Turismen är en av världens största och mest expansiva branscher. Intresset för kulturturism har ökat under de senaste årtiondena och turisternas efterfrågan på upplevelser som involverar ursprungsfolk växer. På många håll i världen är det västerländska turistföretag som ställer villkoren för hur denna kulturförmedling ska se ut. Detta medför att en stereotyp och missvisande bild av ursprungsfolk många gånger bibehålls, vilket får negativa följder för ursprungsgrupperna. Andra följder av turismens expansion är exempelvis tvångsförflyttningar av ursprungsbefolkningar. Åtminstone tidigare var förhållandena liknande för Sveriges ursprungsfolk - samerna. I denna uppsats intervjuas fem samer, som på olika sätt arbetar med samisk turism och kulturförmedling. Syftet är att undersöka deras syn på samisk kulturturism, både i relation till det samiska samhället och till samhället i övrigt. Jag vill ta reda på vilka möjligheter och risker informanterna anser att samisk turism kan medföra för det samiska samhället. Informanternas syn på och erfarenheter av makt och kulturförmedling belyses. Frågor kring turism och autenticitet ventileras. Med historiska skeenden och teoretiska diskussioner som bakgrund diskuteras uppsatsens empiriska del. / Tourism is one of the largest and most expansive industries in the world. The interest in cultural tourism has increased over the last few decades, and the demand for indigenous tourism is growing. In many parts of the world, indigenous tourism is conditioned by western tourist companies. This means that a stereotyped and misleading picture of indigenous peoples many times is maintained, with negative consequences for indigenous communities. Other consequences of tourism expansion is, for example, forced relocations of indigenous groups. At least in the past, the conditions were similar to the indigenous people of Sweden - the Sámi. In this study, five Sámi - who in various ways are working with Sámi tourism and cultural conveyance - are interviewed. The purpose is to examine their view of Sámi cultural tourism, both in relation to the Sámi society and to society as a whole. I want to find out what opportunities and risks the informants believe that Sámi tourism may entail for the Sámi society. The informants perspective on power, indigeneity and cultural conveyance is highlighted. Issues concerning tourism and authenticity are discussed. With historical events and theoretical discussions as a background, the empirical part of the paper is discussed.

This thesis presents an investigation of the complexities of the immediate, ideological, educational, and societal contexts for literacy development among North Sámi learners between the ages of 9 and 15 who live in Northern Finland, Norway and Sweden in the central regions of Sápmi. Further, this thesis focuses on one area of literacy, namely writing. It examines these children’s writing, its phases and peculiarities, writing strategies, and the nature of transitions that these multilingual writers experience in switching between North Sámi, English and their respective national majority language. The main body of the collected materials consists of computer mediated pupil texts that the author gathered at 10 schools that arranged compulsory schooling in Central Sápmi during the school year 2012-2013. The texts were collected using keytroke logging methodology that not only records the final written product but also keeps track of changes and other writing activity during the writing session. Other materials collected and analyzed in this study include questionnaires addressed to the pupils, their parents, and to their language teachers. The materials also include detailed interviews with with 24 teachers from the participating schools. This study consists of six individual papers that focus at 1) research methodological aspects that concern studying Indigenous populations, 2) language attitudes, ideologies and available language arenas that have an impact on biliteracy emergence in North Sámi speaking Sápmi, or 3) the qualities and characteristics of multilingual pupil's writing and texts. The implications of the six individual papers are analyzed with respect to language revitalization and biliteracy emergence using the Hornbergian Continua of Biliteracy as the overarching theoretical framework. North Sámi, English and the national majority languages in the respective countries are constantly present in the lives of Sámi learners. Young Sámi learners grow up to be multilingual citizens of the global north through this extensive exposure to many languages and cultures from multiple sources such as popular culture, literature, media, community, tourism, and school. In their writing, multilingual Sámi learners show a wide spectrum of strategies and knowledge that carries over from one language to another. Nevertheless, most young Sámi learners cannot draw on equally many points on their Continua of Biliteracy in all their languages. Due to factors such as scarcity of adequate teaching materials, lack of popular culture and media content in Sámi languages, and language compartmentalizing language ideologies, the scales on the continua of biliteracy are in severe imbalance for many Sámi learners. Many Sámi learners risk losing their indigenous heritage language because the non-indigenous languages are prevalent in school as well as out of school contexts. / Literacy in Sápmi: multilingualism, revitalization and literacy development in the global north (Vetenskapsrådet 2011-6153)

The primary objective of this thesis was to develop knowledge and understanding about how traditional resources can be used for entrepreneurship and economic development. This was accomplished by systematically studying how the Canadian Inuit, Swedish Sámi and other indigenous people use Rangifer tarandus for enterprise. The Inuit and Sámi are indigenous circumpolar people living in Canada and Northern Europe for more than 4000 years. Rangifer tarandus known as caribou or tuktu by the Canadian Inuit and reindeer by the Sámi has been a key resource for survival. A literature review was conducted relating 1) to Canadian Inuit, Swedish Sámi and other selected circumpolar indigenous people use of caribou or reindeer for enterprise, and 2) indigenous entrepreneurship, particularly from traditional resources, and how this is affected by context and culture. Research methods included descriptive exploratory comparative cases, participative observation, snowball sampling as well as indigenous research methods. Five field sites were visited: Rankin Inlet and Coral Harbour in Nunavut; Inukjuak in Nunavik, Quebec; Happy Valley-Goose Bay/ North West River in Labrador; and Jokkmokk, in Northern Sweden. The thesis explored: 1) Why are the Inuit hunters of caribou and the Sámi herders of reindeer? 2) What were the products and value-added processing? 3) Why have the Sámi successfully sold their meat and products in the international market while the Inuit have only recently begun to do so? 4) How has their culture and traditional knowledge affected the entrepreneurship including innovation and opportunity recognition? 5) What barriers have they faced and how have these been overcome? 6) How have they measured the success of their enterprises? 7) What can they learn from each other? The findings indicated the Inuit and Sámi uses of caribou and reindeer for enterprise were very different. Context and culture were extremely important. Indigenous people living at similar latitudes and making use of a similar species had very different trajectories and outcomes in indigenous economic development and entrepreneurship from Rangifer tarandus. Themes such as resource availability, cultural propensity, remoteness and geographic location, kinship and social capital, infrastructure, measures of success, indigenous knowledge and wisdom, and innovation and adaptation were important. This work made a significant contribution as little consideration had been given to the voice and perspectives of the Canadian Inuit and Swedish Sámi in the emerging field of indigenous entrepreneurship especially as it relates to traditional resources and practices. It also helped to identify other potential commercial uses of caribou thus it provided more potential value added from the commercial harvesting and processing. These opportunities could assist in increasing Inuit employment, income, self-reliance, and community esteem. The research findings have implications for 1) the field of indigenous entrepreneurship, 2) policy makers, and 3) indigenous entrepreneurship education. It provides international comparisons of two indigenous peoples using a similar species and focused on the use of traditional resources and culture as a basis for business creation and operation.

During the summer of 2013, fierce protests broke out against a test-mining operation in Gállok (Kallak) outside Jokkmokk, Sweden. Environmental activists joined with local indigenous Sámi in the protest. The incident made national and international headlines, resonating with other instances of conflict between mining companies and indigenous peoples around the world. This thesis aims to explore political discourses and historical narratives behind those, and other, protests and tensions in relation to mining between, on the one hand, the Swedish state which express – through various institutions – to be a proud 'mining nation' with a firm environmental legislation, and, on the other, indigenous Sámi in the Swedish north. Using discourse analysis in combination with a novel application of concepts from narrative theory (the concept of masterplots), the narratives and ideologies of the national institutions responsible for decision-making in mining affairs in Sweden – the government, the parliament, and the Mining Inspectorate – are investigated by analyzing various written and verbal sources. The investigation show a coherent trend within the institutions in making the Sámi people, their rights to land and water, and Sweden's colonial history towards them and their land, Sápmi, invisible, misunderstood, and/or belittled. Mining is understood as an evidently vital and typically Swedish industry, fundamental for the rise of Sweden as a modern welfare state, and an industry which 'makes the world better' by providing the necessary raw materials for the (assumed) inevitable progress and benefit of (western) technology and (western) civilization. The exclusion of certain histories allow for a hegemony in which a certain future is naturalized, made out to be unavoidable. Furthermore, the plot structures employed to create and sustain the hegemony draw on several colonial masterplots. The conclusion of this thesis is that the hegemonic discourse sustains a colonial attitude towards Sápmi and the Sámi people, without it ever being expressed nor understood as such.

Abstract Sápmi, located in the North of Fennoscandia, including Finland, Sweden, Norway and parts of Russia, is the home of the majority of the indigenous Sámi people. With a high amount of natural resources in the shape of minerals, forests, and energy extraction, Sápmi is a place of a dispute between different actors such as the Nordic governments, corporations, locals, and Europe’s only indigenous people, the Sámis. On 22 March 2022, the Swedish Government granted a mining license to mobilize an iron ore mine in Gállok, the Swedish side of Sápmi, which has contributed to land-use conflicts and discrimination against the Sámi people. Thus, this issue continues today, making it vital to continue research on the land-use conflict in Sápmi. This qualitative study method uses an abductive approach and case study design. The interview method used is semi-structured interviews with purposive sampling to collect Sámi interviewees. Indigenous methodologies are used to conduct ethical research and apply Johan Galtung's violence triangle as a theory. The study's objective is to understand the land-use conflict in Gállok through the Sámi perspective. The study looks at the methods external actors use to access Gállok and the consequences of a mine in the area. The thesis findings showed that the three violences are visible in the land-use conflict in Gállok. The study presents that the methods used to access Gállok originates from education and media, furthers the laws and regulations by the Swedish authorities and the use of language to promote a green transition and civilization. The consequences found was the negative impact on the Sámi development through their perspective, hindering the chances to continue Sámi livelihood and an effect on Sámi well-being and identity. Additionally, the findings showed that the violences were differently dominating. However, cultural violence has shown to be the core contribution to structural and direct violence. Future research can focus on an intersectional impact on the mining establishment Sámis experience and furthering a decolonizing process.

Background: Mental illness is a problem in today's society. Research shows that indigenous people are more at risk for mental health problems than their non-indigenous peers. Discrimination can affect individuals' self-image and mental health. Research shows that healthcare professionals lack cultural understanding for ethnic minorities. Aim: The aim of this literature review is to examine differences in mental illness between the Sámi and non-Sámi population and to describe factors associated to mental illness among the Sámi population Method: This literature review was based on nine quantitative articles. Searches were made in Cinahl and PubMed. The results of the articles were analysed and sorted responding to the aim. Results: Results show that there are differences in mental illness between Sámi and non-Sámi, but the context of these are crucial. Being Sámi can come with protective- and risk factors. The Sámi are more exposed to discrimination which in turn can lead to more mental illness.  Conclusion: The Sámi culture and being Sámi affects mental health in both positive and negative ways. In order to provide equitable care more knowledge and research regarding the Sámi culture and consideration to cultural factors is needed. / Bakgrund: Psykisk ohälsa är ett utbrett problem i dagens samhälle. Forskning visar att etniska minoriteter och urfolk har en ökad risk för psykisk ohälsa. Diskriminering kan påverka individers självbild och psykiska ohälsa. Forskning visar att vårdpersonal ofta har otillräcklig kulturell kunskap om etniska minoriteter. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att undersöka skillnader i psykisk ohälsa mellan samer och icke-samer och beskriva faktorer associerade med psykisk ohälsa hos samer. Metod: Denna litteraturstudie var baserad på nio kvantitativa artiklar. Sökningar gjordes i Cinahl och PubMed. Artiklarna analyserades sedan och sorterades i relation till syftet. Resultat: Resultaten visar att det finns vissa skillnader mellan samer och icke-samer, men kontexten för dessa är viktigt. Att vara same kan komma med både skydds- och riskfaktorer. Forskningen visar även att samer i större utsträckning blir diskriminerade vilket i sin tur kan leda till en försämrad psykisk hälsa. Konklusion: Att vara same påverkar den psykiska hälsan på positiva och negativa plan. För att kunna ge en god personcentrerad vård behövs mer kunskap, forskning samt hänsyn till samernas kultur och de faktorer som påverkar deras psykiska hälsa. / Duohke: Sielulasj dávdda l stuor vuorrádis udnásj sebrudagán. Åtsådallam vuoset etnalasj unneplågo ja álggoálmmuga la lasse váhtá sielulasj dávdav oadtjot. Nuppástallam máhttá vájkudit ájnegasj ulmutjij iesjgåvåv ja sielulasj dávdav. Åtsådallam vuoset skihpasujtára dábálattjat e ane nuoges kultuvralasj máhtov etnalasj unneplågoj birra. Ulmme: Ulmme dán låhkusåhpadusájn la guoradallat sieradusájt sielulasj dávdav sámij ja ma älla sáme gaskan ja tjielggit faktåvråjt ma gulluji sámij sielulasj dávddaj. Vuohke: Avtse kvantitatijva artihkkala li vuodon årrom dán låhkusåhpadusán.  Åhtsåmusá li dagádum Cinahlan ja PubMedan. Dan maŋŋela artihkkala guoraduvvin ja juogeduvvin gasskasasj ulmmáj.   Boados: Boados vuoset gávnnuji muhtem sieradusá sámij ja ma älla sáme gaskan, valla kontäksta dasi la ájnas. Sábmen årrot de båhti goappásj suodje ja váhtáfaktåvrå. Åtsådallam aj vuoset sáme ienep dásen tjuoldeduvvi, vaj dat máhttá sjaddat nievrep psyhkalasj varresvuohtaj. Konklusjåvnnå: Sábmen årrot vájkuda psyhkalasj varresvuodav goappátjin positivalattjat ja negativalattjat. Vaj máhttet vaddet buorre persåvnålasj huvsov de dárbaj ienep máhtov, åtsådallamav ja árvvon adnet sáme kultuvrav ja faktåvråjt majt sijá psyhkalasj varresvuodav vájkut.

The Exploitation of land for economic growth has been an ongoing issue for locals’ rights to land, especially indigenous people. In Sweden, EU’s largest producer of Iron ore, the conflict between the State, indigenous Sámi, and mining industries have caused many controversies over the years, where mining projects repeatedly infringe upon land inhabited by Sámi. It is argued that exploitation is a “common good” for economic and social development, arguments which are rooted in the historical oppression and colonialist thoughts of the past. Recently, the argument has shifted, adding environmental concerns, where development projects claim to be an indispensable part of the national and global green transition. Ideas stemming from green growth narratives, such as technological solutions, are consistently put forward as the right path towards a green transition, with little consideration paid towards communities who pay the price. One such instance is the case of the proposed mine in Gállok, which was granted a processing concession in 2022. The project is asserted to be a necessity for producing green iron ore for a sustainable future, while opposing parties argue that it will cause irredeemable consequences on the environment and the Sámi village Jåhkågasska tjiellde. This Master thesis investigates these narratives through Critical Discourse Analysis and an Environmental Justice framework to elucidate misrecognition within green growth politics and how arguments contrived from ideologies and beliefs shape the mainstream narrative. It is not to impart an absolute truth but to highlight one potential contributing factor to the current situation. Documents provided by the Company, the State and Sametinget are used as a basis for the analysis, where they are analysed through themes based on perceived recognition, narratives, and power structures, Namely Language, Representation, and (De)politicisation. It is found that while some progress has been made concerning Sámi rights generally in Sweden, little of it can be observed within the discourse regarding the mine. Both company and the State still lean heavily on technical solutions to create coexistence between the mine and Sámi, something which the Sámi affirms is not a possibility. It is further concluded that a green transition which claims to be sustainable needs to consider the social repercussions against the indigenous experience, heritage, livelihood, and culture to be truly sustainable. / Exploatering av mark för ekonomisk vinning och urbefolkningars rättigheter är ett kontroversiellt ämne globalt. I Sverige, EU:s största producent av järnmalm, har konflikten mellan staten, samer och gruvindustrin orsakat många kontroverser genom åren, varav gruvprojekt kontinuerligt inkräktar på land som brukas av samer. Det hävdas att sådan exploatering genererar en "allmännytta" för ekonomisk och social utveckling, argument som har sina rötter i gamla koloniala världsbilder och historiska förtryck av samer. På senare tid har argumenten för exploatering även inkluderat miljöfrågor, varav utvecklingsprojekt hävdar att de är en väsentlig del av den nationella och globala gröna omställningen. Idéer som härrör från grön tillväxtteori, såsom tekniska lösningar, presenteras konsekvent som den rätta vägen mot en grön omställning, med lite hänsyn till dem som betalar priset. Ett sådant exempel är fallet med den föreslagna gruvan i Gállok, som beviljades en bearbetningskoncession 2022. Projektet hävdas vara en nödvändighet för att producera grön järnmalm för en hållbar framtid, medan motparter hävdar att det kommer att orsaka oåterkalleliga konsekvenser för miljön och samebyn Jåhkågasska tjiellde. Detta examensarbete syftar till att undersöka aktörers olika narrativ genom kritisk diskursanalys och ett ramverk för miljörättvisa för att belysa felerkännande av samiska rättigheter inom grön tillväxtpolitik, och hur argument formade av ideologier påverkar den breda diskussionen. Dokument som hämtats från Beowulf Mining PLC, Staten och Sametinget används som underlag för analysen, där de analyseras genom teman hämtade från upplevd igenkänning, narrativ och maktstrukturer, Nämligen Språk, Representation och (Av)politisering. Det visar sig att även om vissa framsteg har gjorts när det gäller samernas rättigheter generellt i Sverige, kan lite av detta ses i diskursen gällande gruvan. Både företaget och staten lutar sig fortfarande hårt mot tekniska lösningar för att skapa samexistens mellan gruvan och samerna, något som samerna hävdar inte är en möjlighet. Vidare dras slutsatsen att en grön omställning som gör anspråk på att vara hållbar måste ta hänsyn till de potentiella konsekvenserna för samiska erfarenheter, arv, försörjning och kultur för att verkligen kunna bedömas som hållbar.

This thesis explores the practice of “youtubing Sápmi”, which entails Sámi decolonial mobilization, multisemiotic and multilingual language use on YouTube. The aim is to understand how YouTube videos can function as a tool for discursive mobilization and as a complement or alternative to linguistic and cultural revitalization. In recent years, more interest has been directed towards Sámi music and media. While such research has explored acts of resistance, anti-colonial counter-narratives and negotiations of identity in Sámi music and media, few studies have investigated the discursive strategies used in Sámi performance in the Swedish context. In addressing this research gap, drawing from sociolinguistic research on interdiscursivity, indexicality and sociolinguistic scales, this thesis analyses how multisemiotic resources are used in discursive strategies of Sámi decolonial mobilization on YouTube. The analysis reveals that a variety of multisemiotic resources and discourses are used to construe type and token interdiscursivity that establish connectivity across time, space and scales that connect local issues to the national and the global. Furthermore, the deployment of different language repertoires – North Sámi, Swedish and English – point to the multi-scalar aspects of Sámi decolonial mobilization. These results indicate that the practice of youtubing Sápmi is a powerful tool for raising awareness, challenging coloniality and creating space for Sámi linguistic and cultural practices. In sum, the thesis provides insights into the potentials for agentive and creative use of interdiscursivity, as well as the affordances for creative multisemiotic language use on YouTube.

This study examines how Swedish newspapers frame the Sámi people in their articles. Previous research suggests that the Sámi people, and other minorities, often are portrayed in a one sided and stereotypical way in the news discourse. This paper studies to what extent the Sámi people are represented in four Swedish newspapers during 2023 and in which types of articles they are mentioned. Further, the study also examines how many of the articles in the empirical material have a primary Sámi theme. To answer the thesis questions the method used is a content analysis with quantitative elements. The results indicate that when the Sámi, or issues regarding this minority, are mentioned in news articles in 2023, the coverage tends to focus on culture and entertainment and is frequently published on the culture pages of newspapers. It is also evident that the Sámi are scarcely mentioned in relation to sports, science and socioeconomics. A third important finding is that the articles with a primary Sámi theme were more conflict-oriented compared to articles without such a theme. The result is analyzed on the basis of post colonial theory and framing theory.

Studien syftar till att undersöka om, och i så fall hur, Sametingets egna myndighetskommunikation bidrar till att konstruera ojämlika maktrelationer mellan samer och den svenska staten. Remissvar och pressmeddelanden med Sametinget som avsändare studeras genom en kritisk diskursanalys med fokus på hur kunskap, handlingsmöjligheter och handlingsbegränsningar framställs för de båda aktörerna. Studien görs med ett teoretiskt ramverk som inbegriper diskursteori, representationsteori och postkolonial teori. Resultatet visar att det i Sametingets diskurs framkommer fyra teman: Distans till en passiv stat och närhet till ett aktivt Sameting; Samer har en särställd kultur och unik kunskap som inte iakttas av staten; Statens handling och makt är inte legitim och Rovdjurspolitiken är ett problem som behöver åtgärdas. Genom dessa teman framkommer att kunskap som samer besitter inte framställs på samma sätt som kunskap som svenska staten besitter. Samernas unika kunskap framställs som något som borde ligga till grund för politiska beslut och myndighetsutövning medan statens kunskap framställs vara ogrundad och otillräcklig. Detsamma gäller för framställningen av handlingsutrymme, aktörernas handlingsmöjligheter framställs olika. Samernas och Sametingets handlingsmöjligheter framställs ofta som begränsade medan staten framställs ha för stora handlingsmöjligheter särskilt mot bakgrund av att staten varken själva har tillräcklig kunskap eller tar samernas kunskap i beaktande. Slutligen visar studien att Sametinget ifrågasätter den rådande maktrelationen mellan samer och staten och således i stora drag inte bidrar till att bibehålla rådande maktrelation. / This thesis aims to study if communication from Sametinget contribute to the construction of unequal power relations between Sámi people and the Swedish government. In a critical discourse analysis comment letters and press releases from Sametinget where analysed with a focus on how both of the actors’ knowledge and scope of action is depicted. The thesis’ theoretical framework consists of discourse theory, theory of representation and postcolonial theory.  The results show four main themes in Sametinget’s discourse: Distance from a passive government and proximity to the active Sametinget; The Sámi people has a specific culture and unique knowledge that is not sufficiently observed by the government; The government’s actions and power are not legitimate and The current politics of predatory animals is a problem that needs to be solved. Furthermore, the themes show that knowledge of the Sámi people is depicted differently from the government’s knowledge. The Sámi people’s unique knowledge is depicted as something that should, make up the foundation for political decisions and legislation. Meanwhile, the government’s knowledge is depicted to be unfounded and insufficient. The same goes for the depiction of scope of action, where the actors scope of action is depicted differently. The Sámi people’s and Sametinget’s scope of action is often depicted as limited while the government’s scope of action is depicted as being to large. Lastly, the thesis concludes that Sametinget questions the current power relation between the Sámi people and the government and is therefore generally not contributing to the maintaining of current power relations.