Introduction: Indigenous matters are viewed as a priority by the library profession around the world and the library law in Sweden states that the national minorities, which include the indigenous Sámi people, are a prioritised group. Despite these facts there is little research on indigenous matters in relation to libraries, library practice, and service. In Sweden especially, there is little focus on the colonial heritage and what effects, if any, it has on the library. Method: This essay aims to examine three areas. First, how libraries in Sweden work to promote and support the Sámi population in regards to culture, language, and identity. Second, what needs and wishes the Sámi population have in regards to library service. Lastly, whether or not the colonial heritage is visible in library practice and service and to what extent. The colonial heritage and its effects is a pervasive theme throughout the essay. To answer these questions three librarians from two different libraries and three Sámi informants were interviewed.  Analysis: Since the heritage from colonialism is a key theme it was natural to apply a postcolonial framework for the text analysis of the interview transcriptions.  Results: The findings show that the colonial heritage is still visible in library practice and service, although not deliberate from the profession. The two libraries in question are working to counteract the colonial heritage while promoting and supporting the Sámi population by providing books in the Sámi languages and making effort to give them a prominent place in the physical library room.  Conclusion: There is still a need for improvements in regards to giving the languages a prominent place in the libraries with for instance signage and shelf placement. As well as organising activities for and about the Sámi population, as pointed out from the Sámi informants. One solution may be to give the Sámi status as an indigenous people in the Swedish library law instead of merely status as a national minority. This could give libraries the economic resources they often lack and thus motivating them to prioritise and make extra efforts in their work to the Sámi population. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

Samers historia är präglad av kolonisation, rasism och marginalisering. Sverige erkände samer som ett urfolk år 1977 och antog urfolksdeklarationen år 2007 som finns till för att skydda urfolk och deras rättigheter. Däremot har Sverige inte ratificerat ILO konventionen nr. 169 om ursprungsfolk och stamfolk i självstyrande länder. Detta på grund av att staten inte uppfyller minimikraven på urfolks markrättigheter. Samernas mark har blivit exploaterad under en lång tid där staten har gynnats av de rika naturresurser som finns i området. Samer som är ett erkänt urfolk har enligt urfolksdeklarationen rätt till självbestämmande. Trots att Sverige har antagit deklarationen uppfylls inte detta. Detta har resulterat i en kritik mot Sverige från bland annat FN och en debatt har förts om ämnet. Sametinget är ett folkvalt parlament och en myndighet som främst ska arbeta med frågor som rör samisk kultur och enligt de själva saknar de beslutanderätt. Detta har kritiserats av politiker i Sametinget då de som urfolk har rätt till självbestämmande.  I studien genomförs kvalitativa intervjuer med sex politiker från Sametinget. Studiens syfte är att få en djupare förståelse om vilka uppfattningar och mål det finns om ett samiskt självbestämmande i de olika partierna i Sametinget. Studien bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomförts med sex politiker från fem olika partier. Med avstamp i bestämda teorier och tidigare forskning analyseras respondenternas svar för att få en teoretisk förståelse i ämnet och kartlägga eventuella kopplingar.  Studiens resultat påvisar att politikerna från de olika partiernas delar liknande uppfattningar och mål inom samiskt självbestämmande. De anser att självbestämmandet är för litet och belyser samma viktiga komponenter inom självbestämmande såsom: naturresurser, kultur och Sametinget. De påpekar även att ett utökande av Sametinget och mer resurser behövs. Resultatet visar även på att politikerna anser att statens makt är för stor och de vill ha ökad rådighet över frågor som berör dem. Studiens slutsats visar att det finns flera kopplingar till teorierna, framförallt till den postkoloniala.

In the Forest Sámi community (Skogssameby) of Gällivare in northeastern Sweden, reindeer husbandry is in peril as commercial interests degrade viable reindeer habitat. Among clear-cut forest and young plantations, between highways and railroad tracks, reindeer seek dwindling food. Pressed into smaller and smaller patches of land, they become easier targets for large predators and run out of food more rapidly, forcing greater intervention by herders to ensure the survival of the reindeer. Two large wind power development projects, which, if built, will dominate the landscape, could catalyze a collapse in reindeer husbandry in Gällivare Sameby (Sámi community) from which reindeer herders and the reindeer population may struggle to recover. This loss would be catastrophic from human rights, ecological, and sustainability perspectives. Reindeer husbandry is a key cultural activity for the Sámi people, Europe’s only recognized Indigenous group; reindeer are also native to Sweden, and even a localized collapse in the population could have far-reaching ramifications for the local ecosystem; and reindeer are a critical source of sustainable food in the harsh arctic and sub-arctic climate of Sápmi. This case study is concerned with the pressures and encroachments on reindeer husbandry that have been observed by Henrik Andersson, a reindeer herder, activist, and board member of Gällivare Forest Sámi community. Through four weeks of fieldwork, including participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, I determined the issues that Henrik considered most pressing and attempted to gain a holistic understanding of the socio-ecological system. In this paper, I have examined the main challenges to the viability of reindeer husbandry in Gällivare Skogssameby and their relationship to one another and discussed the extent to which these challenges are caused and exacerbated by ongoing colonization of Swedish Sápmi and based in Sweden’s colonial history in the region. / Dálkke

Abstract Elliott, E. 2022. Monsters versus Humans – A Comparative Study of the Storytelling about Sasquatch and Stallo This essay aims to get a deeper knowledge of how indigenous peoples have created discursive narratives to explain and understand the inexplicable occurrences in existence. The study has compared the discourses about Sasquatch and Stallo, figures from the lore of indigenous peoples in North America and northern Europe respectively, to see if and how they relate. By looking at traditional Sasquatch stories of Native American tribes in North America, and traditional Stallo stories of the Sami people in northern Europe, it has been possible to compare the contents of the storytelling to reveal both differences and similarities. Keywords: Sasquatch, Stallo, indigenous people, Native Americans, Sami, North America, Europe, ethnology, folklore / Abstrakt Elliott, E. 2022. Monster mot människor – En komparativ studie av berättandet om Sasquatch och Stalo Denna studie syftar till att få en djupare förståelse för hur ursprungsbefolkningar har skapat diskursiva narrativ för att förklara och förstå de oförklarliga inslagen i tillvaron. Studien har jämfört diskurserna om Sasquatch och Stalo, figurer från berättartraditioner hos ursprungsbefolkningar i Nordamerika respektive norra Europa, för att se om och hur de relaterar till varandra. Genom att se på traditionella berättelser om Sasquatch bland ursprungsbefolkningen i Nordamerika, och traditionella berättelser om Stalo bland samerna i norra Europa, är det möjligt att jämföra innehållet i berättandet för att finna både skillnader och likheter. Nyckelord: Sasquatch, Stalo, ursprungsbefolkning, ursprungsamerikaner, samer, Nordamerika, Europa, etnologi, folklore

I have in this thesis problematized the Swedish climate transition potentially making Sweden one of the first fossil free welfare states in the world. The forest industry has been designated as one of the central components of climate transition in that it will help replace fossil fuels and other unsustainable materials. One group being affected by the increased forestry is that of the Sámi reindeer herders. Not only are they already affected by the effects of climate change to a great extent, but the forest industry in turn causes problems for reindeer husbandry and is a direct source of reduced quality in forests which provide lichen, the primary food source for reindeer. I have conducted interviews with five reindeer herders in the Malå forest Sámi village, in Västerbotten, in northern Sweden, to gain a keener understanding of the effects of climate change and the forest industry on reindeer herding, from a security perspective. The results show that the interviewees perceive climate change and large-scale forestry as a threat to their livelihood connected to reindeer husbandry and, in turn, a significant part of Sámi culture and existence, and that the two exacerbate the effects of each other. Among the effects, are the loss of forest that provides shelter and sustenance for reindeer, as well as the wellbeing and spirituality of the reindeer herders. Using theories drawn from Anthropocene and postcolonial literature, I hereby problematize the climate transition in Sweden in that it is based on a particular way of viewing the relationship between humans and nature. This causes problems for reindeer husbandry, and ultimately a reduction in security for reindeer herders that is reminiscent of and upholding the frictional and colonial bonds between Sweden and Sápmi (the region inhabited by Sámi people).

Social services and violence in close relationship in a sami context A qualitative study of the social services opportunities to provide support to women exposed to violence in a sami culture in Sweden  Background: There is a lack of studies in Sweden that includes and describes violence against Sami women and how important the social worker's ambition is to create and maintain basic knowledge and efforts to support Sami women who’s exposed to domestic violence.  Aim: The aim of this study is to clarify how the social services in Sweden work for the Sami women to be able to get the help they need.  Methods: The study is based on four individual qualitative interviews with social workers from Norrbottens och Västerbottens län. For analysis intersectionality and postcolonial theory has been used.  Results: The results have shown us that there are both similarities and differences for social workers who’s involved with Sami women as clients. What all social services had in common was that they all had to seek cultural knowledge by themselves. What differd was the view of cultural relevance. Some of the social workers thought there should be more of importance to have cultural knowledge when working with Sami women who’s exposed to domestic violence, others had the opinion that the aim is to treat every client based on the guidelines that have been determined at the social service office and is directed to all abused women. / Socialtjänsten och våld i nära relation i en samisk kontext En kvalitativ studie om socialtjänstens möjligheter att ge stöd till våldsutsatta kvinnor inom samisk kultur i Sverige  Bakgrund: Det saknas studier i Sverige som inkluderar och beskriver våld mot samiska kvinnor och hur viktig socialsekreterarens ambition är för att skapa och upprätthålla grundläggande kunskaper och insatser för att stödja samiska kvinnor som är utsatta för våld i hemmet.  Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en förståelse hur socialarbetare i Sverige arbetar för att de samiska kvinnorna ska kunna få den hjälp de behöver.  Metod: Studien bygger på fyra individuella kvalitativa intervjuer med socialsekreterare från Norrbottens och Västerbottens län. För analys så har intersektionalitet och postkolonial teori använts.  Resultat: Resultaten har visat oss att det finns både likheter och skillnader för socialarbetare som är engagerade i samiska kvinnor som klienter. Gemensamt för alla socialtjänster var att de alla var tvungna att söka efter kulturell kunskap själva. Det som skilde sig var synen på relevans av kulturell kunskap i arbetet. En del av socialsekreterarna tyckte att det borde vara viktigare att ha kulturell kunskap när de arbetar med samiska kvinnor som är utsatta för våld i hemmet, andra menade att syftet är att behandla varje klient utifrån de riktlinjer som har fastställts på socialtjänsten och som riktas till alla våldsutsatta kvinnor.

Stina Aronson (1892–1956) is a celebrated Swedish modernist who published twenty-five works during the first part of the 20th century. Her writings are considered to be progressive and ethical due to extensive feminist and eco-critical research. Aronson’s novel Hitom himlen(This Side of Heaven, 1946) captures the life in upper Northern Sweden, in the Torne Valley, during the beginning of 20th century. In this thesis, I examine the narrative by placing it in relation to the racial hierarchies permeating society during the initial decades of the 20th century. The Finnish-speaking minority living in the Torne Valley came to be considered racially different from the national majority, due to national and international race science – today understood as scientific racism– and anthropology. My analysis shows how the characters are racialized using such ideas as the Mongolian theory and the cephalic index. It is further made evident that the novel captures a perception claiming the so-called ‘Finns’ were of an inferior race. And further, the belief that a mixture of Swedish, Finnish and Sami blood had weakened the group genetically. The mixture of races was defined as a serious threat to the Swedish population, who was regarded as the whitest and purest population on earth. Aronson captures this belief of a future extinction by depicting the death and illness of the youngest generation in the novel. Furthermore, the main character, Emma Niskanpää, believes that she meets God during the church service at the yearly holiday Marie bebådelsedag. I argue though, that the man she encounters is a fictitious Herman Lundborg (1868–1943), the most prominent of the Swedish race biologists, who, in reality, repeatedly performed skull measurement during this celebration. Directly following on this encounter, the ”deaf-and-dumb” daughter of the family Renström is buried along with several others and Emma Niskanpää’s son falls ill with tuberculosis. In this way, the novel captures the racial surveys carried out on minority groups– surveys which are today considered a national trauma. In This Side of Heaven, Stina Aronson turns into literature a specific form of racism and a forgotten part of Swedish history as a pioneering country in the formulation of race hierarchies.

The rights of the Sámi; Sweden’s indigenous people, have long been a subject of debate. As part of Sweden’s Climate Act and implementation of the 2030 Agenda, Sweden is currently in the midst of an extensive expansion of wind power where a large proportion of the wind turbines will be located in Sápmi. However, the initiative has already faced strong local opposition leading to various conflicts, in particular between authorities, companies and Sámi villages. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to examine how the ongoing debate regarding wind power in Sápmi is expressed in the Swedish media and the different perspectives, rights and voices highlighted in relation to sustainability and decision-making processes. More specifically, this essay aims to explore the arguments related to the large-scale expansion of wind power in Sápmi, presented by the various actors in the debate. The research material, which consists of ten (10) different argumentative texts in the form of debate articles and submissions from the Swedish daily press, is analyzed using an argumentation analysis. Through the application of postcolonialism and recognition as a theoretical framework, the study also explores the inherent power relations within the wind power conflict. The study concludes that the Swedish media debate regarding wind power in Sápmi roughly boils down to the question of whether the measures taken in the name of the green transition should promote economic benefits or the survival of reindeer husbandry. Finally, a discrepancy between theory and practice regarding the Swedish government's respect for Sámi rights can be identified. The essay is written in Swedish.

In 2017, Sweden adopted a climate policy framework to meet zero emissions of greenhouse gases until the year 2045. In order for this to happen, Sweden must undergo a so-called green transition in which wind power could play a significant role. On the other hand, this development is not as indisputable as it seems, as it encounters resistance from other parties who share legitimate interests, for the land use, namely the Sami. This essay will therefore highlight the possible land use conflicts that may arise during the establishment of the wind turbines. The essay will be based on the collected empirical evidence that was done via interviews with the various parties, the wind power industry, and representatives from the reindeer herding Sami. This conflict over the land use can be restated as a wicked problem. That is, these two in a sense equally valid claims to the land use cannot easily be resolved as there exists no hierarchy of which claim is more important, or which claim is “right” which is also one of the main frameworks that will be analyzed in this essay together with potential environmental justice where this concept is discussed from three different perspectives. The results of this study show that the indigenous people feel that the menace from the wind farms not only threatens reindeer husbandry but also their culture and that these conflicts are due to too little consideration being given to it. Even though the Sami villages are compensated for the encroachments, the lost reindeer pastures are something they feel cannot be fully compensated. The conclusion refers that the main and alternatively the best solution to this insidious problem is to have an early dialogue with both parties and that a greater understanding needs to happen for the Sami to realize their importance. / Sverige antog 2017 ett klimatpolitiskt ramverk för att klara nollutsläpp av växthusgaser fram till år 2045. För att det ska ske måste Sverige genomgå en så kallad grön omställning där vindkraft kan spela en betydande roll. Dessutom är denna utveckling inte så obestridlig som den verkar, eftersom den möter motstånd från andra parter som delar legitima intressen, för markanvändningen, nämligen de renskötande samerna. Denna uppsats kommer belysa de möjliga markanvändningskonflikter som kan uppstå vid etableringen av vindkraftverken. Uppsatsen kommer att baseras på den insamlade empiri som gjorts via intervjuer med de olika parterna, vindkraftsindustrin och representanter från renskötande samer. Denna konflikt om markanvändningen kan återges som ett lömskt problem (wicked problem). Det vill säga att dessa två i en mening lika giltiga anspråk på markanvändningen kan inte lätt lösas eftersom det inte finns någon hierarki över vilket påstående som är viktigast, eller vilket påstående som är "rätt", vilket också är en av huvudramarna som kommer att analyseras i denna uppsats tillsammans med potentiell miljörättvisa där detta koncept diskuteras ur tre olika perspektiv. Resultaten av denna studie visar att urbefolkningen upplever att hotet från vindkraftsparkerna inte bara hotar rennäringen utan även deras kultur och att dessa konflikter beror på att det tas för lite hänsyn till det. Även om samebyarna kompenseras för intrången är de förlorade renbetesmarkerna något som de upplever inte kan kompenseras fullt ut. Slutsatsen visar att den främsta och alternativt bästa lösningen på detta lömska problem är att ha en tidig dialog med, och att en större förståelse behöver ske utifrån båda parter.

This essay focuses on a comparative analysis of costume and makeup presented in the two drag queen road-movies To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar! (1995) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). These movies have similar settings with a group of three drag queens traveling across the country to participate in their big show. The primary main focus of this essay has been to analyze the costumes and makeup that are worn by the three main characters in their drag in each film and what it can say about gender and performativity presented in each film. A semiotic analysis was used as a method to analyze selected sequences and Bordwell and Thompsons (2017) segment about costume and makeup as a part of mise-en-scene was used. The results from each movie were later compared. Other theories that were applied were Judith Butler’s theory (2006) about gender performativity, Richard Dyer (1999) on stereotypes and Laura Mulvey's theory (1999) about the male gaze. The results show that Too Wong Foo focuses more on conforming existing women's gender roles with costumes that could be connected to luxury brands in the connotation, while Priscilla has a more exaggerated approach that was likened to shows on Broadway in the connotation.  The individual project was based on a folder from Samiskt informationscentrum (SIC) and resulted in two short animated movies about Sámi in Sweden and Sápmi.