In recent years the field of reparations for indigenous peoples has increased remarkably. Past wrongs made by states in the distant past has become more important to highlight, not only because of the memories of historical injustice, but because of how the past impacts the future, and not least, still appears as structures of discrimination remaining from the past.   As an indigenous people the Saami people living in Sweden have experiences of both historical injustices as well as todays struggle with discrimination on different levels. Mostly regarding their right to be a part of decisions concerning them and the right of culture, language, identity, land and nature resources, fundamental for them as a people. In order to change their situation and to search for redress the Saami people in Sweden have announced their need of a truth commission. The Saami people are not the first indigenous people whom search for redress through a truth commission, but is it possible to learn from others?   With this in mind, my study aim to look at practical experiences of truth commissions in Canada and New Zealand and further, examine what the Saami people in Sweden hope to achieve with a truth commission. Thereafter, I weight other indigenous peoples experiences of a truth commission with the Saami peoples expectations to find out what keys need to be considered to increase the outcome of a truth commission. Where theory, practical experience and Saami expectations connects is where the key issues can be found. Given this, my study suggests that five different key issues must be thought through and shall not be underestimated as they may have an effect on the ongoing process as well as on the results and the aftermaths. The key issues that is suggested is as follows: 1) political will, 2) the role and engagement of Civil Society, 3) the Saami´s own involvement 4) the problem of what focus the commission should have, and 5) the awareness of “tough” questions coming up.

This thesis scrutinises the state plans for future mining operations in two specific areas in northern Sweden, namely Rönnbäck/Rönnbäcken and Gállok/Kallak, and how these plans have become issues of intense dialogues and debates nationwide during the previous years. This is partly because of environmental reasons but the primary matter is because these two areas have traditionally belonged to the indigenous Saami people where they are pursuing reindeer husbandry. Despite the many voices of the Swedish society as well as the Saami people that have been raised against the mining plans in these two specific areas, the Swedish government still approved the mining companies to start pursing their activities in both cases. Because of this, several human rights issues have been invoked against the Swedish state in terms of the directly affected Saami’s rights as an indigenous people. Some of these invocations have been made by referring to the ICERD and UNDRIP. Therefore, on the basis of the Saami’s right to fair rectification as an indigenous people, the aim of this work is to further examine how state actions for rectification, because of previous state conducted human rights violations, are being perceived by different actors; in this case the Swedish state and the Saami people. By applying the theoretical framework of rectificatory justice, and conducting the method of analysing the arguments and perceptions of the Saami people as well as the Swedish state, the main focus of the thesis is to further examine the two cases of Rönnbäck/Rönnbäcken and Gállok/Kallak. The thesis’ main finding is that there are many discrepancies between the Saami people and the Swedish state in terms of their views on fair rectificatory arrangements as well as the rights of the Saami as an indigenous people.

Syftet med examensarbetet var att undersöka samer och samisk religion i relation till undervisningsämnet religionskunskap. Studien har undersökt läroplanernas utveckling, både från grundskolan och gymnasieskolan med fokus på samisk religion. Läromedel inom religionsämnet har dessutom granskats i relation till läroplanernas förändringar samt för varje undervisningsstadium. En enkätstudie har slutligen genomförts vilken ligger till grund för lärares framställning av samisk religion i undervisningsämnet utifrån Lgr 11 och Gy 11. Metoden som tillämpats i studien har varit en komparativ metod samt kvalitativ metod med kvantitativa inslag. Resultatet visar att samisk religion fått större plats i läroplanerna i relation till samhällsförändringar. Läroplanerna utgör den grund som läromedel utgår från, med andra ord struktureras läromedel utifrån läroplanernas innehåll liksom fokusområde.  I samband med Lgr 11 och Gy 11 har samer med tillhörande religion fått större utrymme i läromedel. Trots detta visar studien att förhållandevis få läromedel behandlar samer och samisk religion i relation till andelen läromedel som granskats i examensarbetet. Resultatet visar att drygt hälften av lärarna som medverkat i studien undervisar om samer, detta trots att majoriteten av lärarna menar att tiden inte räcker till. Flertalet lärare anser det viktigt att belysa samer och samisk religion i undervisningen, lärarna önskar därför att lärarutbildningar i större utsträckning lyfter Sveriges nationella minoriteter. Majoriteten av lärarna menar däremot att de har tillräckliga kunskaper för att samer ska behandlas rättvist i undervisningen. Resultatet har skildrats i relation till ett diskursteoretiskt ramverk för att synliggöra maktstrukturerna gällande majoritetssamhälle och minoritetssamhälle. / The purpose with this advanced professional degree was to research Sami populations with associated religion in relation to religious education. In addition, the study has researched the development of the national school curriculum from primary school and secondary school with focus on Sami religion. Development and changes in teaching materials in accordance with the development of the school curriculum and its various phases has also been examined. To conclude, a survey has laid the foundation for a study of teachers' own portrayal of Sami religion in RE for Lgr 11 and Gy 11 students. A Qualitative Comparative analysis methodology has been practiced in the study with some quantitative uses. The results of the study show the Sami religion has received a larger place in the national school curriculum in relation to societal changes. The school curriculum sets the foundation the school materials are based on, in other words the materials are structured on the basis of the curriculum and its focus area. In relation to Lgr 11 and Gy 11, Sami with associated religion has seen a significant place in teaching materials. Despite this, there are comparatively few teaching materials that cover Sami population with Sami religion in relation to the amount of researched materials. Results show about half of the teachers participating in the study include Sami population and history in their teachings, despite the majority of teachers stating that time spent is not enough. Many teachers state Sami studies are important in education and wish that teachers' education include Sami more frequently. However, the majority of teachers report that they have sufficient competence for Sami to be covered in their teachings. The result has been described in relation to discourse theoretical framework to cast light on the hierarchical structures concerning majority and minority society.

Nature as a record  The aim of this study is to investigate how places in nature can fit into the description of a record and how nature itself can be seen as an archive. Many people have close relationships to places in nature and it's clear that immaterial cultural heritage is embedded in nature all around us.  In this essay we look at small examples like a tree or a stone with a special relationship to a person but also at nature as a whole. We ask the questions: can nature be seen as an archive? How can a widened archival concept include places in nature? And can this benefit a larger representation in the archives? We investigate how nature can be a subject as opposed to an object that cannot be taken out of its original environment. Therefore a tree or a stone should be archived in the context where it originated.  In previous research of living archives, researchers focus on how the archive can see to the needs of indigenous people around the world, as they investigate how cultural heritage embedded in the landscape can be preserved in archival terms. For this study we have done interviews with five people within the Sami indigenous community in Sweden, asking them about their personal relationship to a place in the natural environment and how this connection is related to personal and cultural history and heritage. The result of these interviews have been used to analyse how a place in nature can fit into an archival concept and how personal relationships to nature touches on values like identity, language, knowledge trading, cultural heritage places and history. The questions are raised through the lens of archival theory and phenomenology, as how archives can be seen as in constant change. The questions touches on many aspects in both archival science, cultural heritage, indigenous representation, climate changes and the colonial heritage of the archives.

This work is an archaeological biography of three skeletons brought to Sweden from Tierra del Fuego in the late 1800s by scientist Otto Nordenskjöld and his Swedish expedition to the Magellan countries. These belonged to Selknam men killed by European farmers. In Sweden they were used in studies of comparative anatomy and as teaching and research material. They reflect the European colonial worldview of the 19th- and early 20th centuries, as well as a part of the colonial history of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. / Este trabajo es una biografía arqueológica sobre tres esqueletos traídos a Suecia desde Tierra del Fuego a fines de 1800, por el científico Otto Nordenskjöld y su expedición sueca a los países magallánicos. Estos pertenecían a hombres selknam, asesinados por estancieros europeos. En Suecia fueron utilizados en estudios de anatomía comparada y como material de enseñanza e investigación. Son un reflejo de la cosmovisión colonial europea de los siglos XIX y principios del XX, así como una parte de la historia colonial de Patagonia y Tierra del Fuego.

The Sami in Sweden have lived on and managed their lands since time immemorial. The strong connection to the environment and nature has given them centuries of knowledge that is still applicable to this day. With the help of their ancestral knowledge the Sami have preserved their Indigenous land. With constant work towards sustainability and extractive projects of natural resources for renewable energy that takes place in Sápmi, the question is raised of who is included in the transition towards sustainable development and who the transition is for. The purpose of this study is to investigate and get a deeper understanding of Sami perspectives on sustainability and the connection to their rights. Applied methodology for this qualitative study is semi-structured interviews with nine Sami, followed by a thematic analysis of the collected empirical data. This was done to understand and analyse perceptions of sustainable development and how it relates to Sami inclusion and Sami rights, using frameworks of colonial governmentality and green colonialism. The findings suggest that a differentiation can be made concerning how the Sami perceive actions for sustainable development and the concept of sustainable development. Further, the Sami view their inclusion in policy-making and implementation in regards to questions of sustainable development in Sweden as being somewhat low or not applied at all. In relation to environmental sustainability this study shows that the implementation of Sami rights varies depending on the context, but that it is generally experienced as insufficient, and that rights are often applied to the economic units of the samebys, and not all Sami, creating a division within the Sami community. The results also show a perception of lack of political will and a neglectance to include and implement Sami rights, as state interests are prioritised. The societal and institutional conditions for the Sami to claim their rights and require inclusion within sustainable development prove that the theories of colonial governmentality and green colonialism are applicable to the current situation in Sápmi.

The following thesis examines the process of identity making in the novels Stolen (2021) by Ann-Helén Laestadius and Polar Fire (2021) by Moa Backe Åstot. By a comparative thematic analysis of the texts, and through concepts from postcolonial and decolonial theory, the thesis investigates the challenges for two Sámi youths in a contemporary Sápmi setting as they try to renew the image of Saminess. The analysis explores how aspects such as indigeneity, strategic essentialism, gender and sexuality influence the young characters Elsa and Ánte in their attempts to become independent reindeer herders. Elsa and Ánte are constantly reminded of the history and traditions of the Sámi people, which is filled with both pride and shame. Indeed, the thesis also takes into account the history of the Swedish church and the Swedish government's involvement in Sámi societies, such as the Sámi boarding schools that resulted in family separations and loss of language, and reindeer herding regulations that still affect the Sámi community today. The analysis concludes that history, government policies and strict interpretations of Sámi traditions are interwoven with contemporary Sámi culture, and thus affects the young protagonists as they try to navigate between the inherited collective struggle of their ancestors and their individual needs when it comes to shaping their own Sámi identity.

The purpose of this essay has been to relate the Australian Aboriginal conceptions of place to three different theoretical perspectives on place, to find what is relevant in the Aboriginal context, and what is not. The aim has been to find the most useful theoretical approaches for further studies on the Australian Aboriginal conceptions of place. The investigation is a rendering of research and writings on Australian Aboriginal religion, a recording of general views on research on religion and space, a recounting of written material of three theoretical standpoints on place (the Insider standpoint, the Outsider Standpoint and the Meshwork standpoint), and a comparison of the research on the Aboriginal religion to the three different standpoints.  The results show that no single standpoint is gratifying for studies of the Aboriginal conceptions of place, but all three standpoints contribute in different ways. There are aspects from all three standpoints revealing the importance of place to the Aboriginal peoples.  The most useful theoretical approaches for studies on the Australian Aboriginal conceptions of place are: Place as a living entity, an ancestor and an extension of itself; place as movement, transformation and continuity; place as connection, existential orientation and the paramount focus, and; place as the very foundation of the entire religion.