Storytelling presented in digital archives can provide indigenous communities with a voice needed to tell stories and thus enhance the society’s understanding for that community. The objective was to evaluate a digital archive prototype from a perspective of rendering Sami stories and storytelling. This was done by collecting data with the method Research through Design where a prototype was designed and demonstrated in two steps to the indigenous people of Scandinavia known as the Sami people. The findings suggest that the prototype can render Sami storytelling to some extent but that digital archives, in regard to indigenous cultures, must be designed with sensitive ethicalities in mind. These digital archives must also be designed so that immersive stories can be rendered whilst also providing the indigenous people the right to be prosumers in order to provide them the empowerment to own their own culture. These issues and future research are discussed in the paper.

Abstract Sápmi, located in the North of Fennoscandia, including Finland, Sweden, Norway and parts of Russia, is the home of the majority of the indigenous Sámi people. With a high amount of natural resources in the shape of minerals, forests, and energy extraction, Sápmi is a place of a dispute between different actors such as the Nordic governments, corporations, locals, and Europe’s only indigenous people, the Sámis. On 22 March 2022, the Swedish Government granted a mining license to mobilize an iron ore mine in Gállok, the Swedish side of Sápmi, which has contributed to land-use conflicts and discrimination against the Sámi people. Thus, this issue continues today, making it vital to continue research on the land-use conflict in Sápmi. This qualitative study method uses an abductive approach and case study design. The interview method used is semi-structured interviews with purposive sampling to collect Sámi interviewees. Indigenous methodologies are used to conduct ethical research and apply Johan Galtung's violence triangle as a theory. The study's objective is to understand the land-use conflict in Gállok through the Sámi perspective. The study looks at the methods external actors use to access Gállok and the consequences of a mine in the area. The thesis findings showed that the three violences are visible in the land-use conflict in Gállok. The study presents that the methods used to access Gállok originates from education and media, furthers the laws and regulations by the Swedish authorities and the use of language to promote a green transition and civilization. The consequences found was the negative impact on the Sámi development through their perspective, hindering the chances to continue Sámi livelihood and an effect on Sámi well-being and identity. Additionally, the findings showed that the violences were differently dominating. However, cultural violence has shown to be the core contribution to structural and direct violence. Future research can focus on an intersectional impact on the mining establishment Sámis experience and furthering a decolonizing process.

Louise Erdrich's novel Love Medicine presents a variety of voices that depict thetruths of Chippewa life and how they as a group are victims of a society that authorizesoppression and domination. Studies show that Chippewa tribes have a close connectionto nature and with each other as people. Ecofeminist critics draw analogies between theexploitation of nature and the oppression of groups such as those based on race, class,and sexuality, which results in a distortion of Native people's identity and connection tonature. Since the characters and nature are both oppressed and exploited by the U.Sgovernment, it becomes relevant to draw parallels between Erdrich's characters andnature with ecofeminism. The analysis concludes that ecofeminism can be applied toErdrich's novel because they share some values such as the importance of striving forinterconnection between humans and nature to free both from the power structure. TheChippewa characters and the U.S government can be identified in ecofeminist discourseas a set of dualisms. However, there are also some differences between ecofeminismand the way in which Erdrich depicts her Chippewa characters and nature. Erdrich’sstory shows that both female and male characters of Chippewa origin possess a sacredrelationship to Mother Earth, not only women, as ecofeminists would suggest.

The contemporary phenomenon of the global rush for farmland has generated intense debate from different actors. While the proponents embrace it as a "development opportunity", the critics dub it "land grabbing". Others use a neutral term: "arge-scale land acquisitions". Whatever terminology is used, one fact remains indisputable - since 2007 vast swathes of farmlands in developing countries have been sold or leased out to large-scale commercial farmers. Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in Africa in this regard and, as a matter of state policy, it promotes these investments in peripheral regions that are predominantly inhabited by pastoralists and other indigenous communities. So far, the focus of most of the studies on this phenomenon has been on its economic, food security and environmental aspects. The questions of land rights and political implications have been to a great extent overlooked. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to this knowledge gap by drawing upon the experience of the Gambella regional state - the epicentre of large-scale land acquisition in Ethiopia. To this end, this thesis argues that large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia is indeed redefining indigenous communities' right to land, territories and natural resources in fundamental ways. By doing so, it also threatens the post-1991 social contract - i.e. ethnic federalism - between the envisaged new Ethiopian state and its diverse communities, particularly the peripheral minorities and indigenous ethnic groups. / Church Development Service (EED) now ¿Brot für Die Welt¿

Une réévaluation de la trame historique de la diffusion du catholicisme chez les Innus de la Basse-Côte-Nord m’amène à concevoir qu’il n’y a pas eu de réelle coupure dans la transmission du catholicisme depuis les premières conversions au 17e siècle. Cette constatation est cohérente avec le fait qu’aujourd’hui, les ainés d’Unamen Shipu (La Romaine) se réclament à peu près tous du catholicisme, religion héritée de leurs ancêtres et qui jouit, de leur point de vue aussi, d’une histoire très ancienne. Néanmoins, lorsqu’on s’entretient avec ces détenteurs de savoir, on comprend rapidement que l’adoption du catholicisme n’a pas effacé les éléments dits « traditionnels » de leur cosmologie. Les histoires des ainés d’Unamen Shipu évoquent l’utilisation de pouvoir chamanique, l’intervention de puissances animales, des rêves prémonitoires et d’autres phénomènes qu’on pourrait, de prime abord, penser comme étant incompatibles avec la doctrine catholique. Ces témoignages contemporains nous amènent à comprendre que le catholicisme et le chamanisme ne forment, dans leur cas, qu’une seule et même forme d’expression religieuse. Cette thèse ne se présente cependant pas comme une étude de la conversion. Je cherche plutôt à comprendre la cosmologie innue dans les termes selon lesquels elle se présente aujourd’hui et, plus précisément, comment le catholicisme fait partie de ce paysage cosmologique. Pour ce faire, j’utilise des méthodes ethnographiques, comparatives et historiques. Depuis 2015, je cumule plus de 11 mois de terrain dans la communauté d’Unamen Shipu, dont plus de trois ont été passés en forêt au sein de groupes de chasse. Mes expériences ethnographiques et mes entretiens avec les ainés d’Unamen Shipu orientent ainsi mes recherches historiques en me donnant des clés de compréhension, mais aussi des bases linguistiques pour appréhender les documents historiques concernant les Innus. Je propose de comprendre la cosmologie innue comme une hiérarchie de la vie, c’est-à-dire un cosmos au sein duquel les différents existants – humains, animaux, chamanes, entités-maîtres, Dieu, etc. – entrent en relations à partir de leur position respective, ce qui implique un point de vue situé et des structures relationnelles contextuelles à la position occupée par chacun. Le cosmos comme hiérarchie de la vie est un espace relationnel cohérent qui se déploie à travers une série de niveaux organisés de façon hiérarchique et récursive. Les deux limites de cette série représentent les frontières du système, marqué par l’infini et l’universel, où se situe des principes de causes immanentes : manitushiun et tshishe-manitu. Ce point de vue théorique m’amène à définir les grands paramètres de la socialité innue à partir des structures relationnelles qui marquent les relations entre les existants. Cette analyse dégage toute l’importance du don, mais aussi son ambigüité fondamentale qui fonde un régime esthétique particulier ainsi que différents devenirs relationnels basés sur la réciprocité positive (le don) et négative (la prédation). Une analyse des termes utilisés par les Innus pour nommer Dieu m’amène à proposer que l’idée catholique d’un Dieu suprême fut tout-à-fait compatible avec le cosmos hiérarchique des Innus. D’autre part, j’en viens également à comprendre que le discours catholique a permis de pallier l’omniprésente ambiguïté de la cosmologie et la socialité innue, ce qui se manifeste par l’émergence d’un nouveau type de spécialistes rituels et par l’adoption d’un nouvel ordre moral qui se situent dans la continuité des formes d'expressions rituelles antérieures connues des Innus. / A re-evaluation of the historical framework of the diffusion of Catholicism among the Innu of the Lower North Shore (Quebec, Canada) leads me to believe that there has been no real break in the transmission of Catholicism since the first conversions in the 17th century. This observation is consistent with the fact that nowadays, the elders of Unamen Shipu (La Romaine) almost all claim to be Catholics, a religion inherited from their ancestors and which, from their point of view, also has a very ancient history. Nevertheless, when one talks to these knowledge holders, one quickly understands that the adoption of Catholicism has not erased the so-called "traditional" elements of their cosmology. The stories of the elders of Unamen Shipu evoke the use of shamanic power, the intervention of animal powers, premonitory dreams and other phenomena which, at first sight, seems incompatible with Catholic doctrine. These contemporary testimonies thus lead us to reframe Innu religiosity and to understand that Catholicism and shamanism form, in their case, a single form of religious expression. This thesis is not, however, a study of conversion. Rather, I seek to understand Innu cosmology in the terms in which it is presented today and, more specifically, how Catholicism has been adopted from the understandings that are specific to this form of sociality. To do so, I use ethnographic, comparative, and historical methods to inform my anthropological analyses. Indeed, since 2015, I have accumulated more than 11 months of fieldwork in the Unamen Shipu community, more than three of which were spent in the forest among hunting groups. My ethnographic experiences and my interviews with the elders of Unamen Shipu orient my historical research by giving me keys to understanding, but also linguistic bases to approach ancient texts concerning the Innu. I propose to understand Innu cosmology as a hierarchy of life by which I mean space of shared relationality in which the different beings - humans, animals, shamans, master entities, God, etc. - enter into relations from their position in the hierarchy. This implies that the point of view and relational structures are contextual to the position occupied by each. The cosmos as a hierarchy of life is a coherent relational space that unfolds through a series of hierarchically and recursively organized levels. The two limits of this series represent the boundaries of the system, marked by the infinite and the universal, where the principles of immanent causes are located: manitushiun and tshishe-manitu. This theoretical point of view leads me to define the major parameters of Innu sociality on the basis of the relational structures which characterize the relations between each beings. This analysis brings out the importance of the gift, but also its fundamental ambiguity which founds a particular aesthetic regime as well as different relational futures based on positive reciprocity (the gift) and negative reciprocity (predation). An analysis of the terms used by the Innu to name God leads me to propose that the Catholic idea of a supreme God was quite compatible with the hierarchical cosmos of the Innu. On the other hand, I also conclude that the Catholic discourse has made it possible to compensate for the omnipresent ambiguity of Innu cosmology and sociality, which is manifested by the emergence of a new type of ritual specialists and by the adoption of a new moral order that are situated in the continuity of the forms of ritual expression previously known to the Innu.

Solving complex sustainability problems requires diverse perspectives from different academic disciplines and non-academic actors. However, no generally accepted guidelines exist on how to apply transdisciplinarity or other collaborative approaches in a research process. Therefore, applied research approaches reflect the perspectives and expectations of researchers in terms of collaboration. This thesis aims to analyse how natural scientists view and involve indigenous people and local communities in a collaborative research process. To fulfil this aim, an international natural resource-related project in the Brazilian Amazon was examined as a case study and semi-structured interviews were conducted with natural scientists. The empirical data shows that local communities are directly involved in the project, incorporating their knowledge and opinions. Although the researchers think the collaborative approach is valuable, the majority believe that local community participation and decision-making power should be enhanced. The challenges faced by scientists are the communication of science and the difficulties related to power asymmetries or social, such as cultural differences. Simultaneously, cultural and social exchange can serve as inspiration for new perspectives for scientists if they are open-minded and flexible. The most highlighted benefit is the local knowledge of the communities. Scientists maintain that they cannot conduct research without local communities’ knowledge of the environment and the forest. Therefore, communities should also benefit from the academic knowledge of the scientists and the co-produced knowledge generated through the collaboration. Furthermore, the role and help of community members in research should be acknowledged, enhancing their involvement and authority in decision-making within research.

Sea-level rise and inland flooding driven by climate change threaten the health, economic development, and social stability of Native American Tribes and Indigenous Nations. Further, loss of traditional lands threatens the cultural practices and ties to heritage that provide ontological grounding for many Indigenous Peoples. While the Federal Trust Doctrine implies a responsibility for federal policy to aid Tribes by compensating them for impacts of sea-level rise, there is no legislation securing compensation for Indigenous Nations not recognized as Tribes. Due to the incommensurable nature of the damage to Native American and Indigenous communities who lose their lands to sea-level rise, any processes of compensation must transcend relocation measures and monetary transactions. Further, to combat aid programming that perpetuates the social, legal, and cultural disenfranchisement of Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples, legislation for compensation must endorse and empower Tribes’ and Nations’ autonomy by meaningfully including their insights. This study records the perspectives of members of the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes and Gullah/Geechee Nation on climate change in the Southeastern U.S., specifically, sea-level rise washing out ancestral lands. This study’s ultimate purpose is to understand how Tribe and Nation members perceive the response and responsibility of the U.S. government in these situations. This study also presents a legal/political analysis of climate justice in these contexts, an exploration of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions as a mechanism for climate justice, and culminates in a policy proposal regarding climate justice for Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples.

Over fifty ethnic minority groups living in Bangladesh collectively demand recognition of Indigenous identity, but Bangladesh does not constitutionally recognize this identity. Historically, they experienced marginalization, discrimination, and oppression at the hands of the establishment and the political elite, including the majority. They face challenges to maintain their distinct society alongside the majority. Moreover, there is a dilemma between the concept of “indigenous people” and “small ethnic minority groups”. With this context, this dissertation concerns the topics of indigeneity, recognition, and ethnic minority rights in Bangladesh. This thesis aims to investigate the discourse of indigenous identity in Bangladesh, analyze how ethnic minority communities experience social, traditional, cultural, and political life within and outside of their community, and discuss how ethnic minority communities can maintain themselves as distinct societies. This thesis focuses on qualitative research methodology. The primary data was collected through semi-structured individual and group interviews with open-ended descriptive questions.              Besides the research problems and aims, the first chapter focuses on the research questions and explains why Bangladesh was selected as a case study for this thesis. The second chapter of this thesis focuses on the literature review. This portion of the essay examines the literature to determine what is already known in the field, identify research methods and techniques, highlight important concepts, conclusions, and theories, and identify any gaps in the articles. This section also investigates whether there is any ambivalence between the terms “indigenous” and “small ethnic groups” in academia. The third Chapter discusses methods and methodology. Then, chapter four presents an overview of the theoretical framework based on Kymlicka's liberal theory of minority rights. The fifth chapter investigates a discourse on indigenous identity in Bangladesh. In the sixth section, based on the theoretical framework, this thesis analyses findings from the data and connects them with essential international instruments and national legal policy and framework. In conclusion, this thesis summarizes the findings. In concluding remarks, it offers insights into what needs to be changed or improved in the legal framework and policies to support the cultural rights of minority ethnic communities to maintain themselves as a distinct society.

Considérant le contexte actuel entourant le rapatriement des ancêtres autochtones et des besoins formulés par ces communautés de voir ce retour s’effectuer promptement, force est de constater que les institutions québécoises ne répondent pas à ce besoin de manière proactive. Les processus de rapatriement québécois sont rares, mais sont plus fréquents au Canada et aux États-Unis. À l’aide d’une grille de critères d’analyse, je fais une comparaison entre trois études de cas canadiennes et états-uniennes afin de déterminer quels sont les éléments facilitants, les outils, les obstacles et les modes de résolution de conflit qui permettraient de mettre en place nos propres processus de rapatriement éthiques et décolonisées au Québec. Les approches diffèrent selon les deux pays : le Canada a adopté une approche localisée centrée autour de la négociation, tandis que les États-Unis ont plutôt adopté une approche rigide standardisée par des législations fédérales, les lois Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) et National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA). Quel type d’approche correspondrait le mieux à notre contexte socio-historique? Celle rigide de type NAGPRA ne répond pas aux besoins de flexibilité formulés par les Premiers Peuples. Cependant, certains éléments des législations états-uniennes auraient grand avantage à être adoptés puisqu’ils impliquent des changements nécessaires à la mise en place de processus de rapatriement efficaces (organisation des collections, inclusion de savoirs traditionnels, etc.). De plus, certains éléments juridiques autochtones pourraient être implantés dans la constitution de processus de rapatriement, qui doit être conjointe. / Considering the current context surrounding the repatriation of Indigenous ancestors and the needs expressed by these communities to see this return take place promptly, it is obvious that Quebec institutions are not responding to this need in a proactive manner. Cases of repatriation in Quebec are rare, but certain processes exist in Canada and the United States. Using a grid of analytical criteria, I compare three Canadian and American case studies in order to determine what are the facilitating elements, tools, obstacles and methods of conflict resolution which can allow us to set up our own ethical and decolonized repatriation processes in Quebec. The approaches differ depending on the two countries: Canada has adopted a localized approach centered around negotiation, the United States on the other hand has adopted a rigid approach standardized by federal legislation, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA). What type of approach would best fit our socio-historical context? The rigid NAGPRA model does not meet the flexibility needs expressed by the First Peoples, Inuits and Métis. However, certain elements of US legislation would greatly benefit from being adopted since they involve changes necessary for the establishment of effective repatriation processes (organization of collections, inclusion of traditional knowledge, etc.). In addition, certain indigenous legal elements could be implemented in the constitution of the repatriation process, which must be elaborated between equal parties.

Möjligheterna för skogsbruket och rennäringen att samexistera har sedan den industriella skogsindustrins början varit en infekterad fråga. Under 2000-talet startades projektet att införa renbruksplaner (RBP) i Sveriges samebyar med syfte att förbättra relationen mellan parterna i samråd, vilket upplevs ha uppfyllts. Renbruksplan är rennäringens motsvarighet till skogsbrukets skogsbruksplan och är ett informations- och dataverktyg med en kartläggning över renarnas betesmarker. Den här uppsatsen undersöker varför projektet med renbruksplaner har lyckats genom att använda Elinor Ostroms teori om förvaltning av en gemensam resurspool. Syftet är att illustrera möjliga förklaringsfaktorer till varför samverkan mellan skogsbruket och rennäringen upplevs ha förbättrats i och med införandet av RBP. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys har Ostrom designprinciper för självstyrande och hållbar förvaltning hittats i fem rapporter publicerade av Skogsstyrelsen i projektets slutskede. Totalt fanns det stöd i rapporterna för att sex av åtta designprinciper applicerats i och med införandet av RBP. Två av dessa, Ostrom designprincip om tydligt definierade gränser och konfliktlösningen mekanismer, kan identifieras som möjliga förklaringsfaktorer. Att dessa två principer har införts har underlättat kommunikationen mellan parterna vilket lett till större förståelse för varandras branscher och situation. / Whether forestry industry and reindeer husbandry could harmoniously coexist in northern Sweden has been debated since modern forestry started. A unique context grants indigenous people in Sweden, the Sami people, exclusive right to use land for reindeer husbandry. In the beginning of the 2000s a project was launched to create Land Use Plans for the reindeer husbandry (in Swedish Renbruksplan, RBP), which aimed to improve the relation between reindeer owners and the forestry industry. Hence, the Land Use Plan for reindeer husbandry is primarily a program for mapping reindeer graze lands. The project is considered successful for the reindeer owners as well as for the forestry. This thesis investigates why the land use plans have improved the relations between the two stakeholders by applying Elinor Ostrom´s theory about governing commons. The aim is to illustrate possible explanatory factors to why collaboration between forestry and reindeer husbandry is found to have been improved with the introduction of the land use plans. Using a qualitative content analysis, examples of Ostrom’s design principles of autonomous and sustainable management were identified in five reports published by the National Board of Forestry in the project's final phase. In total, the reports supported that six of eight design principles had been implemented since land use plans were introduced. Two of these, clearly defined boundaries and mechanisms of conflict resolution, can be identified as possible explanatory factors for the success of the project. In conclusion, the introduction of these two principals have facilitated communication between the two stakeholders, which have ensued better understanding for each other’s situations and industries.