Soil nutrient availability is a key component to understanding the boreal ecosystems, as it directly relates to plant productivity and ecosystem diversity. There is however little known about how the nutrient availability changes seasonally in the boreal forest. This study aimed to understand how soil temperature and nutrient availability changed seasonally as well as with or without reindeer grazing. This was done through measuring NH4, NO3, PO4, total N, and C:N ratio in soil samples taken in- and outside a reindeer exclosure in northern Sweden and then analyzing for differences over sampling time, grazing treatment, and the interaction of both. Differences in soil temperature were more extreme in the grazed areas, giving higher summer temperatures and lower winter temperatures, due to a decreased layer of insulating lichens. Increased soil temperatures also resulted in lowering the C:N ratio, possibly by enhancing the microbial activity leading to larger amounts of CO2 being released. No nutrients differed by grazing treatments, possibly due to the system being complex enough to contain contradicting effects. No systematical differences in seasonal nutrient levels could be found, which was deemed as surprising, but opens for the possibility of sampling one time being sufficient to have an approximation of nutrient levels all year round

The North of Sweden is undergoing what’s called a green revolution, where new exploitations arehappening in the name of green development and growth and within the frame of eco-modernism. Thisrevolution is viewed as the solution to many of our problems, one being the climate change, another beingthe de-population of many towns in the North, such as Gällivare. Because of the dominating narrative andthe continued trend of (green) growth, demand on natural resources are increasing, leading to more andmore exploitations. What’s really happening in the North is a green colonization, where we can see greatsimilarities with the industrialization of the last turn of century, when the north was talked about in termsof the land of the future, today “The New North”. This thesis aims to investigate how the current greendevelopment effects the specific site in terms of land use, exploitations, conflicts and the impact on theIndigenous activity of reindeer herding. The project is situated in Gällivare, Norrbotten, Sweden, a townthat is currently undergoing bigger transformations, largely due to the continued mining activity ofGällivare’s two mines. The continuation means demolishment or moving of houses and people, as well asexpansions claiming larger areas of the Sami Community’s land. The project has a main focus on the conflict between the mining industry and the reindeer industry, butalso take into consideration other types of exploitations, such as forest industry, wind power, urbansettlements and so on. The project challenges the dominating narrative, stating that the current status quoof development in the North might not be sustainable or just. Therefore, it also put forward two alternativefuture scenarios, one where Gällivare would be locally self-sufficient and the mining would have stopped,and the other being an automatization of the economic and domestic life, where the mining wouldcontinue. The purpose is to provide a basis for discussion and to explore how other narratives or framesfor development – not growth – would impact the site.

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.

The demand for natural resources is increasing, leading to more exploitations in northern Sweden. This project is situated in the region of Norrbotten, which is currently undergoing significant transformations due to continued mining activity, energy production, and forestry. These activities are claiming, destroying, and disrupting large areas of land. In addition, little of the resources produced from these activities benefit the communities. Sami people were nomads, moving to different hunting, fishing, and reindeer land. However, the Sami community has had southern models imposed upon them, which has affected the loss of Sami knowledge and culture. This project challenges the dominant narrative of ‘green development’, stating that the exploitations are not sustainable or just. Through the lens of sustainability, the project understands the practices of Sami culture and the value of local ecologies in the region to derive solutions. By building on nomadic practice and utilizing the land like the Sami community, this project generates resilient, productive landscapes. This project puts forward an alternative future scenario, one where Sweden is based on a distributed, decentralized structure. This thesis aims to provide strategies for a more self-sufficient, interdependent region where the connection between local communities and local ecologies is re-established.

Reindeer have been shown to alter boreal ecosystems by changing the vegetation cover and influencing belowground processes. By providing nutrients for plants and by exerting trampling stress on the field layer vegetation, reindeer induce shifts in the vegetation where ground-lichen are being replaced by evergreen shrubs. Nutrients also stimulate microbial activity in the soil which has been shown to increase decomposition rates, thus potentially reducing the carbon (C) stock in boreal soils. Microbial activity is potentially further increased by higher soil temperatures caused by a removal of the lichen layer which could further increase C losses from the soil. However, findings of the effects of reindeer on the C stock diverge and potential implications of changes in C quality have rarely been considered. Here I show that reindeer reduce the C stock in lichen-dominated boreal forests in northern Fennoscandia and shift the C quality towards higher recalcitrance and reduce concentrations of labile C. I found that a reduction of tree and lichen biomass by reindeer reduces soil organic carbon (SOC) pools directly through lower litter inputs. Further, the reduction of lichen biomass and increase in evergreen shrubs directly reduces the quality of SOC. My results suggest that reindeer-induced vegetation changes have a direct control over SOC quantity and quality in the study sites and that microbial adaptations to resource availability may only play a minor role in shaping SOC, since year-round low soil temperatures strongly inhibit microbial decomposition. / <p>Parts of the methods section has been written in the active form (e.g., I did ...) to highlight which analyzes I conducted myself since some of the data that I used was not collected by me.</p>

The relative importance of abiotic versus biotic top-down factors on structuring tundra plant communities is debated. With climate change already strongly affecting the tundra ecosystem, understanding which factors will prevail is vital. Tundra plant communities are presumed to be predominantly structured by their abiotic conditions yet grazing by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) has a major effect on composition and diversity. It is increasingly recognized, however, that these factors cannot be considered in isolation. Here, I aim to test the relative and interactive effect of abiotic and top- down factors on vegetation structure in the Swedish mountain tundra. Using direct measurements of reindeer grazing via tri-axial accelerometers (from two summers, 2019 and 2020) coupled with remotely-gathered data on landscape features, I examine how species richness and coverage of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens (sampled in 2022) are driven by grazing duration and abiotic conditions. Abiotic factors, specifically aspect and soil wetness, prevailed as the dominant drivers of local vegetation patterns. Clear interactions between factors were also observed. Reindeer grazing duration had predictable but weak effects on richness, with responses predominantly observed on south-facing slopes. Additionally, soil wetness interacted with grazing duration, with wetter areas grazed far less. These results demonstrate the importance of considering interactions between abiotic and biotic factors, providing a better understanding of how tundra plant communities in northern Sweden might change under future climate change or different grazing regimes. The observed interactions imply divergence in vulnerability between slopes and the potential for effects of herbivory to be altered under future hydrological conditions. I emphasize that future studies should continue to disentangle these relationships.

No description available.

This dissertation is a contribution to the ethnography of contemporary indigenous reindeer pastoralism in Norway: specifically, to the study of the neglected fields of reindeer killing and slaughtering practice. Its central contention is that in recent decades, the proliferation of human powers vested in the conduct of reindeer slaughter has created new conditions for practice, placing the identities of reindeer and herders at stake in new and still only dimly conceptualized ways. By exploring these, the dissertation aims to broaden existing debates concerning the so-called modernization of pastoral practice in Norway, drawing attention to some of its neglected aspects and inscribing them in a new register. Two principal strands inform the theoretical framework: one, approaches to the social study of knowledge that emphasise its practical, non-verbal and material aspects; and two, Foucauldian concepts of biopower as these may – or may not – be applicable to the human management of animal life.Individual chapters examine, in turn: the local politics of space on the Varanger peninsula, focusing particularly on links between the spatial management and the killing of reindeer; the practices and social relations of slaughter as it is conducted at the round-up corral; the social effects of the introduction of slaughterhouses, and of the regime of which they form a part; controversies surrounding specific slaughtering techniques and instruments, particularly the curved knife; and the politics of animal welfare discourse and practices in their application to reindeer herding. Finally, using the figure of animal sacrifice as a guiding trope, the concluding chapter attempts to situate some key aspects of the modernization of reindeer slaughter in relation to the operation of broader sacrificial economies that regulate the destruction of life at aggregate or populational levels. / Research Council of Norway

This dissertation shows that the forest Sami of Arvidsjaurbyn (the forest Sami community in Arvidsjaur) were actors on an economic, social and societal level. The parish of Arvidsjaur was founded by the Swedish state in the beginning of the 17th century. The dissertation is a source study. The primary area of investigation consists of the then existing Arvidsjaurbyn in Pite lappmark (the Sami region of Pite). With regard to economic and societal changes, comparative studies have been made of the forest Sami neighbours in the south, Uhmeåbyn (the forest Sami community in Ume lappmark), and the neighbours in the north, Jokkmokk and Sjokksjokk (forest Sami communities in Lule lappmark). Arvidsjaurbyn is unique as a research object, since the community consisted of no other Sami category but the forest Sami. They had cooperated under private management with each other and communicated with the state and the church for more than one hundred years before the first settler arrived (in 1757). Traditionally the forest Sami have been dependent on three industries, namely fishing, hunting and reindeer husbandry. In the 18th century the reindeer herding came to be dominant. The forest Sami showed that they could handle important issues in the encounter with the state and the church. Forest Sami lay assessors successfully defended the Sami community’s industries at the district court sessions. The economic differences among them were not great and the internal solidarity in the Sami community was strong. Arvidsjaurbyn was a Sami community with a considerable population increase 1750–1800. From the 1740s the Swedish state’s policy vis-à- vis the forest Sami became increasingly clear; they ought to pass on to the agricultural industry. The forest Sami were, however, not convinced to adhere to this state policy. Around 1800 the administration of lappskatteland (the taxation area of each forest Sami) came to be moved from the local district court to the county administrative boards, which was a considerable adversity for the forest Sami’s development potentialities. This dissertation is one of the few that problematizes the forest Sami in Sweden. It reveals a sustainable, cooperative, resilient and innovative society. / Denna avhandling om skogssamerna behandlar förändringarna i deras samhälle 1650–1800. Bland allmänheten är skogssamerna inte lika kända som fjällsamerna. En del forskning om skogssamerna har genomförts men då i sammanhang där den fjällsamiska forskningsdelen legat i förgrunden. I avhandlingen påvisas att skogssamerna hade kontroll på utvecklingen av sina näringar: De var därmed aktörer på en social och samhällelig nivå i samebyn, Arvidsjaurbyn. Omkring år 1800 skulle denna ordning, på grund av statliga åtgärder, komma att försvagas. Om vi hade kunnat besöka Övre Norrland omkring 1650 skulle vi ha träffat på skogssamer från Kemi lappmark i öster ned till skogslandet som omger Ångermanälven och dess biflöden i söder. Deras område gränsade mot fjällterrängen i väster och de uppodlade kustbygderna i öster. I dessa milsvida skogsområden var skogssamerna inbyggarna medan området säsongsvis nyttjades av kustbönderna för fiskets skull och av fjällsamerna för dess vinterbetesmarker. Skogssamernas kärnområde av idag utgörs av Arvidsjaurs och Malå kommuner med utlöpare in i Arjeplogs, Jokkmokks och Gällivare kommuner. Avhandlingen är en källstudie om skogssamerna 1650–1800. Källorna består av domböcker, skattelängder, befolkningstabeller, kyrkböcker, visitationsprotokoll och avräkningsböcker. Skogssamerna har studerats ned på individnivå varefter resultaten sammanförts, analyserats, generaliserats och diskuterats. Redan tidigt i avhandlingsarbetet stod det klart att lappskattelandet var en viktig del när förändringar i skogssamernas samhälle skulle undersökas. Undersökningsområdet omfattar dåvarande Arvidsjaurbyn i Pite lappmark där jämförande studier, med avseende på ekonomiska och samhälleliga förändringar, har gjorts med skogssamegrannarna i söder, Uhmeåbyn, och grannarna i norr, Jokkmokk och Sjokksjokk. Arvidsjaurbyn är unik som forskningsobjekt eftersom byn bestod av enbart skogssamer. Som skogssamer hade man i egen regi samarbetat med varandra och kommunicerat med stat och kyrka i över hundra år innan förste nybyggaren anlände. Den var egen socken och eget kyrkligt, rättsligt och administrativt område. Marknaden i Arvidsjaur var av gammalt datum och under 1700-talet kom marknadshandeln att utvecklas. Mot slutet av 1600-talet kom den fjällsamiska nomadismen att sätta sina spår i vinterskogslandet. Under första halvan av 1700-talet kom skogssamerna att stämma fjällsamer inför tinget för betesintrång. Dessa avtog avsevärt fram till 1800. Den fjällsamiska rennomadismen kom ändå inte att påverka skogssamerna särskilt mycket. De blev viktigare som skogssamernas förebilder för hur man ökar numerären i sin renhjord. Under 1750-talet inleddes en mer omfattande kolonisation av lappmarkerna. Arvidsjaurbyn blev den sista av de svenska lappmarkernas skogssamebyar som koloniserades (från och med 1757). Skogssamerna i Åsele, Ume, Pite och Lule lappmarker påverkades olika mycket av nybyggarnas intåg. Efter 1750 kom de flesta av skogssamernas lappskatteland i Uhmeåbyn i Ume lappmark att gå förlorade till nybyggarna med den påföljden att Uhmeåbyn (nuvarande Lycksele kommun) i praktiken hade upphört omkring år 1800. Skogssamebyarna norr däremot utvecklade sina näringar. Dit hörde Arvidsjaurbyn som ännu finns kvar (nuvarande skogssamebyarna Malå, Mausjaur, Östra Kikkejaur och Västra Kikkejaur). Förklaringarna till denna förmåga till överlevnad är onekligen intressanta. Skogssamerna har traditionellt lutat sig mot tre näringar nämligen fiske, jakt och renskötsel. Omkring 1650 dominerade jakt och fiske. Under 1700-talet kom renskötseln att bli dominerande. I den förändringen gick skogssamerna sin egen väg. Efter 1750 började man dela på lappskattelanden och renhjordarna ökade i storlek – en hållbar näringsutveckling som blev starten för näringen av idag. Arvidsjaurbyn var en av samebyarna med en befolkningsökning 1750–1800. Nybyggarna i Arvidsjaur kom inte att påverka skogssamernas näringar på ett allvarligt sätt förrän efter år 1800. Samtidigt omvandlades skogssamernas samhälle och man såg till att behålla sitt inflytande på olika arenor. Skogssamerna var en viktig del av det kyrkliga sammanhanget, skogssamiska nämndemän försvarade med framgång deras näringar, de visade att de kunde hantera viktiga frågor i mötet med staten. De ekonomiska skillnaderna dem emellan var inte stora och den inre sammanhållningen i samebyn var stark. I avhandlingen konstateras att skogssamerna var aktörer, inte offer. De hade därmed en maktposition att hantera framförallt i sina näringsfrågor. Att det var så berodde på deras förmåga till självorganisering och självstyre. Den svenska staten formade Arvidsjaurbyn som en administrativ enhet från 1600- talets början och in i 1700-talet och ska under 1700-talet ses som en strukturell maktfaktor. Reformen av lappskatten genomfördes 1695. Under 1740-talet ändrades förutsättningarna för fattiga samers flyttningar till den av svenska bönder bebodda bottenvikskusten. Nu krävdes att de hade ett arbete dit de kom och att flyttningen skulle vara reglerad hos myndigheterna i avflyttnings- och inflyttningssocknen. Under inledningen av 1750-talet drogs gränsen mellan bönderna vid bottenvikskusten och lappmarken upp. Den innebar framförallt att det nu var slut med kustböndernas fiskefärder till sjöarna i lappmarkerna. Dock: Under senare delen av 1700-talet utvecklades den svenska statens ståndpunkt om skogssamernas näringar att de borde övergå till jordbruksnäringen. Skogssamerna lät sig dock inte övertygas. Först senare, in på 1830- talet, kom skogssamer i Arvidsjaurbyn, att i någon omfattning, bli nybyggare. En statlig negativ makt i betydelsen att det blev en betydande motgång för skogssamerna genomdrevs in på 1800-talet då lappskattelandsärenden flyttas från det lokala tinget till länsstyrelserna. Ändå var tiden fram till år 1800 gynnsam för skogssamerna. Det århundrade som följde skulle komma att innehålla stora och svåra utmaningar som inte blev mindre av att skogssamernas inflytande, på grund av statliga åtgärder, skulle komma att minska. / Sammanfattning på umesamiska Dáhta doktårbargguo lúvletjij bijrra sijttá tjielgastit syöbradahkan virduodiemiev 1650–1800 tjuöhtiejäbij gaskasne. Lúvletjij viessuomvyjjarh eäh almatjijste leäh aktta åhppásh guh váriegij vyjjarh. Múvtieme uhtsadiebmie leä gujt dahktuvvame valla dalluojge váriegij ienabe guh lúvletjij viessuome leä guövddielisne urrame. Jis máhttiet lúvlijmeh mannat Bijjie-Nuorttalándasne 1650 lúhkien bájkiesne lúvlijmeh gávnadame Giebmasámieniednaman lúvletjijgújme luldnie, juhkh vumatlándasne vyössan, jah sämij dan lándasne juhka gidd’ Jeanoen jah dan lijggietjätsij gujga ållá. Jilliele dan dáhvuon leä bijjielándda jah lúvlielde jis mierradáhvuoj búnddedädtjij åhkierh. Dajn vuavdnájen vijđies vumadahkijne lúvletjh vyössan. Jábien äjgij mehte búndh dáhvuojde guelleman dehte ednen jah váriegh jis dálvvieguohtuoman dehte. Lúvletjij guovdátjedáhvuo gåvdnije údne Árviesjávrien jah Málágan kommuvnijne jah dassa lissiene iednamah ájáj Árjepluovien, Jåhkåmåhkien jah Jiellevárien kommuvnij sissnie. Dáhta doktårbargguo leä gåldijeuhtsadiebmie lúvletjij bijrra jäbijne 1650–1800. Gåldijieh leäh duobmuogirjieh, skáhttietsiehkuodissah, viesáttjållash, jessembuörddiegirjieh jah åsiestemegirjjieh. Uhtsadiebmie leä dáhktuvvame gidd’ vihtties almatjij rájjáje jah die leäh áj miŋŋiele sjadduoh såpkatuvvame jah nålggastemijne åbbaláhkáje giehtjadallatuvvame. Juo árrade uhtsademebarguosne däjđuv, lij ge åhpies gúktie skáhttielándh lijjen ájnas åssie lúvletjij syöbradahkan virduodemij jessemijste. Muv ájdnasummas uhtsademedáhvuo leä dållatje Árviesjávrien tjeälddie Byöhđaman sámieniednamisne. Leäb ájáj bednegevyrrarij jah syöbradahkan guohtáje lúvletjijde årjiene jeäbddastallame, Ubmejentjieldiesne, jah kránnájde nuortane, Jå- hkåmåhkien jah Sjuokksjåhkån tjieldijne. Árviesjávrien tjeälddie leä ájdnalágátje uhtsademesuörggiene, júhte tjieldiesne lijjen gájks lúvletjh. Lúvletjh ednen jijtjase vuögijde akttane barggat jah stáhtijne jah gïrkuojne guvlatallat bijjiele tjuöhtie jábieh uvddale guh vuostas búndh búhten. Tjeälddie lij jijtjase suaknnuo, gïrkkuo-, diggie- jah tjudtjatusdáhvuone. 1750 jäbij ájgien älgij vijđies iednamválddiemedåjbma sämij dáhvuojne. Árviesjávrien tjeälddie sjaddij miŋŋijmus lúvletjij tjieldijste sámieniednamisne, gússnie dahta dahktuvvij. Sjeltien, Ubmejen, Byöhđamen jah Julevun sámieniednamijne stuövies urratahkh lijjen vádnásh. Miŋŋiele 1750 lúvletjij skáhttielándh Uhmebïvdna (Ubmejen Tjeälddie) Ubmejen sámieniednamisne byöjsstan uđđastubij tseggemij dehte, mastie sjaddij júhte Uhmebïvdna (dálátje Lïkssjuon kommuvdna) lij tjeälddiene nåhkame 1800 tjuöhtiejäbij bijrra. Lúvletjij tjieldijne jis jielátissah nïnnuostuvvijeäh. Dajdde guvlij Árviesjávrien tjeälddie juhka villie údnek leä báhtsáme (Mávasjávrrie, Luvlatje jah Jilliebe Giehkure). Dassa lij dáhta vuođđuone ahtie lúvletjh ärbij tsaggie, nammadum guöllie- jah návddiebïvduojne jah båtsuojsuojtuojne, vyössan. 1650 jäbij äjgijne lijgan bïvdduo jah guelleme åjvviejielátissane jah 1700 tjuöhtiejäbij ájgien sjaddij båtsuojbargguo mierriedijjiene jah bájdnagúdij sagga sijjij viessuomvyjjarijde. Dan virduodemesne lúvletjh välljejijjen jijtjase tjåvddiemijde. Skáhttielándijde juogadeäh jah dan miŋŋiele ieluoh stuorránin Árviesjávrien tjeälddie lij tjieldij gaskasne aktta, gússnie vuojnuos ålbmagestuorruome sjaddij ájggiegaskasne 1750-1800. Lúvletjij syöbradahka jietjátuvvij dan mehte guh lägedijjen júhte bájdniemefábmuo bätsij sijjije. Lúvletjh lijjen åssiene gïrkuoste jah gïrkuon vyjjarijste, sämij dålmanjh (tålmannijh) gähtten buoragikta jijtjase jielátissijde. Vuösietijjen júhte mähtten dåjmadit dárbuoj mehte stáhtijne jah gïrkuojne jah ájnasikta sïhttáh úvdiedit åsiestiemiev. Ekonomijjasne eäh lama juogdish nåv stuorráh jah tjeälddie lij sisŋielde geävrra. 1750 lúhkien jäbij rájieste gidd’ 1800 kruvnan dahkuoh sämij vuösstie Sverjesne byjkkasissa sjedden, júhtie lúvletjh byörrijeäh sjaddat iednamberggijiene. Ussjadellen máje júhte lúvletjij viessuomtjeärdda lij úhtsiebe árvuoste jah udtja dan dehte byöjsstat. Valla lúvletjh dassa idtjen mivvah eäh geän tjuovuoh mab guhtjadijjen. 1800 tjuöhtejábien rájjáje lúvletjh úvdiedellen Árviesjávrien tjieldien jielátissijde ja sämij ålbmage stuoruoj. Miŋŋiele gújt, lahkabisne 1830-lúhkien ájggáje, lúvletjh múvtieme mierráje sjedden hiejmánij iejgádiene. Viehka vuösstiemanname lij dahta guh vuostas åsiesne 1800 tjuöhtiejäbijne lánddajessemah diggij vuöldie sirdietuvvijeäh lienatjudtjatussan vuolláje. Ihkabe ájggie 1800 tjuöhtiejäbij rájjáje lij buerijmus ájggie lúvletjijde. Tjuöhtiejáhpie juhka dalluoj búdij buektij sämijde stuorra jah lussas hásstiemijde, juhkh idtjen unnánh stáhtan dåjmaj dehte. / <p>Avhandlingen ingår även i institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudiers skriftserie <em>Historiska studier: Skrifter från Umeå universitet 10.</em> </p>

Introduction: There is a gap of knowledge of the health situation among the reindeer herding Sami in Sweden. The Swedish government has also got criticism for not taking responsibility for the Sami health. The aim of this thesis was to get more knowledge to understand the health situation of the reindeer herding Sami in Sweden. Furthermore, gender specific risk factors in the working environment among reindeer herders and their perception of healthcare and social services were investigated. Method: Cross–sectional questionnaires covering different aspects of health such as musculoskeletal disorders, trust for different healthcare providers and work related psychosocial factors was distributed to reindeer herding Sami and non-Sami populations. Interviews with nine reindeer herding Sami about trust in healthcare and social services were carried out and analyzed with thematic analysis. Sixteen discussion meetings with 80 reindeer herders focusing on psychosocial perspectives of working conditions in Sami communities were performed. Result: The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms from elbow, hand/wrist and lower back from male reindeer herders were higher compared to blue-collar worker. Psychosocial risk factors for health were identified such as high workload on a few herders, difficulties to get relief and support as well as to get appreciation in work and lack of participation in decisionmaking among women were common in the organization of reindeer husbandry. The trust in healthcare and social services was lower among reindeer herding Sami compared to non-Sami majority population. A hypothesis is that healthcare professionals do not know that the "Reindeer cloud" (metaphor to iCloud) affects all parts in the reindeer herders life. The distrust are influenced by historically traumas, reindeer herding Sami experiences from healthcare professionals and healthcare organization and culturally generated norms. Conclusio: The thesis hypothesized that health disorders, attitude towards healthcare and psychosocial environment are important aspects when trying to understand the health situation among the reindeer herding Sami. There is a need to introduce long-term public health work for all Sami people, to establish ethical guidelines for Sami health research and develop healthcare services that provides access to healthcare for the reindeer herding Sami, on equal terms.