Global challenges: Sami and Indigenous Research

It is fair to say that the field of Sami and Indigenous Research has grown rapidly over the last decades, not only here at the Faculty of Arts, Umeå University but also globally. The reasons for this development are multiple, but boils down to Indigenous Peoples often being the first to be affected by the amplifying societal and environmental changes brought by climate change, large scale resource extractive industries and exploitation. At the same time Indigenous Peoples are raising their voices, demanding participation or self-determination. Research within this field is thereby intimately tied to documenting, mapping, interviewing, registering, observing, discussing and analyzing themes that all take on and connect to societal and global challenges.

It is also fair to say that Umeå University and the faculty of arts are the strongest nodal point for Sami and Indigenous research in Sweden. Researchers from all departments at the Faculty of Arts are involved in these various projects. There are networks such as NORRSAM (funded by Forte), Gruvrealistiska nätverket (Funded by RJ) that bring scholars together and centres such as Vaartoe/CeSam and Arcum that upkeep Sami and Indigenous research.

Still, we believe that more could be done at the Faculty of Arts through a permanent support for ex. PhD positions in the field of Sami and Indigenous research.

In section 1 We list 20 ongoing projects, some of them are large international projects such as “Colonisation and Indigenous Health” led by Per Axelsson funded by VR and Wallenberg, MISTRA MASD led by Peter Sköld and Carina Keskitalo or “Narrating Sápmi” led by Marianne Liliequist funded by FORMAS. There are also smaller projects (or projects within projects) led by one person such as Kristina Belancic on “The Development of Literacy in Sami, a heritage language” and Kristina Sehlin MacNeil’s research on conflict management, mining and indigenous peoples.

Listed in section two “Future” are also a couple of projects that are being reviewed by research councils. Many of us have possibilities to join for the two seminars. We look forward to your reply!

Kind regards on behalf of the researchers

Per Axelsson, Kristina Belancic, Coppélie Cocq and Krister Stoor

Section 1: Ongoing research

1.Lis-Mari Hjortfors, PhD student; Department of language studies/Sami studies and Vaartoe/CeSam (Center for Sami research). Umeå University

1. Titel:Laestadianism: Religious revivalism a space for preserving Sami Identities, language and tradition in the Lule Sami area

This PhD project, located at the Centre for Sami Research at the Umeå University in Sweden, focuses on the Laestadian religious revivalist movement at the Lule Sami area. Laestadianism was a Lutheran revivalist movement which had a huge importance for Sami livelihood. I intend to explore the possibility that the revivalist movement grew out of a situation of crisis for the Sami. The Lule Sami area is located within the current nation states of Norway and Sweden, from the Gulf of Bothnia coast to the Atlantic coast. The Laestadian revivalist religious movement was established in the 1840s by Lars Levi Laestadius, who lived 1800-1861. Being Lule Sami myself, working within a Swedish university setting, I wish to discuss useful methods and ways to work from a critical Indigenous studies perspective within the ethnological tradition. Focus is on the front figures L.L. Laestadius, his follower Johan Raattamaa and the Westlaestadian part of the movement.

2. Relevance : As forced Christianization was paralleled with Swedification and Norwegianisation politics of colonization onto the Sami by the nation states, I argue that there was a space created within the Laestadian movement to preserve Sami culture, identity, religiosity and language.

Other indigenous people around the world have the same manner to preserve culture and language and tradition.

2. Per Axelsson; Vaartoe/CeSam (Centre for Sami research)

1. Titel: Colonisation and Indigenous Health

2. Ingress: Recent international health research published in The Lancet has tied poor Indigenous health to the process of colonization and suggests that to be able to address the existing national-level variation in Indigenous health outcomes and ongoing inequalities it is critical to understand how the process of colonization affected the lives of Indigenous people.

An International, interdisciplinary project that through qualitative and quantitative evidence (18th-21st C) seeks to understand the drivers and mechanisms linking colonisation and health in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. The overall question being: what are the main mechanisms behind the positive outcome of Sami health in Sweden and the ”shameful gap” in health and wellbeing that remains today between Indigenous and non-Indigenous in New Zeeland and Australia?

3. Relevance: Understanding the extent to which health disadvantages among Indigenous people can be counteracted is of crucial importance to today’s international research agenda. The international comparison will generate results vital for understanding how colonization, in all its complexity, has shaped the health outcomes of Indigenous peoples in Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. The main driver behind the project is to give support to the global Indigenous community in the fight for equal health. The project is not about finding evidence to blame previous generations for what they did or did not do. It is about learning from the past to create a better future.

The project has from the Swedish Research Council and Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation until 2018 and have begun to build an interdisciplinary research team of scholars from Indigenous research, history, sociology, demography and public health. The project is led from Umeå University, with partners at University of Melbourne Australia, University of Waikato, New Zealand and Royal Technical College (KTH) Stockholm.

3. Mardoeke Boekraad, PhD-student; Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

1. Titel: Sami voices Sorry churches

2. Ingress: This PhD research project aims at studying the reconciliation process between the Sami people and the Churches of Norway and of Sweden from a Christian Sami grass-roots perspective, by analyzing four case studies in Sweden and Norway. The aim is to investigate if and how Sami are perceiving the reconciliation process and what role differences in religiosity have for them in the process.

The reconciliation process between the Lutheran Church of Sweden, the Church of Norway, and the Sami populations is now about two decades old and has generated many practical initiatives and transformations in the thinking and enacting of the Christian faith.

4. Johan Runemark Brydsten, PhD-student; Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

1. Titel: Vision and education in Sami confirmation: Culture, tradition and history as prerequisites

2. Ingress: During the last decades renegotiations have been initiated where different groups of Sami have started to adapt their Christian faith and practices to a Sami cultural context. Churches in Sweden and Norway have, among other things, opened up for yoik chanting, which was previously regarded as sinful, and clergy of Sami origin have brought typical Sami elements into church services and religious texts. One specific example of this is the Sami confirmation camp which is organized by the Church of Sweden. The focus of my thesis are to survey and analyze the visions and teaching at these camps in light of the colonial relations that characterized, and to some extent still characterizes, the encounter between the Church of Sweden and the Sami people.

5. Olle Sundström, PhD, associate professor in the History of Religions; Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

1. Titel:Soviet research and state policies towards indigenous religions

2. Ingress: In two monographs and several articles I have been studying and analyzing Soviet research and (anti-)religious policies on, first and foremost, religions among the indigenous peoples of northern Eurasia. I have focused on Soviet discussions on the origin, evolution and function of phenomena such as “religion”, “shamanism”, and beliefs in “supernatural beings”. The interdependence (and at times disjunction) between research, state policies and Marxist-Leninist doctrine on these matters is of main importance in my analyses of the source material. Together with some 15 scholar from different countries I also participate in a joint project within which the repression of religious and ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era is closely studied.

6. Olle Sundström, PhD, associate professor in the History of Religions; Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

1. Titel:The relation between Christianity and indigenous Sami religion

2. Ingress: In a few shorter projects I am studying the attitudes of the Nordic Lutheran churches towards indigenous Sami religion during different epochs: in one study I analyze the understanding of and attitude towards indigenous Sami “gods” and “divinities”; in another I explore the so-called theology of religions, regarding particularly indigenous Sami religion, within the Church of Sweden; and in a third study I focus on present-day Christian Sami contextual theology and indigenous theology. Parts of these projects relate to “The Church of Sweden and the Sami – a white book project”, which is a collaboration involving some 30 scholars, who from different angles survey the relations between the Church of Sweden and the Sami through the centuries. My research is urgent in order to explain how the understanding of indigenous Sami religion has evolved and changed within research and theology, but also in concrete religious practice.

7. Daniel Lindmark, professor of Church History; Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

1. Titel:Historical injustice and present-day reconciliation: The relationship between the Church of Sweden and the Saami population

2. Ingress: In several projects, I have studied the historical relationships between the Swedish and Saami populations from a colonial and postcolonial perspective. Focus has been placed on the Church of Sweden and its missionary efforts and educational activities among the Saami. For the time being, I am directing two research projects in which historical relationships are related to the present situation. The project “Saami Voices and Sorry Churches” studies the use of history in church-Saami reconciliation activities, while the white book project on the Church of Sweden and the Saami provides historical documentation of problematic elements in order to support an ongoing reconciliation process. These projects are of general and international relevance, since the “retrospective practices” represented by the white book project and other reconciliation activities address questions concerning reparation of the damage that colonial power relations have inflicted on indigenous populations.

8. Lars-Erik Edlund, professor in Nordic Languages and Daniel Andersson, Associate Professor; Language Department

1. Titel: Language Policy in a Postcolonial Swedish Sápmi

2. Ingress: According to The Heritage Conservation Act (4 § 1988:950, revised 2000:265), Swedish, Sami and Finnish names shall, as far as possible, be used in parallel on maps and also for signs and other markings in multilingual areas. The Swedish Government has given The National Road Administration the task of intensifying signage with minority language place-names (Prop. 2008/09:158, p. 120) and also exhorted local authorities to do the same.

This research area focuses on issues of language policy in Swedish Sápmi, with a special emphasis on processes where Sami place names are made visible. At the moment studies are conducted on practices at an administrative level, as well as on local place-making tied to questions regarding cultural identity.

The Research Counsel Formas is funding the above mentioned studies until the end of 2016. The research is carried out by Daniel Andersson and Lars-Erik Edlund.

3. Relevance: The results will be useful for example in minority policy work, decision-making and implementation. And, by highlighting the mechanisms and strategies involved in place-making in relation to place-names, concrete ways can be explored, in which Sami traditions and identities can be revitalised, strengthened and empowered.

9. Kristina Sehlin MacNeil, PhD student; Institutionen for Ethnology, Vaartoe/CeSam (Centre for Sami research) and David Unaipon College for Indigenous Education and Research, University of South Australia

1. Titel:Indigenous Peoples Views Regarding Conflict Management in a Dynamic Era. The Dilemma of Sustainable Development and Mining

2. Ingress: Due to the Swedish government's mineral strategy there has been an increase in conflict between Sami people and the authorities in Sweden, where Sami people do not have the right to stop mining projects on their reindeer grazing lands. In Australia, where Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander communities hold native title, the situation is slightly different, however, previous research shows that there are many similarities in the power structures built into the contacts between these Indigenous groups and mining companies. This study investigates the power structures as well as structural and cultural violence in conflict between Indigenous groups and mining companies and draws on theorists such as peace researcher Johan Galtung to relate the experiences held by the Sami and Aboriginal research participants. Although there is research on the effects of mining on Indigenous communities, as well as studies on power relations between Indigenous peoples and dominant societies, there are few studies dealing with power relations and structures in conflict between Indigenous groups and mining companies with international comparisons.

3. Relevance: By sharing these experiences on an international level and uncovering some of the strategies used by mining companies as well as some of the effects the power structures have on Indigenous communities, it is expected that the research contribute to improving processes of conflict management between mining companies and Indigenous groups.

10. Annette Löf, Research assistant; Vaartoe/CeSam (Centre for Sami research)

1. Titel: Vad händer med urfolksrättigheter i praktiken?

2. Ingress: På den internationella arenan har vi de senaste årtiondena sett en enorm utveckling och erkännande av urfolksrättigheter, inte minst i förhållande till övergripande frågor om kulturell integritet, hållbar utveckling och ökat deltagande i naturresursförvaltning. Trots att urfolk därigenom fått ökad legitimitet, representation och både mjuka och legalt bindande instrument som styrker urfolks mänskliga rättigheter så finns det stora skillnader i hur dessa rättigheter implementeras och införlivas i praktiken. Sverige, trots sitt rykte som föregångare inom mänskliga rättigheter, har fått återkommande kritik mot hur man hanterar samernas situation och deras internationellt erkända urfolksrättigheter på nationell nivå.

3. Relevans: Projektet, som finansieras av Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, syftar till att undersöka hur samers rättigheter som urfolk förstås och införlivas i en svensk kontext och hur diskriminering mot samer som urfolk kan motverkas. Projektet är, sin praktiska inriktning till trots, nära kopplat med frågor om landrättigheter, naturresursutvinning och konflikter, globala diskurser, dekolonisering och hållbar utveckling.

11. Marianne Liliequist, Professor; Department of Culture and Media Studies

Project participants: Marianne Liliequist, Professor in Ethnology, Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå University
Krister Stoor, Ph.D. in Sámi Studies, Department of Language Studies, Umeå University
Coppelie Cocq, PhD in Sámi Studies, HUMlab, Umeå University
Marika Nordström, PhD in Ethnology, Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå University

1. Titel: Narrating Sápmi. Production and transmission of indigenous knowledge

2. Ingress: This project investigates strategies developed by Sámi communities to ensure the transmission of culturally specific knowledge. Four case studies examine more specifically how Sámi groups have elaborated modes of communication (1) between generations, (2) between herders and landowners, (3) through digital and mobile technologies and (4) through popular music. Focus lies on narrativity as a vehicle for shaping and conveying knowledge and for the articulation of identities.
The project combines a folkloristic approach and narrative analysis of data collected through in-depth interviews and participant observations, focusing on the artistic and communicative aspects of storytelling.
2. Relevance:This project, localized in Sápmi, is conducted from a Sámi perspective based on the knowledge and experience of scholars and the research environment at Umeå University, in dialogue with the community. It connects to global issues on several levels. Research on indigenous knowledge and empowerment is of immediate significance for the understanding of societal and environmental change as it comes to expression in conflicts and tensions in relation to exploitations and land rights, as well as in a media landscape where voices traditionally in the margin can break through and challenge democracy and power structures, influence the circulation of information and organize resistance.
This project also addresses one of the greatest global challenges in our contemporary societies, i.e. an aging population. Here, this challenge is approached out of a sense of tradition: the Sami community still makes use of the older generation’s knowledge and experience to a much greater extent than other parts of Swedish society. This view of the elderly as knowledge intermediaries and role models has in fact grown stronger in recent times due to the Sami identity struggle, based on which the elderly are playing an important role in the struggle for cultural survival.

12. Alf Arvidsson, Katarzyna Wolanik-Boström, Ann-Cristin Winroth and Krister Stoor

1. Titel:Oral Tradition: Building an Intangible Culture Heritage

2. Ingress: Project aims to analyse narratives as cultural heritage and culture history. Focusing how storytellers adapt, recreate and interpret narratives as performances to societal contexts. The study has a global and an indigenous perspective, comparison with Swedish situation.

13. Peter Sköld, Arctic Research Centre and Centre for Sami Research

1. Titel: Sami historical demography

2. Ingress: The demographic transition of the Sami have been under investigation for several years. Together with Gabriella Nordin I continue these investigations, presently focusing on marriage patterns and migration

3.Relevance: The work is important not least for the understanding of the colonization and the epidemiological transition in Swedish Sápmi.