<p>Revoicing Sámi narratives investigates the relationship between storytellers, contexts and collective tradition, based on an analysis of North Sámi narratives published in the early 1900s. This dissertation “revoices” narratives by highlighting the coexistence of different voices or socio-ideological languages in repertoires and by considering Sámi narratives as utterances by storytellers rather than autonomous products of tradition. Thus, this study serves as an act of “revoicing,” of recovering voices that had been silenced by the scientific discourse which enveloped their passage into print.</p><p>Narrators considered “tradition bearers” were interviewed or wrote down folk narratives that were interpreted as representative of a static, dying culture. The approach chosen in this thesis highlights the dynamic and conscious choices of narrative strategies made by these storytellers and the implications of the discourses expressed in narration. By taking into account the intense context of social change going on in Sápmi at the time the narratives emerged, as well as the context that includes narrators, ethnographers and tradition, the analysis demonstrates that storytelling is an elaboration that takes place in negotiation with tradition, genres and individual preferences.</p><p>The repertoires of four storytellers are studied according to a methodological framework consisting in critical discourse analysis from a folkloristic perspective. The analysis underscores the polyphony of the narratives by Johan Turi, who related with skillfulness of tradition by taking position as a conscious social actor. This study also investigates the repertoires of storytellers Ellen Utsi, Per Bær and Isak Eira who were interviewed by the</p><p>Norwegian “lappologist” Just K. Qvigstad. Their contributions to his extensive collection of Sámi narratives express their relation to tradition and to the heteroglossia that surrounded them. Based on a receptionalist approach, this dissertation investigates the implications of these narratives for the North Sámi community at the turn of the twentieth century.</p><p>Storytelling appears to have had a set of functions for community members, from the normative as regards socialization, information and warning against dangers to the defensive with the elaboration of a discourse about solidarity, identity and empowerment.</p>

Revoicing Sámi narratives investigates the relationship between storytellers, contexts and collective tradition, based on an analysis of North Sámi narratives published in the early 1900s. This dissertation “revoices” narratives by highlighting the coexistence of different voices or socio-ideological languages in repertoires and by considering Sámi narratives as utterances by storytellers rather than autonomous products of tradition. Thus, this study serves as an act of “revoicing,” of recovering voices that had been silenced by the scientific discourse which enveloped their passage into print. Narrators considered “tradition bearers” were interviewed or wrote down folk narratives that were interpreted as representative of a static, dying culture. The approach chosen in this thesis highlights the dynamic and conscious choices of narrative strategies made by these storytellers and the implications of the discourses expressed in narration. By taking into account the intense context of social change going on in Sápmi at the time the narratives emerged, as well as the context that includes narrators, ethnographers and tradition, the analysis demonstrates that storytelling is an elaboration that takes place in negotiation with tradition, genres and individual preferences. The repertoires of four storytellers are studied according to a methodological framework consisting in critical discourse analysis from a folkloristic perspective. The analysis underscores the polyphony of the narratives by Johan Turi, who related with skillfulness of tradition by taking position as a conscious social actor. This study also investigates the repertoires of storytellers Ellen Utsi, Per Bær and Isak Eira who were interviewed by the Norwegian “lappologist” Just K. Qvigstad. Their contributions to his extensive collection of Sámi narratives express their relation to tradition and to the heteroglossia that surrounded them. Based on a receptionalist approach, this dissertation investigates the implications of these narratives for the North Sámi community at the turn of the twentieth century. Storytelling appears to have had a set of functions for community members, from the normative as regards socialization, information and warning against dangers to the defensive with the elaboration of a discourse about solidarity, identity and empowerment.

The Sámi people are an indigenous people that live in the northern region of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia (O’Dowd 2015, 187). They have been subjects of oppression and abuse by the majority culture for centuries. The sámi people were recognized as an indigenous people by the Swedish government in 1977 (Kvarfordt et al. 2004, 11). In Norway, they were recognized in 1989 whereas in Finland that year was 1995 (Förenta Nationerna u.å; O’Dowd 2015, 202). Therefore, the national governments of Sweden, Norway and Finland are obliged to follow a range of international treaties regarding the sámi peoples’ rights as an indigenous people (FN 2021). Nevertheless, the UN and EU have criticized the same governments for un-dermining sámi rights. This paper intends to investigate the cultural rights of the Sámi people in school with a comparison between Norway, Sweden, and Finland’s educational system. More specifically, the paper examines how the school system of Norway, Sweden, and Finland can help preserve sámi culture. In doing so, the essay explores three different cultural aspects from a sámi perspective, namely: the possibility to learn a sámi language in school, to learn sámi handicraft, and to learn about reindeer husbandry. Furthermore, the essay explores how these aspects are approached in the different nations by analyzing national school law and regulation. The material is then analyzed through the concepts of enculturation and socialization. In short, enculturation deals with different processes that aims to preserve and appropriate one’s own culture whereas socialization deals with processes that aims to assimilate people into the main culture. The results of the study show that all three nations have tendencies of preserving sami culture depending on which aspect that is studied. For instance, all countries support sámi language education but to what degree, varies between the nations. In contrast, only the Swedish educational system explicitly supports education in sámi handicraft and reindeer husbandry. Even though the results indicate differences between the countries’ educational system they also in-dicate that their national law on the matter of sámi rights are mostly similar in writing. Finally,