Research Council of Norway

Research Council of Norway

Plan of Action for

Saami Research Initiatives

Preface

In report No. 36 (1992-93) to the Norwegian Parliament Research for the Community and Report No. 52 (1992-93) to the Norwegian Parliament On Norway’s Saami Policy the Saami Parliament and the Research Council of Norway were asked to investigate issues associated with Saami research. The Saami Parliament and the Research Council agreed to make separate studies. The Report on Saami Research, presented to the Saami Parliament on 5 December 1996 concentrated on the general conditions for and organisation of Saami research. Saami Research – The Research Council’s Report described the main features and needs, including discussions regarding the extent of knowledge, recruitment and specialist networks.

The Research Council has inter alia used these two studies as the basis for drawing up this Plan of Action for its Saami Research Initiatives.

This document indicates the main lines of focus for Saami research in the Research Council of Norway over the next five years. This is the first such plan for concerted research efforts in this field. The Culture and Society Division bears responsibility for following up the Plan of Action.

The Plan of Action emphasises the importance of networks and co-operative measures, both with and between research institutions and relevant political bodies, as well as the importance of addressing ethical issues. In addition to actively seeking to include Saami research in its programmes and measures in general, the Research Council has initiated a special Programme for Saami Research. Although the programme is run by the Culture and Society Division, it will have a broad catchment area.

The Research Council’s Plan of Action for Saami Research Initiatives was adopted by the Research Council’s Executive Board on 6 September 2000.

Christian Hambro (sign.)

Director General

Arvid Hallén (sign.)

Executive Director Culture and Society Division

Preface 2

1 Introduction 4

1.1 What is Saami research? 4

1.2 Reports on Saami Research made by the Saami Parliament and the Research Council 5

1.3 Saami Research in Norway Today – Status and Needs 6

2 The Research Council’s measures 7

2.1 The inclusion of Saami research in existing measures 8

2.2 Surveying the status of knowledge 9

2.3 The Programme for Saami Research 9

2.3.1 Global priorities 10

2.3.2 Thematic organisation of the programme 10

2.3.3 Types of assistance available under the programme 10

2.4 Ethics in Saami research 10

2.5 Saami representation on the Research Council’s governing bodies 11

2.6 Strategy in respect of the research institutions 11

2.7 Contact with the Saami Parliament 11

3 Funding for Saami research 11

APPENDICES 13

A Research policy factors 14

B International guidelines 15

C Institutional strategy 17

1 Introduction

The Research Council of Norway has two aims for its Saami research initiatives. The one is to fund research that helps make it possible for the Saami to preserve and develop their language, culture and society, in accordance with the Constitution and the Saami Act. With reference to Saami issues, the Norwegian Parliament (Norwegian parliament) has expressed the opinion that the preservation of cultural identity is contingent on having a material tie[1]. For that reason, Saami research must also include fields other than those related to culture and social science.

The Research Council’s second aim is to fund research of need to the majority society concerning Saami conditions and relations between the Saami and the majority society. The latter aim is just as important as the former: The majority society knows too little about Saami culture and Saami social conditions, past and present, and has to a very limited extent had Saami issues as a part of its collective consciousness. The research should promote new knowledge and increase Saami visibility, making Saami culture part of the collective knowledge base in Norway.

The Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities, the predecessor of today’s Research Council, funded a research programme for Saami and Kven language, history and culture for ten years (1981-92). When the present Research Council of Norway was established on 1 January 1993, the programme had already been concluded, and a new programme initiative was in the incipient stages of discussion. The new programme did not come to fruition at that time, but the Research Council came to the conclusion that the Culture and Society Division should maintain a pronounced emphasis on Saami research. MNOK 3 to 3.5 has been earmarked annually for Saami research via Culture and Society’s budget, and calls for proposals have been made once or twice a year for Saami research in the humanities and social sciences. Saami-relevant projects have also been funded under programmes run by other divisions of the Research Council, without this having been a major priority.

1.1 What is Saami research?

Several attempts have been made to define what Saami research is. There is an account of this in Saami Research – The Research Council’s Report, November 1998. The attempts to define the issue have been part of, and in turn led to, debate within Saami research groups. This debate is not yet closed. No unambiguous perception of what Saami research is and should be has been reached. The Research Council considers it important to help advance scholarly reflection on these questions.

From Saami quarters, three elements are often brought up in the discussion of definitions:

-  The research must address Saami topics (e.g. language, culture, history, religion, social conditions, etc.).

-  The research must be of relevance to the Saami community.

-  The research must be conducted by Saami people.

In its report[2], the Research Council expressed the following attitude to the definition issue:

For its funding of research in this field, the Research Council does not attach decisive importance to whether or not there is one generally accepted definition of Saami research. The Research Council will be in a position to fund research of relevance to the Saami community and research about Saami conditions that are of interest to others as well as to the Saami. The Research Council will help facilitate recruitment of Saami to research, but will not make funding under the designation ‘Saami research’ contingent on being conducted by Saami – although it is acknowledged that the quality of the research may in some cases be improved if the researchers themselves are Saami.

1.2 Reports on Saami Research made by the Saami Parliament and the Research Council

Two White Papers requested that the Saami Parliament and the Research Council of Norway study conditions associated with Saami research. Report No. 36 (1992-93) to the Norwegian Parliament Research for the Community asked the Research Council of Norway and the Saami Parliament to “determine how to proceed in order to obtain the requisite capability in Saami research” and asked the two institutions to “identify the fields to which they would give priority”. Report No. 52 (1992-93) to the Norwegian Parliament On Norwegian Saami Policy repeated the request, with the following addition: “A fundamental assessment of Saami research should be made, showing how the Research Council of Norway can best protect Saami interests.”

For practical reasons, the studies undertaken by the Saami Parliament and the Research Council were conducted as two separate processes. The Saami Parliament’s share of the study, completed in December 1996, concentrated on the general conditions for and organisation of Saami research. The study introduced several specific measures aimed at strengthening the overall perspective of, and responsibility for, Saami research and Saami-related research: The establishment of a separate Saami Research Council under the Saami Parliament and a Saami agency to handle ethical issues in connection with Saami research; the recruitment of more Saami to research; and that the Saami Parliament be granted the right to appoint a representative to the Executive Board of the Research Council of Norway. The Saami Parliament endorsed the recommendations made in this study on 29 May 1997 and also requested the Government to draw up a White Paper on Saami research and higher education.

The Research Council’s share of the study, Saami Research – The Research Council’s Report, was conducted as an executive study describing the main features and needs, including the scope of knowledge, recruitment and specialist networks. In March 1998, the draft of the Research Council’s Report was sent for consultation to 56 organisations. The Research Council received 33 responses, several of which contained very thorough and extremely useful alerts and additions. In the light of these, the report was revised on a number of points, and the final version was made available in November 1998. The report points out the following conditions:

- There is a great need for increased expertise and recruitment to Saami research;

- Saami must be recruited to all fields of research;

- Special measures are needed to promote Saami research training;

- The Saami language constitutes a distinct dimension of the research;

- There is a great need for diversity of fields and themes, and importance should be attached to inter-disciplinary approaches in Saami research.

The Research Council has always intended to use the two reports as a basis for drawing up a Plan of Action for its Saami Research Initiatives. There are also several other official reports and documents that are important references for working with Saami issues. This is mentioned in the Research Council’s report[3] and elsewhere. Report No. 39 (98-99) to the Norwegian Parliament Research at the beginning of a new era (the White Paper on Research), released after the report was completed, is also an important reference, making the following comments on the proposals presented in the Saami Parliament’s Report:

Regarding the establishment of a separate Saami Research Council, the Government says:

When it comes to the question of a more comprehensive organisation of Saami research at the national level, the Government finds it natural to take its point of departure in the opportunities inherent in today’s research system rather than establishing new bodies. This will require the Research Council to treat Saami-relevant research in a more comprehensive manner and across its own divisional boundaries…. Collaboration with research-oriented institutions involved in Saami research and with the Saami Parliament will also be important in order to counteract fractionalisation. The Government also requests the Research Council to be aware that Saami interests and skills be represented to a reasonable degree on the Council’s governing bodies…. Beyond this, the Saami Parliament can assess its own need for a subordinate agency to address research issues.

When it comes to the question of a separate Saami body for ethical issues, the White Paper on Research points out that three national research ethics committees have been set up and will increasingly focus attention on research about Saami conditions, and that the Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs will be concerned that Saami expertise be represented to a reasonable extent when appointing new members to the committees.

The White Paper on Research underlines the importance of more Saami being given the opportunity of achieving research qualifications, and that recruitment to Saami research take place from a larger range of fields than at present. The Research Council is urged to examine how recruitment to Saami research can be improved, in addition to the research institutions shouldering an active responsibility for recruitment. The report especially emphasises the Research Council’s responsibility for taking the initiative for Saami research in all the fields it covers, mentioning as an appropriate policy instrument student grants for Saami-related graduate studies in a broader range of disciplines than has been the case so far.

1.3 Saami Research in Norway Today – Status and Needs

Most Saami research is conducted at three institutions: The University of Tromsø, the Nordic Saami Institute and the Saami University College. Of these, the Nordic Saami Institute and the Saami University College are Saami-language institutions. A number of other university colleges are also involved in this field. As of December 1996, researchers themselves defined about 250 research projects as Saami research. Of that number, more than 70 per cent were in the humanities and social sciences. This situation is described in relative detail in the reports on Saami research from the Saami Parliament and the Research Council, so no more details will be given here.

Saami Research – The Research Council’s Report discusses Saami research needs, as expressed in reports and other official documents, in institutions’ research plans and in views expressed by the research community:

Diversity of fields and themes

First and foremost, the need for diversity is emphasised. This need is engendered by the swift changes in the development process sweeping over Saami communities. The Saami themselves and the majority society both need basic research and action-oriented research that illuminates the Saami’s special linguistic, cultural and historic situation, i.e. research that can help develop their living-conditions and businesses, and research that can fortify and further develop their rights in the Norwegian majority society. Earlier White Papers[4] place heavy emphasis on the need to recruit Saami to research in a wide variety of disciplines – particularly mentioning the humanities and social sciences, medicine and science.

Other reports attach importance to historical research (including religion and legal history), linguistics and media science, educational research and research on the Saami Parliament. The research institutions point out a need for targeting research on health and living-conditions, research that can assist cultural development and research of relevance for environmental management and economic development.

Recruitment and skills development – special needs

In the present situation, the demand for academics with Saami skills is so great, also at the research level, that it is not possible to fill all existing posts. This applies particularly to fields taught and researched at colleges and universities, whilst the same skills are in demand by society in general. The Research Council will devote particular attention to this in its further efforts to recruit people to Saami research.

The doctoral programmes currently found in Norway are rooted in Norwegian scholarly traditions and offer nothing of particular interest in the Saami field. It seems natural that the awarding of a doctorate in a Saami topic should require the candidate to follow the general part of the curriculum for university research training, but the Research Council also urges the University of Tromsø to collaborate more closely with the universities of Oulu, Rovaniemi and Umeå with a view to devising special programmes for training in Saami research.