In the pre-Christian Sámi era places in the nature were believed to be sacred and connected to different gods or the spirit world. The sacred places often had a sacred place name and several of the sacred place names are still here today. One of the sacred places were sáiva-lakes which were believed to be sacred lakes that had two lakebeds, where the second or lower lakebed were considered connected to the spirit world. Sáiva-lakes were considered to be great fishing lakes but there were some rules that the fisherman had to obey to such as there had to be complete silence while fishing otherwise the fish would disappear down to the second lakebed. The sáiva-lakes were also connected to sacrificial practises, there were both sacrifices to the lakes or to sieidi stones on the lake shore for fishing luck or as a thank you for the fishes received. There were also sometimes bigger sacrificial places with different animal bones, sieidi stones and sometimes metal objects.Little is known or written about sáiva-lakes and most descriptions of sáiva-lakes comes from historic sources. The aim of this thesis is to research and contribute to more knowledge about sáiva-lakes and sacred traditions by lakes and watercourses in Northern Scandinavia. The main focus is to study sáiva-lakes both from a sacred and a nature perspective as well as to analyse how sáiva-lakes relate to archaeological sites and other sacred places and place names in their surroundings.The theoretic perspective applied on the thesis is mainly new animism and phenomenology which is applied to give a perspective on the landscape and nature. The study is based on archaeological material, historic sources, field excavations done by the author and a GIS analysis. The study shows that sáiva-lakes were connected to sacrificial practises and that sáiva-lakes often have other sacred places and places names in areas around the lakes. In a larger perspective the study of sáiva-lakes shows the perspective of a cultural landscape, and the aspect of sacred traditions by lakes and watercourses.

This thesis examines how the gendering of ethnicity in the Swedish Reindeer Grazing Act of 1928 (RBL 1928) was part of a colonial structure of violence. The research context in which this thesis places itself is in the intersection of previous scholarship on the colonial interest in controlling Indigenous marriage, and scholarship on Swedish colonial history in Sápmi. The theoretical framework for the thesis is made up by an understanding of violence, settler colonial extinction in fact, intersectionality, and control over women’s reproduction as intertwined phenomenon.  The study consists of an analysis of the law in question using a feminist policy analysis and the method ‘What’s the problem represented to be’; as well as a source critical reading of archival materials such as magazine clippings, protocols, legal decisions, letters, questionnaires, and transcribed interviews with Sámi interviewees.  RLB 1928 gendered ethnicity so that Sámi women who married non-Sámi men lost their reindeer herding rights, and with that their Sáminess. This is a form of epistemic violence, changing the way Sámi women can relate to their Sáminess. The effects the provision in RBL 1928 controlling marriage had on Sámi women were both economic and social. The economic violence that Sámi women were exposed to consisted of access to land as well as material property being taken from them. When women lost their juridical Sáminess, they risked being isolated from their communities and culture, making out a form of violence here framed as violence of exclusion. The gendering of ethnicity also affected the Sámi society as a whole, as it posed a threat of extinction in fact of the Sámi population.

This study examines the cultural practices of the Sámi people and how they are affected by climate (in)justice within the European Union (EU). The establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has led many global actors such as the EU to commit and implement sustainable mitigation strategies. This paper explores if the EU in pursuit of sustainable development has neglected human rights issues through its mitigation strategies. This is important to understand in order to safeguard indigenous communities´ rights within the EU in light of the climate crisis and to avoid climate injustices in the form of racism, discrimination, and exclusion. This study makes use of three theoretical frameworks: green colonialism, environmental and climate justice, and textual analysis as a method to analyse gathered material. This paper argues that the Sámi and their cultural practices are neglected within decision-making processes and sustainable mitigation strategies, threatening Sámi livelihood security and their cultural identity. The analysis as part of a larger issue highlights tensions within sustainable development pursuits on a global level.

In this study a comparative approach between both the Sámi of northern Sweden and the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota in relation to the constructions of the Letsi Reservoir and Garrison Dams will be given. The comparison will help create an understanding of what kinds of impacts they had to a number of factors. These factors include financial, environmental and cultural impact to the aforementioned groups, with the Imperial mindsets of the State in question.

This study investigates how to enhance Sámi participation in EU Arctic policymaking processes by adopting and adapting participatory practices from the Arctic Council. Through a qualitative content analysis of policy documents and elite interviews, the study identifies that the EU can learn from the Arctic Council by recognizing the Sámi as internal actors, developing their collaborative platforms, and integrating Indigenous Knowledge into policymaking processes. This thesis develops a conceptual framework, integrating the concepts of procedural and intergovernmental self-determination, epistemic belonging, and organizational interdependency to define meaningful Indigenous participation and influence, which guides the analysis. Using this framework, the study contrasts the Arctic Council’s successful practices, where Indigenous Peoples Organizations are treated as equals, with the EU’s tendency to view the Sámi as an external Indigenous group outside of EU borders. The study identifies opportunities for the EU to translate participatory mechanisms that reflect the Sámi’s unique position and integrate their knowledge, as well as barriers such as treaty and resource constraints. By translating Artic Council practices into soft-law, the EU can create an inclusive atmosphere, contributing to meaningful Sámi participation.

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Throughout the history of archaeology, the Sámi (the indigenous people in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in the Russian Federation) have been conceptualized as the “Others” in relation to the national identity and (pre)history of the modern states. It is only in the last decades that a field of Sámi archaeology that studies Sámi (pre)history in its own right has emerged, parallel with an ethnic and cultural revival among Sámi groups. This dissertation investigates the notions of Sámi prehistory and archaeology, partly from a research historical perspective and partly from a more contemporary political perspective. It explores how the Sámi and ideas about the Sámi past have been represented in archaeological narratives from the early 19th century until today, as well as the development of an academic field of Sámi archaeology. The study consists of four main parts: 1) A critical examination of the conceptualization of ethnicity, nationalism and indigeneity in archaeological research. 2) A historical analysis of the representations and debates on Sámi prehistory, primarily in Sweden but also to some extent in Norway and Finland, focusing on four main themes: the origin of the Sámi people, South Sámi prehistory as a contested field of study, the development of reindeer herding, and Sámi pre-Christian religion. 3) An analysis of the study of the Sámi past in Russia, and a discussion on archaeological research and constructions of ethnicity and indigeneity in the Russian Federation and the Soviet Union. 4) An examination of the claims for greater Sámi self-determination concerning cultural heritage management and the debates on repatriation and reburial in the Nordic countries. In the dissertation, it is argued that there is a great need for discussions on the ethics and politics of archaeological research. A relational network approach is suggested as a way of opening up some of the black boxes and bounded, static entities in the representations of people in the past in the North.

Abstract This dissertation looks into the meanings of the duodji, Sámi handicrafts. The study approaches duodji as an institution that regulates, defines, and produces the meanings of the duodji in different ways. The research material – Sámi Parliament Statements, Committee Memorandums, Craftsmen's Seminar Speeches, and Interviews with Duodji Entrepreneurs – are interpreted by means of discourse analysis. The theoretical framework is social constructivism, which is tangibly defined by the concepts of social norms and commercial branding. The research questions are how the duodji institution is built and how it produces the meanings of the duodji, and how the norms and brands of duodji work in this process. The aim is to find out the role of duodji as a mirror and interpreter of the Sámi society and to explore how the Sámi political and economic phenomena are reflected in the meanings of the Duodji. The research shows that in the 1970s a discursive shift was taking place in the duodji, whereby the duodji was incorporated into the Sámi ethnic politics and it became strongly institutionalized. As a consequence, the continuous meaning negotiations of the duodji are the core of the existence of the duodji institution. The formal duodji institution seeks to produce representative and meaningful duodji through, inter alia, duodji picture books and public statements concerning handicrafts. As a social institution, duodji is linked to social norms and their control. The control of norms is not so much the subject of duodji authenticity, but the power relations within the Sámi social interaction. The commercial duodji institution builds brands that utilise norms and norm control as well as representational duodji discourses. / Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjan aiheena on duodjin eli saamelaisen käsityön merkitykset. Tutkimuksessa duodjia lähestytään instituutiona, joka säätelee, määrittelee ja tuottaa duodjin merkityksiä eri tavoin. Tutkimusaineistoa eli saamelaiskäräjälausuntoja, komiteamietintöjä, käsityöntekijöiden seminaaripuheenvuoroja ja duodjiyrittäjien haastatteluja tulkitaan diskurssinalyysin keinoin. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä on sosiaalinen konstruktionismi, jota konkretisoidaan sosiaalisen normin ja kaupallisen brändin käsitteillä. Tutkimuksessa kysytään, miten duodji-instituutio rakentuu, miten se tuottaa duodjin merkityksiä sekä miten duodjin normit ja brändit toimivat tässä prosessissa. Tavoitteena on selvittää duodjin roolia saamelaisen yhteiskunnan peilinä ja tulkkina sekä tutkia, miten saamelaisten poliittiset ja taloudelliset ilmiöt heijastuvat duodjin merkityksissä. Tutkimuksessa käy ilmi, että 1970-luvulla duodjin kohdalla tapahtui diskursiivinen käänne: duodji otettiin osaksi saamelaista etnopolitiikkaa ja se myös institutionalisoitui voimakkaasti. Käänteen seurauksena duodjista käydään jatkuvaa merkityskamppailua. Muodollinen duodji-instituutio pyrkii tuottamaan edustuksellista ja merkityksiltään yhtenäistä duodjia muun muassa duodjin kuvakirjojen ja käsityötä koskevien julkisten lausuntojen kautta. Sosiaalisena instituutiona duodji kytkeytyy sosiaalisiin normeihin ja niiden kontrollointiin. Normikontrolli ei niinkään kohdistu duodjin aitouteen, vaan valtasuhteisiin saamelaisten sosiaalisessa vuorovaikutuksessa. Kaupallinen duodji-instituutio rakentaa brändejä, jotka hyödyntävät normeja ja normikontrollia sekä edustuksellisen duodjin diskursseja. / Čoahkkáigeassu Nákkosgirjji fáddán leat duoji mearkkašumit. Dutkamuš lahkona duoji institušuvdnan, mii mudde, meroštallá ja buvttada duoji mearkkašumiid sierra vugiiguin. Dutkanmateriála nugo sámediggecealkámušat, kommišuvnnasmiehttamušat, duojáriid seminárasáhkavuorut ja duodjefitnodatdolliid jearahallamat dulkojuvvojit diskursaanalysa vugiiguin. Teorehtalaš refereansarápma lea sosiála konstruktionisma, man sosiála norpma ja gávppálaš brándda doahpagat konkretiserejit. Dutkamuš jearrá, mot duodji institušuvdnan šaddá ja mot dat buvttada duoji mearkkašumiid ja mot duoji norpmat ja bránddat doibmet dan proseassas. Ulbmilin lea čielggadit duoji rolla sámeservodaga speadjalin ja dulkan ja dutkat mot sápmelaččaid politihkalaš ja ekonomalaš ihtagat huksejit duoji mearkkašumiid. Dutkamušas boahtá ovdan ahte 1970-logus dáhpáhuvai duoji buohta diskursiiva nuppástus, goas duodji váldojuvvui sámi etnopolitihka oassin ja dat sakka gievrrui instituhttan. Dan dihte duodji-institušuvnna guovddážis leat leamašan geažos áigge ráđđádallamat duoji mearkkašumiin. Duodji formála institušuvdnan viggá buvttadit ebmos ja mearkkašumiid dáfus oktilaš duoji earret eará duodjegovvagirjjiid ja duodjái guoskevaš almmolaš cealkámušaid bokte. Duodji sosiála institušuvdnan laktása sosiála norpmaide ja daid kontrolleremii. Norbmakontrolla ii nuge čuoza duoji eaktivuhtii muhto sápmelaččaid váldegaskavuođaide vuorrováikkuhusas. Duodji gávppálaš institušuvdna hukse bránddaid, mat atnet ávkin norpmaid ja norbmakontrolla ja epmoš duoji diskurssaid.

The Nordic countries continued disregard for their colonial past and persistent discrimination and forced assimilation has created a hostile environment for the indigenous population within the nation-states. The contemporary situation faced by the Sámi peoples of northern Europe is beset with inadequate political representation, an unequal hieratical structure, and a neglect of the Sápmi region's nature preservation. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a contemporary perspective on the protection of indigenous rights as well as the political emancipation of the national Sámi communities contrasted against the academic research on the topic. Through the use of interviews with Sámi political and cultural figures various themes were developed that concerned the current situation. These were then used in the analysis to create a red thread through the academic literature and its connection and points of contention with the perception presented by the interviewees. This analysis showcases the hierarchical structure and subsequent insufficient political representation of the Sámi peoples and the current movement to reject the nation-states' agendas and challenge their policies rather than comply and try to negotiate for influence on matters that concern the indigenous group. Additionally, the green colonialism that continues the Nordic countries’ neglect and discrimination is outlined, as well as how international organisations work towards improving indigenous rights by criticizing the nation-states. The interviews confirm how the national assemblies operate and regard Sámi interests as non-issues. This is further reflected in the academic literature that showcases the insufficient political representation and better chances of influence on the international scene.

The 17thcentury’s marketplaces established in the peripheral areas of Fennoscandia were revealingly intertwined in inter-cultural encounters of minorities as they were in market exchange. Historical sources supply insight in the trade between Sámi and wealthy merchants, but nonetheless they are to be criticized for beingauthored from an outside perspective. The archaeological record, however, provides an alternative approach to knowledge about the history of trade in Sápmi. This paper proposes to shed light on what archaeology can reveal about two contemporary marketplaces: Arjeplog and Arvidsjaur. This is accomplished through compiling and presenting the archaeological record of each marketplace in two separate case studies. Sequentially, some observations are discussed within the context of each marketplace, and later the archaeological record of them both are juxtaposed to each other. Hence, minor deviations from the historical framework are considered and reviewed as the study settle in for a terminal discussion of the results. From here the archaeologically based reality of market exchange in Arjeplog and Arvidsjaur intend to function as non-biased means for the local community to raise awareness of their past, and to invoke interest in further excavations.