This thesis is a qualitative case study of Vapsten sameby’s participation in the process of establishing a mine in the Rönnbäcken area in Storuman municiplity in Sweden. The mine in Rönnbäcken is a case that has been discussed extensively in the region during the last couple of years. The project is, on one hand, expected to engender job opportunities and economic growth, but on the other hand expected to have a large influence on the local environment and threaten the sami people’s traditional lifestyle. With background in environmental justice theory and theories of citizen participation this thesis emphasizes the meaningful involvement of minorities in decisionmaking. Due to this, Vapsten’s participation in the process has been studied. Further, Vapsten’s experience of their opportunities to participate has been outlined.Drawing upon Sherry Arnsteins model of citizen participation and Hans Wiklunds criterions of deliberation, Vapsten sameby’s participation is not ideal. This conclusion is confirmed by the experiences of representatives from Vapsten.

Samernas första politiska rörelse runt sekelskiftet i Sverige var startskottet, inte bara för samernas egen politiska organisation, utan också för en debatt kring samernas rasifierade identitet. Debatten kretsade kring rätten till land, och huruvida den skulle förbehållas endast nomadiserande renskötande samer, eller om rätten skulle inkludera alla samer oavsett levnadsuppehälle. Samtidens argumentativa klassificeringssystem satte samernas yrkesutövning främst, men med rasifierade premisser kring samernas temporala och spatiala tillhörighet. En av premisserna för argumentationen, samernas temporala tillhörighet, präglades ur svensk medias synvinkel av en stark tro på att samerna riskerade att försvinna. Jag argumenterar för att detta hade en rasbaserad logik i form av en anakronistisk tillhörighet utanför en (svensk) evolutionistisk tidslinje. Genom en annan premiss, den spatiala, visade de svenska journalisterna på en stark tendens att placera samerna i ett mytiskt mellan-rum, där fjällen fungerade som en gränslös kuliss, som befäste samernas utanförskap i det svenska produktiva landskapet. Då den svenska definitionen av samerna inte baserades på yttre karaktärsdrag, utan på en yrkesutövning, destabiliserar den de flesta västerländska uppfattningar om ras. Denna studie presenterar därför några ledtrådar till hur och varför moderna minoritetsfrågor är så komplexa för den svenska självbilden. / The first political movement of the Sami, the indigenous Swedes, at the turn of the last century, became the starting point, not only for the political organization of the Sami, but also for a debate concerning the racial identity of the Sami. The debate dealt with the right to the land, and whether the use of the land should only be allowed for the nomadic reindeer herding Sami, or whether the right should be extended to all Sami regardless of means of living. The argumentative classification at the time was based on the Sami’s occupation, but with racial premises around the Sami’s temporal and spatial belonging. One of the premises for the argumentation, the temporal belonging of the Sami, was marked by a strong belief on behalf of the Swedish media that the Sami were at risk of disappearing. I argue that this came to have a racial logic in the form of an anachronistic belonging outside a (Swedish) evolutionist timeline. Through the means of a separate logic, the spatial, the Swedish journalists showed a strong tendency to place the Sami in a mythical in between-ness, in which the mountains functioned as a borderless backdrop, which confirmed the alienation of the Sami in the Swedish productive landscape. Because the Swedish definition of the Sami was not based upon physical features, but upon a professional category, it destabilizes most western notions about race. This study therefore presents some clues to how and why modern minority issues are so complex within the Swedish self-image.

The Sami people have struggled for centuries to maintain their culture in spite of pressures against it from colonialism. The formal education systems of Norway and Finland have acted in discord with Sami decision-making since their inception. In response to this lack of decision-making power, there is a dynamic internal process at work; Sami people have begun to take control of their own schooling. / This thesis qualitatively examines the processes of curriculum development and implementation for wood handicraft programs at the Sami colleges in Guovdageaidnu, Norway and in Anar, Finland, and details the most significant educational and political factors involved in the transmission and production of indigenous knowledge associated with Sami handicraft. Factors associated with the teaching of Sami handicraft in the form of increasing commercialization, generalization and mechanization in formal duodji education and the stereotyping of Sami cultural imagery pose potential risks to appropriate transfer of Sami cultural knowledge. This thesis will show that the teaching of Sami handicraft (duodji) is an educational and political tool that helps develop and define modern Sami culture. Accordingly, attempts by the Sami colleges to incorporate greater indigenous knowledge have resulted in the implementation of modern indigenous curriculum that promotes cultural knowledge through the teaching of Sami handicraft.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-305).

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-221).

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This thesis examines how the Sami people, as an indigenous people in Sweden, relate to the dichotomous concept of the global North and the global South. The study builds on the framework of postcolonial theory, its connection to development studies, and its critique of the concept of the global North and the global South. Another central part of the study is the concept of identity within postcolonial theory. By exploring material from the Swedish Sami parliament and the Sami info center, the research and analysis concluded that the Sami people relate to a dual identity of being both Sami and Swedish, meaning that they identify both to the global North as well as being an indigenous people. The Sami people do also associate themselves with other indigenous groups in the South, mostly in relation to colonialism and its consequences. Thereby the North-South divide is challenged.

The aim of this thesis is to centre three people’s stories, their experiences and un-­ derstandings of the Swedish planning framework for mining establishments. The sto-­ ries centred are from Sami people whom in different ways analyses, questions, chal-­ lenges and changes the diverse expressions of colonialism, racism and capitalism within this framework. Through centring indigenous and decolonial planning this the-­ sis tries to expose colonial planning practices and how indigenous knowledges, worldviews and perspectives are made marginalised. But at the same time it reformu-­ lates, reconstruct and reimagines planning where non-­hierarchical and relational thinking is centred. This thesis is made through guidance of (mainly) indigenous and decolonial theories, methodologies and methods.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze perceptions about the Sami ethnic identity. In order to analyze the topic, this thesis is using a qualitative method. It seeks to answer the research questions “how do the Sami perceive they can live and express their ethnic identity?” and “how are the Sami people´s ethnic identity being portrayed by others”?. The conclusions were reached through studying language and to be more specific, a discourse analysis using various academic papers and from newspaper articles. The analysis is based on a broad analytical framework which consists of stigma by Goffman, Ethnicity by Olsson, Ålund, and Johansson, and ethnic identity three-stage model development by Phinney. These theories and concepts were chosen since they are the most suitable theories in order to analyze the objective. The findings were broken down into four different topics, the topics are “reindeer herding”, “relationship with each other and other indigenous groups”, “climate change” and “Sami identity”. The results suggest that Sami people are proud of their identity and that they can express their identity, even though there are perceptions that they live in a colonial system. The results also suggest that non-Sami people very often perceive the Sami ethnicity in a negative way. The results correspond to stigma and ethnicity and mostly regarding ethnic identity development. However, there are some flaws in the ethnic identity development three-stage model.

This thesis illustrates the Swedish interpretation of the national policy framework on minority and indigenous rights, by including an analysis of the Gállok mining case. The study consists of an ideology analysis of the said framework and three liberal positions on multiculturalism. The scholars Will Kymlicka, Charles Taylor, and Brian Barry each convey three approaches to the implementation of group rights. Their positions provide insights into how Sweden acts as a multicultural state. The findings are that the intentions behind Sweden’s policy framework on minority rights are to preserve and protect cultural diversity, which correlates to the core elements of liberalism according to the three liberal theories. Sweden’s implementation of the policy framework conflicts with Taylor’s argument for equal recognition, and with Kymlicka’s position on expecting minorities to adapt to majority interests. The Swedish approach follows the reasoning of Barry, where minority interests can be compromised to benefit the majority population.