neglecting essential cultural practices. This perspective has guided land use planning, facilitating extractive ventures such as large-scale while at the same time displacing Sámi and severely disadvantaging Sámi livelihoods.

    This paper presents a case study within the Swedish Sábme that adopts a feminist and supradisciplinary approach incorporating Sámi Indigenous methodologies and 'biocultural diversity' to decolonize mapping and facilitate knowledge transfer within the Sámi community. As part of the research, we carried out a co-production process with a Lule-Sámi family, where we mapped the biocultural diversity in Sámi territories by collecting landscape stories. We argue that environmental and land-use policies must address the complexity of the Sámi landscape by acknowledging the linguistic, biological, and cultural diversity to work towards sustainability. Additionally, our work provides an example of how to work ethically with and for Indigenous communities and makes Sami's expertise, knowledge, and biocultural diversity visible.

    Work with the paper and presentation supported by  "Sijddaj máhttsat" means "coming home" in Lule SámiSwedish Research Council Vetenskapsrådet, Dnr 2021-03080; Environmental Justice, Land Based Learning and Social Sustainability in SábmeSwedish Research Council FORMAS Dnr 2021-01723

  • A decolonial understanding of Sámi landscapes and human-nature relations in Sweden

    Lanyon-Garrido, Carla

    Ingår i Decolonial Sweden, Routledge, 2024

    Abstract

    This study aims to strengthen the visibility of Sámi expertise, knowledge, and the biocultural diversity of Sámi territories by exploring the impact of colonial perception on Sámi territories Maps have played a central role in reinforcing colonial perceptions. In Sámi communities in Sweden, traditional mapping has reduced their complex landscapes to mere grazing areas, neglecting essential cultural practices. This perspective has guided land use planning, facilitated extractive ventures such as large-scale mining while displacing Sámi and severely disadvantaging Sámi livelihoods. This chapter presents a case study on the Swedish side of Sábme with a feminist and supradisciplinary approach that incorporates Sámi Indigenous Methodologies in co-production with a Lule Sámi family (a “sijdda”). We argue that environmental and land-use policies must address the complexity of the Sámi landscape by acknowledging the linguistic, biological, and cultural diversity to work towards sustainability. Additionally, our work provides an example of how to work ethically with and for Indigenous communities and how to make Sámi expertise, knowledge, and biocultural diversity visible.

  • Autonomy in Saepmie, a historical study on the Saami taxlands in Sweden and its effects on Saami land rights.

    Borg, Maximilian; Öhman, May-Britt

    Ingår i Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    The paper I plan to present would be about the preliminary work and findings for my Master thesis about lappskatteland, Saami taxlands on the Swedish side of Saepmie. The thesis will be a study in intellectual history/history of ideas (In swedish: Idéhistoria) which entails the study of human thought throughout history. The method used will be to study official and public discussions as well as governmental policies about Saami taxation to see how the concept of Saami autonomy is presented and understood and how it changes from the 1600s to lappskattelands dissolvement in 1928. The thesis plans to further the understanding of self-autonomy in Saami history through the study of lappskattelands origins and development. This field of study is important to historical and current discourse and understanding of Saami autonomy and land rights due to the uncertain nature of ownership that has entailed lappskatteland and Saepmie.

    Lappskatteland was a way to divide Saepmie into different regions of taxation from the 1600s to its dismantlement in 1928. These taxlands weren’t static concepts but took different forms and sizes throughout history. Lappskatteland also played a major part in avvittringen. A governmental process between the 1600s-1900s where the Swedish government systematically appropriated land in Northern Sweden and Saepmie to then redistribute it to what the government considered suitable parts of the population for exploitation of the local resources. The local reindeer herding Saami population were not considered suitable for this end and were therefore forced to give up their ancestral land.

  • By the Cleansing Flames of Fire: Qur'an Burnings, Racialized Religion and Politized Nostalgia in Sweden

    Gardell, Mattias

    Ingår i Violence, Conspiracies, and New Religions , s. 59-82, Equinox Publishing, 2024

    Abstract

    This chapter focuses on the burning of the Quran and the Hebrew Bible and the relation between bibliocaust and holocaust. I will begin with the recent series of Quran burnings in Sweden and then revisit history, from the ceremonial Quran burnings in Granada 1499 via the Nazi bonfires of 1933 back to our time and show how book burnings throughout this history have been used as a way of ridding society of the evil these books were seen as associated with and how this frequently included the people who read and cherished these books.

  • Coming Home to Culture

    Wyld, Frances; Wyld, Keita; Jannok Öhlund, Ingela; Axiö Albinsson, Inger et al.

    Ingår i Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    Coming Home to Culture

    Home is a place of safety to be with kin, to practice and preserve culture and to plan the next stage of Indigenous activism in a colonized world.  This panel was developed in collaboration with the project Sijddaj máhttsat/Coming home led by Dr May-Britt Öhman, Uppsala University, alongside ongoing international Indigenous work that centres culture, kinship, and Indigenous studies.

    The speakers are connected to Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of South Australia. By working together, we continue to inspire and uplift each other. 

    The first presentation brings together two generations of Indigenous people from Australia who talk of the importance of Elders and Academic kinship in their university work after the brutal result of the referendum that denies Indigenous people a voice to parliament. 

    The second presentation is a young politically active Sámi person working to communicate Sámi perspectives in both academic and parliamentary sectors. 

    The third presentation tells a familial, cultural, and geographical story of the Sámi gákti, knowing that the wearing of this traditional dress is often a performance of activism, that the personal is the political. 

    The fourth and last presentation is from the President of the Stockholm Sámi Association who often hosts Indigenous visitors from other countries, connecting people from business, politics, and academia. Sweden and Australia journey on different paths regarding voices to parliament and conciliation with the colonizer but we have the same goal, to be safely at home with our own cultures in our own countries.

     

    Dr. Frances Wyld (University of South Australia) and Ms. Keita Wyld (University of South Australia)

    The Importance of Eldership and Academic Kinship after the No Vote in Australia

     

    The brutal outcome of the vote that will deny recognition of Indigenous people in the Australian constitution in 2023 highlights the importance of generational change through listening to Elders and a commitment to Critical Indigenous studies in teaching and learning. The presenters are Martu women from two generations working for a university on Kaurna land (South Australia). One will story their work with the Elders in Residence who provide an embedding of Indigenous knowledges and cultures across programs, in research and which informs university business and governance. The other will present part of a chapter published in 2024 using the methodology of storying to speak of Academic Kinship in teaching and is inspired by NAISA and the relationships formed through attendance and collaborations, especially regarding work with Sámi scholar May-Britt Ӧhman. Academic Kinship (Wyld, 2024). is a useful term to help students story themselves within their work, respecting those who have come before them, and knowing that change will be generational; “[f]or story is the most powerful intergenerational manifestation of hope” (Archibald et al., 2019, p. 13, in Kovach, 2021, p. 156). Holding on to that hope, however difficult that may be is the way to reconnect to purpose after the crushing defeat of the referendum that was to give Indigenous people a voice in how we manage our own affairs. We do this collectively, through relatedness for our relations, as our Elders have always done.

     

    Ingela Jannok Öhlund

    The Sámi gákti, history and variations from north to south in Sámi territories

    I will present the gákti, a dress of major importance within Sámi culture. My grandparents lived 10 kilometres away from roads, a couple of kilometres from the railway station Harrå, Gällivare, on the Swedish side of Sábme. The salesman would come walking, and my grandmother sewing the gákti for the family, would use the entire fabric, not letting anything go to waste.

     

    Sámi cultural and language regions follow the rivers from the coast on the Swedish side to the coast on the Norwegian side, just as the reindeer have migrated for millennia. Trade routes followed the coasts around the North Pole and down to England. Sámi maintained trade routes within their areas and transported goods between the coasts. Our culture has overcome the colonial borders imposed, reflected in the gákti variations. The gákti has also followed fashion trends in society, in the past and today. There are elements that are of importance for a gákti to be considered a gakti, and with that as base, one is free to make the design.

     

    Furthermore, the Karesuando Sámi in the 20th century were displaced by force southward and, as a result, are scattered throughout Sápmi. These families have retained the Karesuando collar and the Northern Sámi language, even now in the third generation after the forced relocations. This is of importance to understand what the gákti is in the different geographical settings of today.

     

    The presentation is developed in collaboration with the Sijddaj mahttsat project, led by Dr May-Britt Öhman, Uppsala University.

     

    Inger Axiö Albinsson, Stockholm Sámi Association

    Stockholm Sámi Association in the middle of Sápmi and the center of Swedish power

    I am the president of the Stockholm Sámi Association for 2 years, a member of many years. I am urban Sámi, from the North, with experience from several professions. An economist from the beginning, I worked with development aid in Asia, & Africa. I have a vast knowledge of working with empowerment of women, Swedish and immigrants, individual and unemployed and small business-owners. My meetings with First nation people in Canada and Bangladesh, and Australia where I have my daughter and grandchildren, have helped me to return to my own origin, and also enhanced my interest in working intensely with Indigenous peoples issues.

     

    I will present reflections on how to work for a better society, bringing in Sámi expertise and perspectives, especially from the urban /Stockholm point of view. Although there are many Sámi living in the north of Sweden, Stockholm is the capital, close to the political power and international visits from like-minded countries like Australia, New Zeeland, the US and Canada.

    Focusing on the Sámi Association I will present the type of activities I have found most useful to be as a family for Sámi in urban setting. I will also point at the challenges we have with so-called consultations, the lack of interest from our government for all Sámi issues and the consequences for us as the so-called “green” transition is taking place. More than anything the immense ignorance of Sámi life, values and knowledge from politicians and the vast majority of the Swedish population.

    Contribution by Christine Olsen, president of the association Niejdda, added on site. 

  • Conceptual Flipsiding in/and Illiberal Imagination: Towards a Discourse-Conceptual Analysis

    Krzyżanowski, Michał; Krzyżanowska, Natalia

    Ingår i Journal of Illiberalism Studies, s. 33-46, 2024

    Abstract

    This article highlights the increasingly prevalent process of so-called “conceptual flipsiding”: that is, of strategic reversal of notions once closely associated with liberal democracy, and of its key values of freedom, equality, tolerance, and the like, for the pronouncedly illiberal gains. Viewing the said process as part and parcel of the wider normalization of an illiberal imagination through strategic discourses and practices in and beyond the field of politics, the article contends that conceptual flipsiding increasingly allows recontextualizing and eventually normalizing a deeply illiberal understanding of polity, society, and community. Seeing these as increasingly redefined in recent years in many formerly liberal-democratic contexts by, especially, the far right and its numerous affiliates in politics, media, and/or un-civil society, the article argues for theoretical and analytical elaboration of conceptual flipsiding in order to depict its wider exploratory usability in grasping the current illiberal conceptual and discursive fluidity. The article emphasizes that, following the discourse-conceptual logic behind the conceptual flipsiding dynamics, one is able to deconstruct the ongoing infusion of key social and political concepts and discourses with new and often deeply illiberal understandings.

    Open Access
  • Decolonial Blackness and Indigeneity in Sweden: An Email Conversation

    Collste, Göran

    Ingår i Decolonial Sweden, Routledge, 2024

    Abstract

    This chapter is an email conversation on Sweden’s own colonialism—inside the country as well as overseas—and its historic role and continuing relevance to Sweden. Among the topics that are discussed are the significance of Swedish colonialism within a broader context of European colonialism; how the history, legacies and continuing practices of Swedish colonialism often fail to be recognized in Swedish political and public life; Sweden’s continuing colonization of the Sámi and Sápmi; decolonial Indigenous and Black consciousness among the Sámi and people of African descent in Sweden, the struggles of Sámi and people of African descent in Sweden to correct the public and political lack of recognition of Swedish colonialism and how these struggles are connected to other decolonial and human rights struggles across the world.

  • Documenting an Ongoing Pandemic: A Sámi Reindeer Herders' Diary during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Öhman, May-Britt; Andersson, Henrik

    Ingår i Minorities in Global History, Bloomsbury Academic, 2024

    Abstract

    This chapter explores the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and it effects focusing on Norrbotten County, the largest county in Sweden, which occupies a quarter of the country, with 98,245 square kilometers and a population of 250,000.

    Norrbotten has two international borders, Finland and Norway, crossing Indigenous Sámi territories and reindeer grazing and herding lands. The effects are linked to geography, cold climate, natural resource exploitation, industries, multicultural population, and sparsely populated areas with long journey times to access healthcare.

    The county has a large Sami population and the largest number of reindeer and reindeer herders on the Swedish side of Sábme.

    The research project “Pandemic in the (sub) Arctic North: A supra and cross-disciplinary data collection on experiences, resilience and social mobilization during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on Norrbotten county,” was initiated in March 2020 and ended by April 2022. The project was led by the author of this chapter, Dr. May-Britt Öhman, Associate Professor of Environmental History, Lule and Forest Sámi of the Lule River valley. Within the project, an important part was the participants’ own documentation of their everyday life, including reflections on the events and developments during the crisis management period. One of the project participants was Henrik Andersson, a reindeer herder in the Gällivare Forest Sámi community, Flakaberg group, and also a coauthor of this chapter. Gällivare Forest Sámi village is one of fifty-one reindeer herding Sámi villages on the Swedish side of Sábme. The reindeers’ land stretches from the inland around Gällivare city and out into the archipelago of Luleå city.

    In wintertime the reindeer are in the area of the archipelago in the Gulf of Bothnia, and during the summer they move to the grazing lands in the inland.Andersson started documenting his everyday life in March 2020, when he first heard of the pandemic. He uses a first-person perspective bringing together situated knowledge and ego-histoire.

    The diary contains written entries and photographs and thereby documents the experiences from Sámi reindeer herding throughout almost two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    In this chapter, May-Britt Öhman has made a selection of entries, starting from day one, covering from the first day when Henrik Andersson heard about Covid-19 in March 2020 to the end of August 2020. The entries thus follow half of the reindeer herding year, including winter season when the grazing is often hard to find, spring migration from the coastal areas toward the inland, the calving season and the calf marking season, and the short time of rest that follows in August before the herders’ work begins again.

    In this article, we have only entered the first few months of Henrik Andersson’s corona diary, showing the initial thoughts, responses, and difficulties that emerged. As most are aware, the situation continued for very long. When this article was being finalized, in early 2023, the Covid-19 situation was far better, but still not completely over. 

    There has been very little study on the situation of the reindeer herders during the Covid-19 pandemic, at least not on the Swedish side of Sábme. Our research project, which was mainly data collection, has contributed to highlight a few of the issues at stake and will hopefully result in more research and writing on this subject.

  • Dreaming of a Decolonial Language? The Limits of PosthumanCritique in the Anthropocene

    Tängh Wrangel, Claes

    Ingår i Nordic Environmental Law Journal, s. 47-59, 2024

    Abstract

    Within posthuman critical theory, the advent of the Anthropocene has revived dreams of a critical and deco- lonial language, free of the exclusions of modernity. Through a deconstructive reading of Bruno Latour’s texts on the Anthropocene and Gaia – which constitutes one of the most clear and influential examples of this hope – this article aims to deconstruct the dream of a decolonial language. What emerges from this deconstruction is that Latour’s writings – far from being free of modernity – rather reproduces key facets of the modernity that he seeks to critique. By showcasing the intimate and paradoxical relationship between posthuman critique and the colonial power relations expressed in discourses of modernity, the article problematizes ideas of a critical language free and outside of power as well as the notion of a pure critical position that this idea presupposes. In this way, the article strives to contribute to an ongoing debate about the conditions for critical theory in a time of global climate change.

  • Drömmen om ett dekolonialt språk? Kritiska teorier och Antropocen

    Tängh Wrangel, Claes

    Ingår i Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift, s. 677-690, 2024

    Abstract

    Within posthuman critical theory, the advent of the Anthropocene has revived dreams of a critical and decolonial language, free of the exclusions of modernity. Through a deconstructive reading of Bruno Latour’s texts on the Anthropocene and Gaia – which constitutes one of the most clear and influential examples of this hope – this article aims to deconstruct the dream of a decolonial language as well as the dichotomy between Anthropocene and modernity that this dream presuppose. What emerges from this deconstruction is that Latour’s writings – far from being free of modernity – rather reproduces key facets of the modernity that he seeks to critique. By showcasing the intimate and paradoxical relationship between post-human critique and the colonial power relations expressed in discourses of moder-nity, the article problematizes ideas of a free critical language as well as notions of a pure critical position. In this way, the article strives to contribute to an ongoing debate about the conditions for critical theory in a time of global climate change. 

  • Experiences from Sirges Sámi Village - Sweden's largest Sámi village

    Kuoljok, Jan-Erik; Öhman, May-Britt

    Ingår i Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    This presentation is by me, Lule Sámi reindeer herder, within the Sirges Sami Village, in the Lule Sámi area. The Lule Sámi area encompasses a large geographic region, around the Lule River valley, stretching from coast to coast. The Sámi village is an organisational structure that the Swedish state set up through legislation, an economic association, in a specific region.

    Reindeer husbandry in this area has been present for many generations and continues to be a vibrant culture, passed on from generation to generation.

    There are few Indigenous peoples in the world that still maintain their primary livelihood in the same way. The reindeer husbandry has undergone significant changes over the last century. When my grandfather practiced reindeer husbandry, there were no motor vehicles, and they lived in very basic settlements. They were nomadic, following the reindeer, and couldn't carry many provisions.

    Today, we are not as closely connected to the reindeer as before. We live in more permanent settlements, and use all available technology.

    I will discuss these issues, from a reindeer herder point of view, and expertise adressing issues in particular these aspects: How has reindeer husbandry changed over 100 years?; Why is Sirges Sami Village the largest Sami village in Sweden?; What are the advantages/disadvantages of being a large Sámi village?

     

    The presentation will be in our language, Lule Sami, with slides in English.

    The presentation is supported and developed in collaboration with Dr May-Britt Öhman, Uppsala University, and the research project Sijddaj máhttsat.

  • Exploring the Nexus of Water, Territory, Life, and Sustainability in Sámi (Swedish side) and Pataxó (Brazil) territories

    de Camargo, Marcia; Braz dos Santos, Erilsa; Pataxó Faustino, Tamikuã; Andersson, Hampus et al.

    Ingår i NAISA Båddådjo 2024, 2024

    Abstract

    Exploring the Nexus of Water, Territory, Life, and Sustainability in Sámi (Swedish side) and Pataxó (Brazil) territories

    Abstract

    This roundtable represents a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous partners, exploring the critical role of water in the context of territory, life, science and sustainability, building on earlier exchange and aiming strengthening international collaborations, while inviting new collaborators.

    Participants include Erilsa Braz, Master's student at the Federal University of the State of Minas Gerais, who also leads Pataxó’s Mother land in Brazil;Eva Charlotta Helsdotter, Uppsala University, Associate professor of Water Security; Henrik Andersson and Hampus Andersson, two generations of reindeer herders, Gällivare Forest Sámi community; Marcia Camargo, PhD candidate, Federal University of Sao Carlos, and Tamikuã Pataxó, coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southeast Region of Brazil and part of the National Articulation of Ancestral Warriors Women and the Biome Women of Brazil.

    Chair is Warren Cardinal-McTeague, (Métis and Cree), University of British Columbia, of the SING Canada program, (Summer internship for Indigenous peoples in Genomics), SING Sábme and also a co-lead of Pathway T5, Decolonizing Science and Education of ⴰⵔⵔⴰⵎⴰⵜ Ărramăt (https://arramatproject.org/) , University of Alberta.

    The roundtable is supported by the Environmental Justice, Land-Based Learning, and Social Sustainability in Sábme project, led by Dr May-Britt Öhman (Forest/Lule Sámi), Uppsala University. We will discuss the essential connection between water, territory, life, science and sustainability through the lenses of different cultures and expertises. We provide insights from Indigenous lands, urban perspectives, and academic expertise, addressing shared challenges. We invite scholars, experts, and practitioners to participate in dynamic discussions, knowledge sharing, and the creation of innovative solutions that uphold principles of collectiveness, co-creation, ethics, and respect to promote decolonization of science and education.

     

     

    Marcia de Camargo, UFSCar

     

    This presentation delves into the profound significance of water in Pataxó cultural identity and political empowerment, focusing on the Awê ceremony.

    Awê is a central element of full moon ritual, featuring various water-related rituals. It culminates with warriors journeying to the sea to greet, receive and take the sun to the community, signifying the profound connection between the Pataxó and water, from which their name derives.

    The presentation highlights that Pataxó's cultural identity and political empowerment hinge on culture and consciousness. Awê fosters unity, fortifies individuals for collective struggles, and transforms ritual practices into tools of resistance, strengthening the entire community.

    This presentation is a fragment of an ethnographic decolonial collective research with pataxó women from the mother land, Aldeia Barra Velha, as part of Phd dissertation intitled: “Awê, the sacred and the ethnicity of the jokanas of the Pataxó people of Aldeia Barra Velha”, from 2020 till 2024, and also a partnership of more than 10 years with the community.

    Water holds symbolic significance in Pataxó cosmology and religious beliefs, inhabited by water spirits inspiring rituals and shaping their collective identity. Water is integral to daily life, from fishing in the sea, bathing in lagoons, collecting shellfish in mangroves, and producing sacred drink, cauim. The rhythms of life revolve around water, with the some gathering by the water's edge, especially near the sea, to welcome a new day. This presentation elucidates the cultural importance of water rituals and their role in collective empowerment, offering insights into Pataxó resilience and identity.

     

     

    Erilsa Braz dos Santos (UFMG - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) 

    This presentation introduces the multifaceted history and ongoing struggles in the Indigenous Barra Velha territory, mother land, transcending conventional academic narratives.

    As a formal leader, vice-cacique, from the pataxó mother land (Aldeia Barra Velha ) community since 2020, responsible for fights for the rights of the Barra Velha Indigenous Territory, along with the council of caciques, addressing social, territorial, and social projects for the community.

    Erilsa will present a fragment of the demarcation process, that runs since 1988 when Federal Constitution was established, the marred by challenges and violence, that demands continual updates and documentation.. Barra Velha's Indigenous territory has evolved from a single village, aldeia, into 24 self-demarcated ones.

    The Pataxó people from Aldeia Barra Velha are located in the coastal region of extreme south of the Brazilian state of Bahia, surrounded by waters, from ocean to mangrove and river. Barra Velha is more than, “geography”; it's our territory and identity, where Pataxó people relentlessly fight for land rights, cultural preservation, identity recognition, organizational autonomy, and community survival.

    Through living research for graduation term paper in 2014 intitled: “The history of demarcation of the Indigenous land of Barra Velha, to an ethnographic research project for ongoing Master degree: “Continued Demarcation of the Territory of Barra Velha”

    A presentation that will trace an introduction to the Pataxó community's historical journey, revealing leadership, community dynamics, threats, and unwavering resilience from ethnographic research but also a living reality through daily fights and struggles.

     

    Luciene Santos Faustino (ANMIGA)

     

    "My registered name is Luciene Souza Santos, but in truth, I don't know who that person is. Non-indigenous names were required, and I do not identify with this name; it's merely a name on paper that I was forced to carry. My true name, which I now begin the process of acknowledging, is Tamikuã Pataxó Faustino. Tamikuã will present her journey, memories and fights in urban environment, driven by collective struggle, that often appears to mean the loss of indigenous identity.

    In urban context, São Paulo, Brazil, since very young, knowing that indigenous women often find themselves invisible in terms of territory and rights outside their territory, Tamikuã decided to fight for the rights, for territory and all indigenous women. As coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southeast Region, ARPINSUDESTE since 2019 and part of the National Articulation of Ancestral Warriors Women (ANMIGA) and the Biome Women of Brazil, created in 2021, that organized this year the III March centered around the theme “Ecosystem Women in Defense of Biodiversity through Ancestral Roots”

    The invisibility in urban context is challenged daily through the fight to preserve territorial rights, access to water essential for sacred rituals, and respect for indigenous culture, which is intrinsically linked to water. Water holds a sacred place in lives, both inside and outside the villages, strengthening the spirit and solidifying indigenous identity.

    Tamikuã will present and overview of her ongoing fight and struggles as indigenous women in urban context for territory, water and rights.

     

    Eva Charlotta Helsdotter (Uppsala University)

    This contribution forms part of the preparations for an upcoming workshop to be held in Sámi territories, partly funded by the Arramat (arramat.org) program. Building on local Sámi expertise and requests, it focuses on water quality and water security by sampling surface water in creeks, springs, rivers, and lakes in the area of Gällivare Forest Sámi territories to investigate pollution levels and ascertain impacts from industrial projects and the so-called “green” transition. Pollution stems from mines with tailing dams, wind power plants, clearing of forests, military activities, tourism, and increasing human use of pharmaceuticals, such as hormones, found in the fertilizers made from human waste from the Swedish capital Stockholm brought to the forests. Despite increasing pollution levels, there is no existing research on water quality taking place.

    The workshop will provide a curriculum that disrupts and unsettles conventional scientific approaches, but also provide participants with hands-on training. Through a co-produced method, which will be discussed at this roundtable, we will be focusing on the Sámi-led questions on quantifying and monitoring water pollution in this specific territory. Ultimately the aim is to both enhance Sámi governance processes and address their concerns with environmental and human health. Building on SING Canada’s (https://sing-canada.ca/) expertise in mobile genomics technology, the workshop will be using a combined approach examining surface water bacterial communities and chemical/pollutant profiles.

    Eva Charlotta Helsdotter has collaborated in several projects focusing on Sámi territories, since 2010, with Associate Professor, May-Britt Öhman (Lule/Forest Sámi), Uppsala University

     

    Hampus Andersson 

    Hampus Andersson, a 20-year-old reindeer herder hailing from the Gällivare Forest Sámi village within the Flakaberg group, has carried the rich tradition of his family's reindeer herding practices for generations. While Hampus himself has actively engaged in reindeer herding for the past two years, his connection to this way of life runs deep. In his contribution , Hampus will delve into his personal reflections on the critical importance of clean water. He will explore the significance of clean water for not only human consumption but also its vital role in sustaining the health and well-being of the reindeer, as well as the diverse flora and fauna that inhabit his territories. Moreover, Hampus will shed light on his observations regarding the impacts of industrial exploitations on water quality in his region. As a part of the Arramat project, Hampus will also share insights into the sites selected for study through the SING Sábme initiative. These areas hold immense significance in understanding the complex relationship between water quality and sustainable reindeer herding practices.

     

    Henrik Andersson

    Henrik Andersson, a 43-year-old father from the Gällivare Forest Sámi village, Flakaberg group, has devoted his life to full-time reindeer herding since the age of 16. In his contribution, Henrik will share his expertise, insights and reflections on the critical significance of clean and safe water. He will discuss its vital role in sustaining the well-being of reindeer, as well as other local fauna and fish within his territories. Henrik will provide examples on what he finds are the industrial exploitation that impact the quality of water, particularly within the context of his reindeer's seasonal migrations and the lush growth of essential mushrooms and plants in the summer. Furthermore, Henrik will address local expertise and reflections on the specific sites to be examined within with the SING Sábme, part of the Arramat (arramat.org) project. Henrik will emphasize the pressing issue of maintaining clean water sources, particularly in the face of ongoing industrialization and the proliferation of wind power in the region. These developments pose a significant threat to clean water, manifesting through increased road construction, amplified traffic, PFAS pollution from wind power plants, and expanded mining operations. Henrik's contribution serves as a powerful reminder of the urgency in safeguarding these critical water resources, as well as a promote the development of methods on how take into account Sámi reindeer herders’ expertise.

  • Fascism and the Violent Replacement of The People 

    Gardell, Mattias

    Ingår i The Politics of Replacement, Routledge, 2024

    Abstract

    Why do white radical nationalists across the global north believe that (white) ‘native’ people are currently being ‘replaced’ with (nonwhite) ‘alien’ people? Why has an increasing number of individual white nationalists come to the conclusion that ‘resistance’ against this alleged ‘invasion’ of ‘their’ territory best is launched by them indiscriminately killing nonarmed people they do not even know the names of?  Why would such atrocities be hailed as exemplary acts of heroic masculinity? Building on ethnographic material and text analysis of white radical nationalist writings, this chapter explores these questions by 1) tracing the genealogy of the white genocide/great replacement theory to the history of settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing and the replacement model white nationalists find in their historiography of the Spanish reconquista; 2) following the tracks of the lone wolf through the political landscape of white nationalism; 3) discussing the role of the hero, violence, eros, and death in fascist cultural production; and 4) investigating the role of the People as a political referent in different versions of post-1945 fascist revolutionary theory. 

  • From Mars to Venus

    Acosta, Ignacio

    Ingår i Date: Wednesday, October 23Time: 18:00 – 19:30Location: Hasselblad Center at the Gothenburg Museum of ArtAdmission:, 2024

    Abstract

    Welcome to an evening dedicated to three artists who delve into themes of memory, power, and identity through the exploration of landscapes and seascapes. This event is associated with the exhibition featuring Ingrid Pollard, the 2024 Hasselblad Award winner. In her work, Pollard revisits the landscape as a cultural construct that illuminates issues of power, representation, and the narratives that often remain obscured. 

    Ignacio Acosta is a visual artist and researcher working with photography and video in territories under pressure from extractive industries. His multi-layered collaborative practice and spatial installations seek to connect audiences with these complex yet critical concerns.

    Acosta works in places made vulnerable through ecological exploitation, colonial intervention and intensive capitalisation. He is devoted to the understanding of sites and landscapes that, although often neglected, are of global significance. Developed mainly between his native Chile and Swedish Sápmi, his projects focus on resistance to territorial fragmentation produced by extractive industries and the so-called “green transition”.

    Jorma Puranen is known for his long-term work, which re-animates the colonial history and legacy of Arctic explorations. In ”narrating the North” he often uses archival sources and different techniques of re-photography, exploring and visualizing relations of history, knowledge, landscape and culture. Through experiences of travel and borderland Puranen wishes to create a matrix of fact and fiction, a field of fantasy and geographical imagination.

    Puranen´s methodology is a dialogue across time, to rethink the Arctic colonialism and landscape through a poetics of memory and the historical. In his photographs the found visual material reappears as though from a lost world, becoming manifest in a ghost form.

    Lotta Törnroth (b. 1981 in Solna) works with photography, text, sculpture and aquarelle. She is educated at the University of Photography in Gothenburg and at Aalto University, the University of Art, Design and Architecture in Helsinki. Törnroth has published three monographs with the publisher Blackbook Publications, and participated in exhibitions in Sweden and abroad. In 2023, she spent 6 months at IASPIS in Stockholm, where she worked on two projects about the sea and grief. Her latest book Lunar Cycles will be released in September 2024.

  • From Mars to Venus

    2024

    Abstract

    In ancient cosmology, planets and minerals have long been associated with alchemical traditions, astrology, and symbolic correspondences. Mars is symbolized by iron, while Venus is associated with copper. In this work, Sápmi where the majority of the iron is mined in Europe, becomes Mars; and the Atacama-Andes region, where the largest amount of the world's copper is produced, becomes Venus. Mars and Venus; iron and copper—like yin and yang, opposites but interconnected.

    Rooted in an animistic belief that inanimate objects and places possess souls and agency, Acosta’s work envisions these distant territories rich in minerals and wisdom as connected bodies of knowledge. The exhibition begins with three video projects that highlight the role of social movements in refusing and contesting mining exploration ventures. Juxtaposing traditional knowledge with the scale of mining operations and the observation of space, the works consider the roles of technology and spirituality in resisting settler colonial exploitation, and open up ways of thinking and engaging with care-based community-led strategies of visibility and counter-surveillance. 

    The exhibition begins with three video projects that highlight the role of social movements in refusing and contesting mining exploration ventures. Juxtaposing traditional knowledge with the scale of mining operations and the observation of space, the works consider the roles of technology and spirituality in resisting settler colonial exploitation, and open up ways of thinking and engaging with care-based community-led strategies of visibility and counter-surveillance. 

    Showed alongside these films are photographic installations, documents, objects and a video that reflect on the unequal geographical development of extractivism, zooming in on mining’s legal frameworks and the resultant loss of biodiversity and toxicity from resource extraction. Stemming from a practice grounded in rigorous research methodologies and long-standing collaborative processes, these works challenge the narrative of the so-called “green transition” while acknowledging these spaces as pluriversal and highlighting the importance of small community-run spaces of resistance forged in the confluence of feminist and queer activism.

  • From Mars to Venus: Activism of the Future

    Acosta, Ignacio

    2024

    Abstract

    A collaboration between the Climate & Colonialism research project at the Paul Mellon Centre and Autograph ABP.

    The arts have long been concerned with highlighting the ongoing histories of resource extraction and its repercussions. This symposium asks: what next? By bringing together researchers, artists, designers and activists from a range of backgrounds, this event will consider local projects in intersectional, granular detail, to collectively re-evaluate the relationship between the arts, extraction and activism, both historically and in the present.

    The two days are framed around three broad themes: Colonial and extractive histories, Reparative and fragile ecologies, Environmental justice and legal rights.

    Confirmed speakers and participants include: Ignacio Acosta, Mónica Alcázar-Duarte, Tobah Aukland-Peck, Eline Benjaminsen, Nancy Demerdash, Radha D'Souza, Francisco Gallardo, Hit Man Gurung, Sasha Huber, Elias Kimaiyo, Syowia Kyambi, Adrian Lahoud, Godofredo Pereira, Marie Petersmann, Julian Posada, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, Gabriela Saenger Silva, Sakiya, Audrey Samson, Marie Smith, Jonas Staal, Gerald Torres, Wilfred Ukpong, Rahul Ranjan and others.The symposium is convened by Sria Chatterjee (Paul Mellon Centre), Mark Sealy (Autograph/University of the Arts London) and Bindi Vora (Autograph).

  • God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music, by LEAH PAYNE

    Poletti Lundström, Tomas

    Ingår i Sociology of religion, 2024

  • How "the left" meme: Analyzing taboo in the Internet memes of r/DankLeft

    Merrill, Samuel; Gardell, Mattias; Lindgren, Simon

    Ingår i New Media and Society, 2024

    Abstract

    This article explores how "the left" meme and the character and emotional reception of taboo-breaking therein via the case of r/DankLeft—a USA-centric Marxist, Anarchist, and Democratic Socialist Internet meme community. It asks: what themes do popular r/DankLeft Internet memes relate to, how does taboo feature within popular r/DankLeft Internet memes, and can any differences in the ways in which taboo-related r/DankLeft Internet memes are received be discerned. In turn, it carries out a thematic analysis of 366 popular memes, a multimodal critical discourse analysis of 41 taboo-related popular memes, and a comparative sentiment analysis of the comments these and other memes have received in r/DankLeft. The article finds that popular memes in r/DankLeft primarily relate to perceived threats to its community of users. It also shows that taboo-breaking does feature in r/DankLeft memes and that when it does correlative patterns emerge in terms of popularity and emotional reception.

    Open Access
  • Indigenous Perspectives on Forest Fires, Drought, and Climate Change in Sábme: A Collaborative Arts-led Research Project

    Acosta, Ignacio; Öhman, May-Britt

    Ingår i Revista de Estudios Globales y Arte Contemporáneo, s. 34-63, 2024

    Abstract

    The impact of wildfires in Sweden, commonly claimed to be caused by climate change, has recently become a national and international concern. The overall aim of the inter- and supradisciplinary research project presented in this article is to analyse, document and draw attention to the local and Indigenous/Sámi stewardship of land, with specific regard to fire management, drought, and other aspects of climate change. The project situated within the growing field of Indigenous Land Based Education and Knowledge (Wildcat et al., 2014). It is run by an experienced artist and researcher in collaboration with Indigenous Sámi communities and Indigenous Sámi academic scholars. The project brings together the disciplines of artistic research and visual documentation with the history of technology and science, environmental history, feminist technoscience, gender research and Indigenous methodologies as well as Sámi knowledge. Based on the methods available within these research disciplines, the project uses extensive fieldwork, archival research, and audio-visual documentation, including interviews, documents, drone images, photographs, writings, and workshops, as a source of research, communication, and dissemination. We investigate local and Sámi ecological knowledge available. Furthermore, we evaluate how artistic research and visual documentation -with a critical approach and developed collaboratively- can be used to document, analyse, discuss and provide a basis for promoting Indigenous knowledges in the nation state and climate change debate.

    Open Access
  • Kontributivism: Om praktikerna, debatterna och attityderna kring att grunda inkludering i demokratin på ekonomiska bidrag

    Hultin Rosenberg, Jonas; Lind, Anna-Sara; Mindus, Patricia; Wejryd, Johan

    2024

    Open Access
  • Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2020)

    Poletti Lundström, Tomas

    Ingår i HYBRID – Mellan akademi, kyrka & samhälle, s. 177-180, 2024

    Open Access
  • Kunskapsbingo som pedagogisk metod i föreläsningar om samisk kultur, tradition,språk och samisk-nordisk historia

    Öhman, May-Britt

    2024

    Abstract

    Uppsam, Uppsalanätverket för samiskrelaterad forskning arrangerar i samarbete med Centre for Integrated Research on Culture and Society ett höstsymposium som samlar forskare från Uppsala, Stockholm och civilsamhället för att presentera och diskutera pågående forskningsprojekt. 

  • Militarism on and from Sábme/Sápmi and beyond: Roundtable at Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo

    Öhman, May-Britt; Nishiyama, Hidefumi; Teilus, Michael; Lopez, Elisa Maria et al.

    Ingår i Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    Militarism on and from Sábme/Sápmi and beyond – roundtable at Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo

     

    This roundtable invites a discussion on militarism from Indigenous perspectives. Indigenous lands across the world have long been used for military bases, weapons testing ranges, and other related facilities. The military presence was a product of colonial conquest in which Indigenous peoples were dispossessed of land. It continues to bring negative impacts on the lives of Indigenous peoples to this day. Yet, their voices are typically ignored by post-colonial policies and overshadowed by the state-centric idea of security. Scholars and activists have been endeavouring to centre on Indigenous perspectives against the metropolitan discourses and practices, notably in the context of the Pacific islands where Indigenous lands have been highly militarised (for example, Guåhan and Okinawa Island) or were made uninhabitable by nuclear testing (Bikini Atoll). Little has been discussed is military issues in Sábme/Sápmi despite its significant role in past and present military activities. The Europe’s largest overland test range Vidsel Test Range is located in the Swedish side of Sábme and has hosted the testing of weapons for decades. In the Norwegian side, military training has been actively conducted, often in cooperation with the United States and NATO. In light of the recent (re-)militarisation of the Nordic countries, it is of great importance to understand how militarism affects the lives of Sámi people. The roundtable is an effort to create a platform for collaboration and dialogues among interested parties in the militarisation of Sábme/Sápmi and other Indigenous lands. It is part of an upstarting project funded by the Research Council of Finland and based in the University of Oulu. Followed by a brief introduction by each presenter, the roundtable invites ideas on how to approach the theme and it is hoped that it contributes to the development of intra- and inter-indigenous intervention to militarism.

    Chaired By Dr. May-Britt Öhman (Uppsala University)

    Organized by Dr Hidefumi Mishiyama and Dr May-Britt Öhman 

     

     

     

    Michael Teilus

    Perspectives on Udtja Forest Sámi territories and the Vidsel Test Range - the largest over land test facility in Europe

     

    The Vidsel Test Range, also known as RFN – Robotförsöksplats Norrland (Robot Testing Ground Norrland/North), was established in the late 1950s, in the area used by three Sámi villages –Forest Sámi Udtja, and Mountain Sámi villages Tuorpon and Luokta Mavas. Michael Teilus, Member of Udtja Forest Sámi village, and also member of Sámi school board, for a Sámi Parliament party is born in the 1940s, and has own experience from when Udtja was expropriated by the Swedish state, and all residents evacuated for the establishment of the test range. He currently owns a house within the restricted area, where he can visit only when there are no test shootings. Michael Teilus will make an introduction to the history of the Udtja forest sámi reindeer herding, current situation and the consequences of the militarization in the area, for the reindeer herders, the families, the forests and nature.

     

     Tomas Poletti Lundström  (accepted abstract but withdrawn from presentation) 

    Mapping the strategies and consequences of Swedish military exploitation of Sápmi

    Sápmi areas - from south to north, east to west - have been exploited by the Swedish Armed Forces for centuries. They have been used to facilitate large and small-scale military firing ranges, military education focusing on warfare in the subarctic climate of the ‘Cap of the North’ (Nordkalotten), massive military exercises, and even nuclear weapons testing. A curious visitor to the website of the Swedish Armed Forces looking for information on the authority’s view of its massive presence in this region will be disappointed; a search for ‘Sápmi’ on the website will result in zero hits. How, then, can we map the strategies and consequences of the Swedish military exploitation of Sápmi? What methods, techniques, and points of departure should a researcher in this field employ? What are the ethical and perhaps political boundaries to such research? This presentation aims to sketch approaches to analyzing both governmental perspectives and the collective and individual memories within the indigenous communities of the region, striving to provide a well-rounded inquiry into the prevailing narratives.

     

    Envisioning the indigenous geographies of war and militarism

    Hidefumi Nishiyama (University of Oulu)

     

    Military bases and other related facilities such as weapons testing and training sites are integral part of war, without which the latter cannot be prepared or operated. Accordingly, the geography of war must be extended to the geography of militarised sites that are not conventionally regarded as battlefields or warzones. Such “non-warzone,” yet highly militarised sites are also crucial for the understanding of war as they are themselves the outcome of warfare. Many military facilities across the world were established on Indigenous lands during the earlier colonial period against the will of Indigenous peoples. Moreover, the continuing military presence creates a particular kind of war within these sites. It endangers the lives of Indigenous peoples and local social, cultural, and ecological systems, all of which are typically neglected under the name of national security. Drawing from the military issues in Sábme/Sápmi, accompanied with some illustrative cases from other indigenous contexts, this short presentation will introduce how war and militarism can be studied from indigenous perspectives. It will then outline some of the key topics arising from the contestation between militarism and Indigenous peoples and suggest broader implications.

     

    contribution by Elisa Maria Lopez,  Royal Institute of Technology, added to the roundtable on site. 

  • Minnesdagen 2024 - Försvenskningspolitik -  När samerna skulle bli "riktiga" svenskar

    Öhman, May-Britt

    2024

    Abstract

    PROGRAM, lördag 19 oktober, klockan 13.00 – 16.45 ABF-huset, Sveavägen 41 i Stockholm, Zäta-salen 

     

    13.00 Samefolkets jojk, Juhán Niila Stålka 

     

    Välkommen – Maritha Sandberg Lööf, programledare, Inger Axiö Albinson, ordförande för Sameföreningen i Stockholm och docent May-Britt Öhman vid Centrum för mångvetenskaplig forskning om rasism, Uppsala universitet 

     

    Samerna som försvann – en brytningstid i den samiska historien  Jan-Åke Olofsson, barnbarn till fotograf Robert Lundgren i Västerbotten 

     

    Dikt Rönn Lisa Zakrisson Påve, poet och spoken word artist  

     

    Vi som förlorade språket – och vi som tar tillbaka släktens språk Samtal mellan författaren Moa Backe Åstot, poeten Rönn Lisa Zakrisson Påve och programledaren Maritha Sandberg Lööf 

     

    Vi ska ta samiskan med oss från historien och in i framtiden  David Kroik, filosofie doktor, førsteamanuensis i sydsamiska vid Nord Universitet och universitetslektor vid Mittuniversitetet 

     

    Varför syns inte samer i berättelsen om Sverige? Okunskap, fördomar och hat Evelina Solsten, renskötare i Tåssåsens sameby och influencer på Tiktok Sara-Elvira Kuhmunen, ordförande, Sáminuorra 

     

    Vikten av att minnas historien för att lära i nuet Petra Mårselius, överintendent, Forum för levande historia 

     

    PAUS cirka 30 minuter. Vi bjuder på fika. 

     

    VÄLKOMMEN! Det är kostnadsfritt, men du måste  boka plats. 

    PROGRAMMET fortsätter klockan 15.00 När staten stal de samiska skattelanden Maximilian Borg, masterstudent, Södertörns högskola: 

     

    Dikt, Rönn Lisa Zakrisson Påve 

     

    Politikens ansvar och möjligheter Mats Berglund (MP), ordförande, riksdagens kulturutskott Mirja Råihä (S), ledamot, riksdagens konstitutionsutskottet Lars-Jonas Johansson, styrelseledamot, Sametinget 

     

    Arbetet i sanningskommissionen för det samiska folket Anders Lidén, ordförande, Sanningskommissionen för det samiska folket 

     

    Försoning och fördjupning Boel Hössjer Sundman, stiftsprost i Stockholms stift, Svenska kyrkan 

     

    Internationell utblick Ms Frances Sagala, ambassadör, Australien  Mr Alfredo Molina, konsul och förste ambassadsekreterare, Guatemala 

     

    Uppsala universitet och Södertörns högskola Cecilia Wejryd, professor i kyrkohistoria, dekan Teologiska fakulteten, Uppsala universitet  Jan Selling, professor vid Södertörns högskola 

     

    Försvenskningspolitik – ett kulturellt förtryck Eva Forsgren, ordförande, Amnesty Sápmi 

     

    Del av föreställningen Ruohttsot – att slå rot  Juhán Niila Stålka, lulesamisk jojkare, och Jasmine Skog, modern dansare 

    Amnesty Sápmi, Sameföreningen i Stockholm, Sáminourra, Riksorganisationen Same Ätnam och Centrum för mångvetenskaplig forskning om rasism, CEMFOR, Uppsala universitet - forskningsprojektet Sijddaj máhttsat betyder "kommer hem" på lulesamiska under ledning av docent May-Britt Öhman. 

    I samarbete med ABF Stockholm. 

    Minnesdagen genomförs med stöd av Stockholms stad, Statens kulturråd och  Uppsam – nätverket för samiskrelaterad forskning i Uppsala. 

  • Morfars farmors syster, mamma och jag: Återtagande och synliggörande av lulesamisk och skogssamisk historia och identitet som antikolonial och antirasistisk praktik

    Öhman, May-Britt

    Ingår i Antirasismer och antirasister, s. 390-415, Bokförlaget Atlas, 2024

    Abstract

    May-Britt Öhman frågar i sitt kapitel: Hur hänger ett foto av en lule­ och skogssamisk kvinna taget 1868 ihop med ett samtal mellan mor och dotter i ett kök över hundra år senare? Hur hänger allt detta ihop med svensk rasistisk bosättarkolonialism, markstölder från urfolket samer, samt samiskt motstånd under över ett sekel?

    Öhman utgår från en bild på sin morfars farmors syster, skogs­ och lulesamiska kvinnan Brita Stina Larsdotter Rim från 1868, publicerad 2008, samt från ett lågmält men avgörande kökssamtal på svenska med sin mamma, ett drygt decennium tidigare.

    Brita Stinas ansikte återfinns, än i dag, via Nordiska museet tillgängliggjort online, utan restriktioner, utan etiska förbehåll, och utan att Brita Stinas livshistoria, samt vad den svenska kolonialstaten gjorde mot henne och hennes familj, finns återgivet.

    Författaren diskuterar hur dagens ”gröna omställning”, på av svenska staten stulna samiska marker, hänger ihop med hennes familjs osynliggjorda samiska histo­ria. Detta utgör ett återtagande och synliggör vad svenska staten gjort: något som rimligtvis borde undervisas om och ligga som grund för alla debatter om de miljöförstörande gruvexploateringarna, vindkraften, vat­tenkraften, skogsbruket. Rustade med kunskapen kan samer själva bättre utmana dagens ogröna och fortsatt rasistiska kolonialism, och förhopp­ningsvis kan allierade bättre förstå vad som hänt och se paralleller till annan rasism och anknyta till detta i all antirasistisk aktion. 

    Open Access
  • Odwracanie znaczen w wyobrazni nieliberalnej: Analiza dyskursywno-konceptualna

    Krzyzanowski, Michal; Krzyzanowska, Natalia

    Ingår i Almanach Concilium Civitas 2024/2025, s. 213-233, Fundacja Collegium Civitas, 2024

    Open Access
  • Reclaiming Forest Sámi - Land Rights, Identity and Culture in Sábme: Roundtable at NAISA 2024, Båddådjo

    Lindström Lussi, Per; Blom Lussi, Ellinor; Eriksson, Elle; Asp, Suzanna et al.

    Ingår i Reclaiming Forest Sámi - Land Rights, Identity and Culture in Sábme, 2024

    Abstract

    Reclaiming Forest Sámi - Land Rights, Identity and Culture in Sábme

     

     

    This roundtable gathers Forest Sámi perspectives on and experiences from protecting land rights, reindeer herding, identity and culture.

    A government inquiry on the Sámi tax lands 1922, states that the forest Sami made up more than half of the Sámi population in the 16th century, when Finland still belonged to Sweden. Norstedt (2018) shows that the Forest Sámi landscape was divided into taxlands in the 17th century, they had land of their own, as farming landholders did. In the 17th century, fishing was most important for subsistence, combined with hunting, reindeer herding and plant gathering. As each household had control of its taxland, resources were used flexibly. During the winter season, surplus pastures and hunting grounds were leased to reindeer-herding Mountain Sami. In the 19th century, the Swedish state stole – erased - the taxlands, and attempted at eradicating Forest Sámi livelihood. During the 20th century, Forest Sámi were considered to be in the way for industrial exploitations, and the Mountain Sámi culture was promoted as the true Sámi culture, along with extensive reindeer herding. Forest Sámi who did not continue with reindeer herding, were forced into assimilation, Swedification, and Finnisation, in Finland (Sarivaara, 2012).

    Three presentations, three on reclaiming Forest Sámi identity, and one on the protection of existing Forest Sámi reindeer herding and we invite other Forest Sámi and Indigenous communities to share own experiences and to discuss possibilities for further collaboration.

    Organised in collaboration with the Sijddaj máhttsat project, led by Dr May-Britt Öhman, Uppsala University.

    Chair: Henrik Andersson, Gällivare Forest Sámi village

    Discussant : Professor Bodil Petersson, Linnaeus Univesity

     

     

    Ms. Ellinor Blom Lussi, Lund University and Dr. Per Lindström Lussi, Linnaeus University

    Constructing a Boat and Re-constructing an Identity: The Revitalisation of the Forest Sámi Haupe

     

    This is a daughter-father exploration of how a Forest Sámi family identity can be re-constructed at adult age. So far little effort has been put into understanding how cultural identity is built amongst Forest Sámi whose identities were concealed, due to state promoted assimilation policies. For the Forest Sámi, on Swedish side, the assimilation- and Swedificationprocess, started from the late 19th century, with reindeer herding legislations and in particular since 1928, when the Swedish state decided that the Sáminess was tied to Mountain reindeer herding ( Åhrén 2008; Stoor 2020). Displaying (Forest) Sámi identity became linked to both shame and loss of opportunities, such as owning land, or getting positions in workplaces. This forced many Sámi to conceal their identity and “become” Swedish, while hiding their Sámi identities and cultural practices from their children and grandchildren (Öhman 2021).

    This paper presents the exploration and re-construction process of our Forest Sámi family identity. We build on the work by Lindström Lussi (2023) where the construction of the Forest Sámi Haupe – boat - was revived. Utilizing the notes from conversations and text messages between family members from the period the boat was designed, constructed and built, we explore how a cultural identity is being scrutinized and reformed when questioned by the self, the family and the society.

    We find that the Haupe revitalisation project facilitated a process that has irrevocably reshaped, and continues to reshape, the family identity and relationship, whether it is a Construction, Reconstruction, Revitalisation, or Conveying of Forest Sámi identity today.

     

     

    Suzanna Asp (Lule Sámi Artist)

    ÁHKO JÅRRÅT Sitespecific artistic research as method to heal & revitalize Forest Sami identity

    Can site-specific Indigenous artistic research practice contribute to processes of healing from intergenerational trauma caused by assimilation and separation of Sami children from their parents?

    Muv namma l Suzanna. I am Forest Sámi from Lule Sámi area. I remember names of places where I have never been. I start going there, staying for longer and longer periods of time.

    Through examples from my own artistic research practice as well as examples from other Sami artists I will show inspiring methods of strengthening Forest Sami identity and contribute to storytelling which in great parts have been erased by colonization and assimilation. »Báhko jårråt« means »Words falling« in Lule Sami language. To be in a place is to be surrounded by language. My great grandmother, was taken from her family and placed at an Arbetsstuga, an institution for children meant to assimilate Forest Sami and Tornedalians children. By tracing her and our ancestors walks, on maps and on the land, I have gotten closer to my family history and closer to my Mother tongue. I hold words in my hand. I return the racist and colonial words that hit my grandmother and create space for the Lule Sami language to thrive.

    UNDRIP ART 13:1 reads: “Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places, and persons.”

    My presentation forms part of a proposed artistic research project.

     

     

     

    Elle Eriksson, Flakaberg group, Gällivare Forest Sámi village

    Forest Sámi reindeer herders’ fight the “green” transition to continue traditional practices

    The so called ”green” transition is commonly justifying environmental destruction of Indigenous territories. Sámi reindeer herders fight every day to be able to continue their traditional practices. In this presentation, forest Sámi reindeer herders of the Flakaberg-group in Gällivare Sámi community (Sweden) discuss how their reindeer herding is affected by cumulative land pressures due intrusions by the Swedish society, with special attention on the exploitations wind power and forestry. They will also argue for different future sceneries that might occur depending on which way the transition goes.

    The presenters are members of the Flakaberg-group and collaborators that are engaged in their fight. With a historic background, focus is last 20 years. Most of the presenting community members are tradition bearers, they hold traditional expertise.

    Our findings show that the reindeer herding is negatively impacted by cumulative land pressures. The members belong to a forest Sámi community which means that they are always in forest landscapes with their reindeers and thus forestry have a huge impact on their conditions. Additionally, a wind power industry with 57 turbines have been given permission to operate in the main reindeer calving area of the group, which will likely have dire consequences.

    The conclusions are important because the Flakaberg-group are under immense pressure and this session helps bringing awareness to their situation. Moreover, by discussing possible future trajectories, knowledge and experiences will be shared between Indigenous peoples.

     

     

    Sara V. Gustafsson,  Lule Boden Sámi association member

    How do we reclaim our Forest Sámi culture?

     

    My Forest Sámi family is from Suobbat, Norrbotten county, my grandmother was from Flakaberg. I am just starting to reclaim our history and culture. At 46 years old, it is hard work, but I want my children to know our story, our culture. I am member of the Lule Boden Sámi association, and I take part in activities and courses to learn our culture that was hidden from me. I don’t have the language, the yoik, the reindeer herding. I feel cut off. I will share a few of my thoughts and reflections, and my own work to reclaim my culture. It is so close, but still so far away. 

     

     

  • Reclaiming Julevsamegiella Lule Sámi language and culture: Roundtable at NAISA Båddådjo June 6-8, 2024

    Öhman, May-Britt; Stålka, Juhán Niila; Kuoljok, Kerstin; Pittja Granlund, Anna et al.

    Ingår i NAISA 2024 Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    Roundtable - Reclaiming Julevsamegiella Lule Sámi language and culture

    Abstract: 

    NAISA has finally come to Sábme, and Lule Sámi territories! 

     

    Buorisboahtem! Welcome!

     

    Lule Sámi territory encompasses the Lule River Valley and beyond– from the Gulf of Bothnia coast, on Swedish side, to the Norwegian sea coast, on the Norwegian side of Sábme.

     

    In our roundtable we are Lule Sámi, Forest and Mountain, and the presenters are all adult learners of Julevsámegiella, one of ten Sámi languages, at the Sámi Education Center, Jåhkkåmåkke, since 2022. We challenge ourselves to speak Lule Sámi to present methods for learning, and to talk about issues of importance to us; one presentation is on how to learn the language through everyday Sámi cultural practices – baking the Sámi bread – gahkko; two talks are about two different specific Forest Sámi places and cultures, the fourth delves into Lule Sámi yoik. English slides will be used. We invite all interested to share experiences and inspirations of and how to reclaim Lule Sámi, and other Indigenous languages, and thoughts on how this can be further developed. 

     

    During the 20th century, the Swedification and Norwegianization policies towards the Sámi people were harsh. Children who spoke their language in school faced punishment, and Forest Sámi were subjected to rigorous assimilation policies. As a result, many Sámi refrained from speaking (Lule) Sámi in public, and they avoided passing on the language to their own children in an attempt to shield them from difficulties. Consequently, there are very few individuals today who speak Lule Sámi. This roundtable is one of several initiatives aimed at reclaiming the language and culture.

     

    The roundtable is organized by the research project Sijddaj máhttsat – Coming home https://www.cemfor.uu.se/forskningsprojekt/sijddaj-m-httsat-betyder--kommer-hem-/, at Uppsala University, led by Dr May-Britt Öhman.

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    Marita Eriksson 

    The Pitelf Sámi village - through history

    My name is Marita Eriksson, and I come from an area where the Forest Sámi people have lived for centuries, in the Pitelf area (Arvidsjaur parish). In my presentation, I will explain in Lule Sámi the consequences of Swedish settler colonial policies on Sámi culture and language.

    Due to settler colonialism, the Forest Sámi had to witness their way of life change forever. The Swedish State, with the assistance of the State Church, aimed to convert them into "good Christians." Their family names, as well as place names, were changed to Swedish.

    Swedish state policies had a severe impact on them. Forest Sámi people were considered less "Sámi" than their fellow Mountain Sámi. They lost rights to land, culture, and language, and we still live with the consequences to this day.

    The language was lost for my generation, but thanks to the fantastic opportunity for adults to study the language at Sámij åhpadusguovdásj, the Sámi Education Center in Jokkmokk, we have been given the chance to reclaim our language. With the support of our teacher and what I have learned, I will deliver my presentation in Lule Sámi, thus challenging the impacts of colonialism and sharing our story.

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    Juhán Niila Stålka

    Harmonizing tradition - Joik and language

    Growing up in the southern region of Sweden, my early exposure to the art of joiking came from my father. Our holidays were synonymous with lengthy road trips, spanning over 12 hours, to visit my Áhkko and Áddjá—my grandparents. These trips became a canvas for my father's joiking performances, initiating the moment our journey commenced. The enduring exposure to traditional Sami singing during these extensive drives left an indelible imprint on me, shaping my connection to this art form from a very young age.In the confines of our car, my father’s joiking echoed, often centered around animals intertwined with their captivating stories, leaving an enduring impact on me that I continue to carry within. This exposure was an integral part of my formative years, embedding the spirit of joik within me.During my upcoming presentation, I aim to provide a concise yet comprehensive introduction to the art of joik, specifically delving into the distinctive elements of the Julevsame joik. Additionally, I will share insights into my personal journey of revitalizing and reclaiming old joiks, illuminating their significance. Moreover, I will explore the crucial role that joik has played in my endeavor to reclaim and revive my native language, shedding light on the symbiotic relationship between joiking and language revitalization.The symbiotic relationship between joik and the reclamation of my language is an integral part of my narrative, one that I am excited to share and explore in-depth during the forthcoming presentation. I aim making the presentation in Julevsami.

     

    Kerstin Kuoljok and Anna Pittja Granlund

    Our Lule Sámi Language Journey - Baking Gáhkko

    In the spring of 2022, we embarked on our language journey and our efforts to reclaim our family's language, Lule Sámi. At the Sámi Education Center in Jokkmokk, together with our teacher, Sara Aira Fjellström, and our fellow classmates, we have been working hard not only to learn words but also cases, verb conjugations, and more.

    Learning an entirely new language as adults is not easy, but Sara's teaching methods have truly facilitated our progress. During our course periods, we have had lessons from 8 AM to 3:30 PM, and it has been essential to vary the teaching approach to help us maintain concentration. As a result, many lessons have involved practical activities while speaking Lule Sámi. Sara's teaching approach emphasizes speaking Sámi throughout - talk, talk, talk.

    With this presentation, we aim to showcase one of our various activities, which is baking gáhkko. In addition to the language, we have also engaged in certain traditional Sámi daily chores. 

     

    May-Britt Öhman 

    Subttsasa biehtsevuomátjistema: Stories from our little pine forest 

     

    Subttsasa biehtsevuomátjistema means “Stories from our little pine forest” in Lule Sámi. Sámi is very different from Swedish, the language I grew up with.   My maternal grandfather was probably the last in our family to understand and speak, but his knowledge of Sámi was a well-concealed secret. Only as an adult, in 2008, I learned about this secret, of being Sámi. Fall 2022, I finally took the opportunity to start learning Lule Sámi. The Sámi education center in Jåhkåmåhkke offers beginners courses, and there is the talented and inspirational teacher Sara Aira Fjellström. When I started, I was 55 years old, thinking it would be impossible– but the pedagogical methods, lots of laughter, and the support of three elder Lule Sámi women, assistant teachers, gives us opportunity to listen to the language, and to speak ourselves. Their knowledge, telling me stories about my own family, as well as their validation of the stories I bring about my family, has made the language learning into a life altering project of memory and culture. 

    I will tell a couple of stories, in Lule Sámi, about the Sámi taxland of my Lule/ Forest Sámi family,  near Jåhkåmåhkke. Our stories are so far very rarely taught at universities and schools. We Sámi have the right to our history, but the discipline of history is often not bringing forward Sámi history. As Lule and Forest Sámi, and as a trained historian, I am doing my best to contribute to a change. 

  • Repatriation of sacred objects, sieidis – where is the sieidi’s home?

    Andersson, Kerstin; Edenbrink Andersson, Hannah; Öhman, May-Britt

    Ingår i Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Båddådjo, 2024

    Abstract

    Kerstin Andersson, Sámi and Board Member of Amnesty Sápmi and Hannah Edenbrink Andersson, Sámi, involved in repatriation of ceremonial offerings

    This presentation discusses removed sacred objects, sieidis, from the Swedish part of Sápmi and the issues that arise when the Sámi demand repatriation of these cult objects. A sieidi is usually a stone with an unusual shape. They are – or were – in nature placed in sacred places by lakes and rivers, or in the mountains. Research is underway to find out the true origins of the stolen siedis.

    Transfers of objects between museums in Sweden are compatible with the Museum Act, but transfer of objects to indigenous people is not regulated.

    In recent years, awareness of the removed sieidis has increased among the Sámi in Sweden. There are ongoing discussions about restitution to the Sámi people in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Discussions are ongoing within the Sámi society about ownership and placement but there are some difficult issues to deal with.

    To understand what opinions that exist within Sami communities we will do in-depth interviews with 10-15 Sámi respondents from December 2023 to March 2024 and present a report in June about the Sámi’s view on this issue. Questions asked will be amongst other: What does a siedie mean to you? Should the siedies be placed in museums or be re-placed in nature? Who can claim ownership, and who has the right to decide?

    The study forms part of “Sijddaj máhttsat” – “Coming Home” in Lule Sámi – led by Dr May-Britt Öhman, Uppsala University. Contributions, mainly guidance on ethical aspects, has been made by Dr Öhman. 

  • Same Questions Different Answers: Experiences from Multidisciplinary Work in Law and Sociology of Religion

    Enkvist, Victoria; Nilsson, Per-Erik

    Ingår i Doin Multidisciplinary Research on Religion, s. 60-68, Brill, 2024

FÖLJ UPPSALA UNIVERSITET PÅ

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