The thesis studies the representation of prehistory as a part of the making and remaking of ethnic identities in Northern Sweden from the end of the 19th Century until today, thus dealing with archaeology and prehistory in relation to issues such as identity, memory and politics. The thesis takes as its point of departure the constitution of a Swedish national identity and memory in the late 19th Century and subsequent decades, followed by studies of, mainly later, representations of Sámi, Kvenish (“Kvänsk”) and North Bothnian (“Norrbottnisk”) collective identities. The study material consists of texts, primarily analyzed through discourse and narrative analysis. The thesis demonstrates how the constitution of a Swedish national identity in Northern Sweden constructed a dichotomy between an imagined civilized “Swedishness”, belonging to the future, and an imagined primitive Sámi Other, belonging to the past. It is argued that this discursive boundary work has not just situated some persons and their everyday life in a marginal position as a visible Sámi Other, but has also situated a substantial number of the inhabitants of Northern Sweden more or less in liminality and marginality in relation to the national identity structure. This has created a need for people to officially represent a more satisfactory collective identity, which includes a rewriting of the prehistory of the area. The last chapter relates the results to studies of similar cases in colonial and postcolonial contexts outside Europe. The essentialist view of identity and history present in several of the studied representations is also discussed. The thesis emphasizes the importance of a more nuanced view of relationships of ethnicity, domination and subordination, and the associated formation of collective memories, in Northern Sweden. Discourses of ethnicity and domination often function through simplifying dichotomies, but dichotomies alone cannot explain real conditions and consequences of these matters.

The present study comparatively examined the socio-political and economic transformation of the indigenous Sámi in Sweden and the Indian American in the United States of America occurring first as a consequence of colonization and later as a product of interaction with the modern territorial and industrial state, from approximately 1500 to 1900. The first colonial encounters of the Europeans with these autochthonous populations ultimately created an imagery of the exotic Other and of the noble savage. Despite these disparaging representations, the cross-cultural settings in which these interactions took place also produced the hybrid communities and syncretic life that allowed levels of cultural accommodation, autonomous space, and indigenous agency to emerge. By the nineteenth century, however, the modern territorial and industrial state rearranges the dynamics and reaches of power across a redefined territorial sovereign space, consequently, remapping belongingness and identity. In this context, the status of indigenous peoples, as in the case of Sámi and of Indian Americans, began to change at par with industrialization and with modernity. At this point in time, indigenous populations became a hindrance to be dealt with the legal re-codification of Indigenousness into a vacuumed limbo of disenfranchisement. It is, thus, the modern territorial and industrial state that re-creates the exotic into an indigenous Other. The present research showed how the initial interaction between indigenous and Europeans changed with the emergence of the modern state, demonstrating that the nineteenth century, with its fundamental impulses of industrialism and modernity, not only excluded and marginalized indigenous populations because they were considered unfit to join modern society, it also re-conceptualized indigenous identity into a constructed authenticity.

This essay is about the photographer Lotten von Düben and her photographing of the Samí people in a research expedition to Lapland in 1868 in which she took part as the expedition photographer. This expedition is taking place in the mountainous area of Kvikkjokk [Huhttán in Lule-samí]. Lotten von Düben´s husband Gustaf von Düben is a Medical doctor, Anthropologist and Professor at the Karolinska Institutet and is the head of the research expedition. Lottens´s role in the expedition is to document for her husband who has taken on his ageing colleague Anders Retzius work of cataloguing his well-recognized collection of Lapp-skulls, and in addition conducts his own research of what he refers to as “the people as such”.  The essay is also about my own personal heritage as a Samí descendent where I in particular analyze Lotten von Düben´s photographs taken of my far distant relatives, representatives of the family Granström. The aim of my research is to explore the expedition and the scenery of Lotten von Düben´s photographing, which I refer to as “Photographing in the Safari of Lapland”. Through picture analysis and based on a post-human, new materialist feminist approach, I deconstruct the very moment of photographing and image development with the aim to develop new narratives, stories which are previously not told. The picture analysis includes also photographs relating to Lotten and her photographs in the  post-safari phase, emphasizing the photography´s and the public. With an intersectional approach I also deconstruct Lotten von Düben as female photographer and the context relating to this. The essay is about imagining the activity of thinking differently and wandering and get off the beaten track. It is about skilled hands and esthetics, technical innovations, modern science and social political movements; a melting pot of phenomena’s which cannot be taken apart, but binds each other sequence through sequence. The essay is about a camera and sensitive meetings, about binary social relations, power structures and unquestioned science, about otherness and self and moving in between. / <p>It is very interesting and appealing that the focus is put on the female photographer Lotten von Duben and the role of the camera in the knowledge production. Furthermore, the student’s urge to go beyond the known narratives and to try to think and write differently is highly appreciated and relevant. Interesting, appealing and important thesis that contributes to the field of knowledge of Gender Studies. It is also a creative thesis in terms of the chosen methods that promote different narratives that may add to new ways of thinking.</p>

Archaeological evidence has become an important part of the argument for the Indigenous peoples of several countries in legal proceedings concerning their rights. This thesis aims to explore how archaeologists and archaeological research are affected by acting as expert witnesses or being used as evidence in these proceedings. Another aim is to explore the differences and similarities between Sweden and Canada in these matters. The main material consists of interviews with seven archaeologists, four Swedish and three Canadian, whose research in various ways have been involved in legal proceedings concerning the rights of Indigenous peoples: The Sámi in Sweden and the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The analysis of the interviews is based on seven themes: awareness, impact, responsibility, experience, objectivity, archaeology and law and consequences. The result shows several things. It shows that the issue of archaeology in legal proceedings is a sensitive matter, and that the archaeologists have somewhat ambivalent feelings about it. It also shows that the involvement of archaeologists and archaeological evidence in these legal proceedings raises discussions about ethics, objectivity, and reputation. One conclusion to be drawn is that there is need for more open discussion and education on the subject.

Abstract This ethnological bachelor level essay investigates how suicide is looked upon amongst the Sámi people (in Sweden) from cultural perspectives. The subject is studied by interviewing ten respondents who have experienced suicide in their closeness, mainly within their family at some point between 1980- 2020. Most respondents and all their deceased relatives are of Sámi origin.  The study found that suicide has occurred amongst people with vastly different living conditions, all over the Swedish parts of Sápmi. The deceased consists of 7 men and 3 women, ages 20 – 60. The study analysis focuses upon how the respondents explain their relative’s mental ill-health and suicide, because from an ethnologic perspective a lot of knowledge about the cultural understanding of suicide can be found within their model of explanation.  The results of the study show that the respondents first explanation on the direct question vary widely, it can be mental illness, alcoholism as well as a fragile persona. But by analysing the explanation in it´s cultural context a more complex picture evolves, where their shared experiences as Sámi occur. The study found potential reasons for mental ill-health amongst the Sami such as different postcolonial scars that still today occur in many contexts, ethnic discrimination as well as other difficulties as a minority population. The main issue why Sámi who experience mental ill-health do not seek professional help nor help from within their own group is explained by a tradition of silence within the Sámi culture.

In the Forest Sámi community (Skogssameby) of Gällivare in northeastern Sweden, reindeer husbandry is in peril as commercial interests degrade viable reindeer habitat. Among clear-cut forest and young plantations, between highways and railroad tracks, reindeer seek dwindling food. Pressed into smaller and smaller patches of land, they become easier targets for large predators and run out of food more rapidly, forcing greater intervention by herders to ensure the survival of the reindeer. Two large wind power development projects, which, if built, will dominate the landscape, could catalyze a collapse in reindeer husbandry in Gällivare Sameby (Sámi community) from which reindeer herders and the reindeer population may struggle to recover. This loss would be catastrophic from human rights, ecological, and sustainability perspectives. Reindeer husbandry is a key cultural activity for the Sámi people, Europe’s only recognized Indigenous group; reindeer are also native to Sweden, and even a localized collapse in the population could have far-reaching ramifications for the local ecosystem; and reindeer are a critical source of sustainable food in the harsh arctic and sub-arctic climate of Sápmi. This case study is concerned with the pressures and encroachments on reindeer husbandry that have been observed by Henrik Andersson, a reindeer herder, activist, and board member of Gällivare Forest Sámi community. Through four weeks of fieldwork, including participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, I determined the issues that Henrik considered most pressing and attempted to gain a holistic understanding of the socio-ecological system. In this paper, I have examined the main challenges to the viability of reindeer husbandry in Gällivare Skogssameby and their relationship to one another and discussed the extent to which these challenges are caused and exacerbated by ongoing colonization of Swedish Sápmi and based in Sweden’s colonial history in the region. / Dálkke

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to critically examine the relationship between the Swedish state and the indigenous Sámi people, with special attention to land-use conflicts. Throughout history, the Swedish state has subjected the Sámi people to severe violations of their human and indigenous rights, such as forced relocation and land acquisition. Because of the historical context, and because it has been used in previous research on the Swedish-Sámi situation, the thesis uses settler colonial theory. The method is Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) on communicative events from the government, state-owned forest enterprises and Sámi actors. Three research questions guided the analysis: 1) How does the proposed law of consultations describe the possibility for Sámi influence? 2) Are the state owned forestry enterprises reproducing settler colonial power structures in Sápmi? 3) How do Sámi actors describe the state’s forest politics? The conclusions were that it is uncertain if the proposed law of consultations satisfies requirements of free and prior informed consent (FPIC) as they are formulated in international law. Furthermore, the state-owned forestry enterprise Sveaskog reproduces settler colonial structures with some of their statements, for example by relating to state ownership of land that was stolen from Sámi people as unproblematic. Lastly, Sámi actors mostly portray the state’s forest politics in a negative light, emphasizing how the space for reindeer husbandry is shrinking due to irresponsible forestry methods.

I have in this thesis problematized the Swedish climate transition potentially making Sweden one of the first fossil free welfare states in the world. The forest industry has been designated as one of the central components of climate transition in that it will help replace fossil fuels and other unsustainable materials. One group being affected by the increased forestry is that of the Sámi reindeer herders. Not only are they already affected by the effects of climate change to a great extent, but the forest industry in turn causes problems for reindeer husbandry and is a direct source of reduced quality in forests which provide lichen, the primary food source for reindeer. I have conducted interviews with five reindeer herders in the Malå forest Sámi village, in Västerbotten, in northern Sweden, to gain a keener understanding of the effects of climate change and the forest industry on reindeer herding, from a security perspective. The results show that the interviewees perceive climate change and large-scale forestry as a threat to their livelihood connected to reindeer husbandry and, in turn, a significant part of Sámi culture and existence, and that the two exacerbate the effects of each other. Among the effects, are the loss of forest that provides shelter and sustenance for reindeer, as well as the wellbeing and spirituality of the reindeer herders. Using theories drawn from Anthropocene and postcolonial literature, I hereby problematize the climate transition in Sweden in that it is based on a particular way of viewing the relationship between humans and nature. This causes problems for reindeer husbandry, and ultimately a reduction in security for reindeer herders that is reminiscent of and upholding the frictional and colonial bonds between Sweden and Sápmi (the region inhabited by Sámi people).

The purpose of this essay is to analyze accessibility too Sámi archives in Sweden today. A new proposal to change the archival legislation in Sweden was published 2019 but have not yet become effective. The proposal highlights that the archives’ purpose is access and that the Sámi archives are an important part of the cultural heritage. Recently, in 2023, a new search portal – Nuohtti - for digital Sámi archival materials was launched. The search portal links Sámi materials not just from Sápmi but all of Europe. The portal is managed jointly by the state archives in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Both Norway and Finland have a state Sámi archive but in Sweden no one has that responsibility, Sámi archives are scattered at different institutions both governmental and privet ones. Grounded in postmodern archival theory and based on the theoretical perspectives: Power, knowledge, representation, and provenance this essay examines the concept of access too Sami archives and the possibilities and challenges that may arise. The study was conducted whit a qualitative research method using content analysis and semi-structured interviews. The source material consists of governmental reports, information material from the archives, debate articles, interviews, and the search portal Nuohtti.I interviewed three archivists at two archives. One interview with an archivist from the state archive Riksarkivet and one interview with two archivists from the Sami archive at Ájtte museum in Jokkmokk. The results show that a challenges with making Sámi archives accessible includes the lack of a state Sámi archive that gathers both archives and Sámi knowledge. It also shows that how Sámi archives are accessible is important both online and physical. The context to the records and ethical consideration is important to consider when making Sámi archives accessible. The new search portal Nuotti takes much of the difficulties into account and makes access easier to a wider audience.

Indigenous peoples are living all over the world. In Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, live the last indigenous peoples of Europe, the Sámi people. Just like many other indigenous peoples in the world they need to find a way to coexist with the majority population in their home state. The coexistence creates many conflicts of interests between the state and the Sámi people. One of the biggest issues that the Sámi people face is regarding land use and self-determination. Norway and Sweden have been selected as the analysis units and this study deals with how the Sámi parliaments and the county administrations view and work with these matters. This study is based on a qualitative method, using semi-structured interviews with representatives from two different county administrations in Sweden, and one in Norway, as well as one from each Sámi parliament. The result will be analyzed by using the theories of Will Kymlika: “Multicultural citizenship: a liberal theory of minority rights” and Amartya Sen: “Development of freedom”. We have reached the conclusion that the county administrations are advocating for the rights of the Sámi people and they receive assignments from the state to handle it. Although it is not done with enough resources and tools to ensure a sustainable future for them. This issue is related to the historical and judicial factors coupled with the green transition industry.