This project explores the Ktunaxa Nation's creation stories in order to understand the significance of these narratives in the formation and maintenance of the Ktunaxa culture. These stories inform and support the Ktunaxa ways of knowing, their worldviews, their history pre- and post-contact, and their connection to the geography of the Ktunaxa territory. Performance theory has been used to identify the ways in which the stories were shared during the filming of this project, and narrative inquiry has been used to draw out the creation story's central themes and how they relate to the ethnophilosophy of the Ktunaxa people --the interdependence of humans with all of creation; lessons from the animals including Skincu¢ the Coyote; the trauma of residential schools and the impact that has had on the culture and stories of the Ktunaxa; the landforms within the territory; and the responsibilities of all human beings according to these teachings. The research reflections identify truths that emerged through the ceremony of storytelling--rules to live by, ways to approach those within and outside the culture, lessons about being part of a community, and how to pattern the people and the culture off of the surrounding wildlife and geography. These lessons and stories relate to and support the culture of the Ktunaxa, past and present, by providing a connection to the Ktunaxa landscape and all that is within it, and anchors the culture with stories of that place that have been told for many thousands of years. Finally, this project discusses how Aboriginal worldviews contribute to and nourish the field of communication studies.

Avhandlingen handlar om användandet av assisterad befruktning i Danmark och Sverige. Teknologierna är intressanta eftersom de skapar möjligheter för barn att födas som annars inte skulle ha blivit till. De utmanar också normerande föreställningar om sexualitet, etnicitet, normalitet, ålder, kön och släktskap. Genom att undersöka vad som sker i mötet mellan normer, patienter, personal, teknologi och könsceller på fertilitetskliniker och spermabanker, skapar avhandlingen insikt i de skapelse- och förändringsprocesser som äger rum. Analysen visar hur beslutsfattare, personal och patienter förhåller sig till teknologierna. Den genomgående princip som används för att sätta etiska gränser utgörs av försök att imitera naturen. Denna princip omförhandlas och förändras dock ständigt. Omförhandlingar kan äga rum i möten med teknologin eller genom kroppars sätt att reagera på. De äger också rum då naturaliseringsprincipen skapar absurda situationer, t.ex. sådana i vilka patienter och deras kommande barn stigmatiseras och marginaliseras. Med utgångspunkt i den empiriska analysen bidrar avhandlingen dessutom till en teoretisk förståelse av hur materialiseringsprocesser (skapelseprocesser) äger rum i mötet mellan diskurser och materiell agens. Avhandlingen är skriven med utgångspunkt i feministiska och teknovetenskapliga studier och kan läsas som ett bidrag till feministisk ny materialtetsteori och metod. / This thesis investigates the use of assisted reproduction in Denmark and Sweden. Assisted reproduction is fascinating, because it enables the creation of children who would not have been born otherwise. At the same time, it challenges existing norms concerning sexuality, ethnicity, normality, age, gender and kinship. The processes of creation and change that take place at fertility clinics and sperm banks are analyzed by exploring the encounters between norms, patients, employees, technology and gametes. The analysis shows how legislators, patients and employees relate to and manage the use of these technologies. It illustrates that the predominant principle used for setting ethical limits is the mimicking of nature. However, this principle is constantly negotiated and changed. One reason is that negotiations take place in an encounter with the agency of the technology, gametes and body. Another reason for the change of the naturalization principle is that absurd situations, such as stigmatization and marginalization of patients and their technologically conceived children, take place. The empirical analysis also contributes to a theoretical understanding of how materialization processes (creation processes) take place in the encounters between discourse and material agency. The thesis is written with a point of departure in feminist science studies, and can be read as a contribution to feminist new materialist theory and method.