Reindeer herders fear Arctic industry boom

 

A well-researched article on the BBC website about challenges facing the Sami as the so-called Green Revolution pushes forward with more mining and wind farming in Northern Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Depressing but crucial reading.

 

Ice Music

 

I'm enchanted by the sounds and sight of instruments made of ice played in a concert hall made of ice and snow. Tim Linhart speaks about his journey as a musician and ice carver in this short video from National Geographic.

 

 

 

Over the Border to Asylum in Norway: Russian Sami Andrei Danilov's story

 

Andrei Danilov  Photo: Thomas Nilsen

The always interesting Barents Observer, which covers politics and life in the European Arctic, has this story today on Andrei Danilov. Born in Lovozero, the main  Sámi settlement in Russia's Kola Peninsula, Danilov fled Russia for Norway in February, 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. He is currently seeking asylum in order to stay in Norway. 

 For the past thirty years, the Russian Sámi have been part of the Sámi Council representing all Sámi in the four countries, Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Now that cooperation has been suspended, in part due to the fact that some of Sámi on the Russian side are actively supporting Putin's actions. 

I found this development distressing to read about, given how harshly the Sámi themselves have been treated by the Russian state, and how meaningful it's been for the Sámi in every part of Sápmi to be able to connect and work together.

Several other cross-border long-term cooperations are also being suspended in the face of the continuing war in Ukraine, as reported by High North News. They include The Norwegian Barents Secretariat and  Barents Press International, "a network for journalists and editors in the Barents region in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The network was founded after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the start of the 1990s."

 

From Lapland to Sápmi: Collecting and Returning Sámi Craft and Culture

 

 

From Lapland to Sápmi

Collecting and Returning Sámi Craft and Culture

 

It's been over three years since I first began to write this book, during a time before the pandemic, when I imagined long days in libraries and even a research trip to Scandinavia. How differently it turned out! Six months or so into the book the libraries closed and I postponed my trip, as it turned out, indefinitely. But through colleagues, friends, and complete strangers in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, as well as librarians and booksellers, I managed to get the materials I needed and keep going. In fact, sometimes the marvelous things I learned and read made up for the fact that I was stuck at home for months, like most of you.

Yesterday, I finished reviewing the substantial index, and soon the book is off to the printers, with a publication date of March 19, 2023. I am so thrilled to think of this project in final form. The University of Minnesota Press has once again been such a delight to work with, and they have really expended a lot of time and resources on adding b/w and color illustrations and coming up with a fantastic cover design based on Sámi artist Britta Marakatt-Labba's textile art, History.  

Look for more about the contents in coming blog posts. Meanwhile, here's some of the advance publicity:

[from the catalog] The story of the Indigenous Sámi living in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia unfolds across borders and centuries, in museums and private collections. Deftly written and amply illustrated, From Lapland to Sápmi brings to light the history of collecting, displaying, and returning Sámi material culture, as well as the story of Sámi creativity and individual and collective agency.

"An important contribution to Sámi stories of loss, recovery, and the struggle for equality, as well as the right to manage one’s own cultural heritage on one’s own terms. As Barbara Sjoholm charts the transformation of Lapland to Sápmi in objects, joiks, and storytelling, Sámi voices emerge to share essential aspects of their history. As we say in Sápmi, ‘Čálli giehta ollá guhkás—A writing hand reaches far.’" —Káren Elle Gaup, coeditor of Bååstede: The Return of Sámi Cultural Heritage

"Barbara Sjoholm’s From Lapland to Sápmi chronicles in vivid words and images the colonial encounters of Sámi and non-Sámi as told through the objects, images, and recordings that eventually became sequestered in Nordic museums and archives. It also tells the inspiring story of efforts to recover and return these items to their rightful communities as part of Sámi decolonization and self-determination." —Thomas Dubois, coauthor of Sámi Media and Indigenous Agency in the Arctic North

"Fascinating and important, From Lapland to Sápmi presents a nuanced and enlightening look at the cultural history of objects and collections originating in Sápmi. With rich detail and riveting storytelling, Barbara Sjoholm presents a diverse picture of the north and its entangled histories of collecting in Sápmi. I heartily recommend it for students and scholars." —Trude Fonneland, The Arctic University Museum of Tromsø

"Barbara Sjoholm's new book takes you on a remarkable journey. What emerges from this insightful study is an important cultural history of the Indigenous Sámi people in northern Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Russia. This book traces how scholars, clergy, and other collectors actively worked to shape how we understand (and misunderstand) the Sámi people and their world. By exploring how the materials crafted by the Sámi have been gathered, studied, and displayed, Sjoholm offers a glimpse into how knowledge has been constructed, controlled, and disseminated over time. People have been writing about the Sámi since the 1500s, but as From Lapland to Sápmi demonstrates, the Sámi culture became a testing ground for emergent sciences like ethnography and archaeology, fields that encouraged participants to gather objects for museums across Europe and beyond. This is a story with important ramifications for the world today." —Samuel J. Redman, author of The Museum: A Short History of Crisis and Resilience and Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology

Publishing Children's Books in South Sámi: One Way to Save and Develop a Language

 

 

A friend first told me about an article in English by a Norwegian librarian at the Trøndelag county library in Norway. Morten Olsen Haugen is working with the Sámi community to translate and publish more children's books, everything from picture books to YA to audio books, in the south Sámi language.

Morten Olsen Haugen, librarian and publisher

South Sámi is one of the smaller Sámi language groups, with an estimated 600 to 2500 speakers, mostly in Norway (compared to at least 20,000 speakers and readers of North Sámi in Norway, Sweden, and Finland). Although more adults and children now study and speak south Sámi, there have been fewer resources for them. 

Until around ten years ago when the Trøndelag county library jumped into publishing. Since then around a hundred books have been published. 

According to Morten Olsen Haugen, "While we acknowledge the need to develop indigenous voices and literature, we could not sit and wait for these books to emerge.

"We needed to publish a large quantity of books at a rapid pace. When we started, there were 2-3 new children’s books in southern Saami each year. We’ve published more than 10 each year.

"There is also the matter of language policy here. We want to bring the Saami language outside the traditional areas of their users’ culture. Saami children should be able to use their heart language even when they read – and talk – about pets, football, pirates, princesses, ghosts and monsters."

 

 

 

 

For readers of Norwegian (Nynorsk), here's a link to one of Haugen's own posts describing the project in greater detail. The images here are taken from that post.

By the Fire: Now in Paperback

First published in English translation in 2019, By the Fire, an engaging collection of Sami folktales from Scandinavia  illustrated in the early twentieth century, is now available in paperback from the University of Minnesota Press. 

These stories, collected by the Danish artist and ethnographer Emilie Demant Hatt (1873–1958) during her travels in the early twentieth century among the nomadic Sami in Swedish Sápmi, grant entry to a fascinating world of wonder and peril, of nature imbued with spirits, and strangers to be outwitted with gumption and craft. This first English publication of By the Fire is at once a significant contribution to the canon of world literature, a unique glimpse into Sami culture, and a testament to the enduring art of storytelling.

Climate Justice Panel at the EU-SAMI WEEK

The Markbygden wind farm in Pitea, Sweden/Washington Post

In my previous blog I offered a few impressions from the streamed panels I listened to as part of EU-Sámi Week (June 20-22, 2022) at the European Parliament in Brussels. On Tuesday afternoon, June 21, there was a two-part program on Climate Justice that I highly recommend watching  for better insight into how an Indigenous people are dealing with increasing demands on their traditional lands in the name of green energy and sustainability.

 

A few days ago (June 29, 2022) the Washington Post published an article on “the Green Revolution Sweeping Sweden,” detailing the excitement in certain industrial and government sectors about various plans for steel plants and other factories to be sited up in the north of the country, factories that would offer plenty of jobs and also be built and operated using green technology. Often called the “green transition” in the press, these initiatives and others align with Sweden’s admirable goal to be fossil-free by 2045, and to ensure that 100% of the energy used will be renewable. At the same time, the “green transition” tries to reassure us that businesses and individuals will not suffer: Increased growth, often involving global partners, will be fully sustainable and even highly profitable.

On the Climate Justice panel, Mikael Kuhmunen, a reindeer herder and the leader of the Sirges sameby near Jokkmokk, said the “green transition” should instead be called the “black transition.” The recent decision in March, 2022, by the Swedish government to go ahead with granting a mining lease to Jokkmokk Iron Mines AB for the Gallók open pit mine is a bitter blow to reindeer herders and to environmentalists who had hoped that the mining concession would be cancelled. Iron Mines AB is a subsidiary of Beowulf Mining, a UK-based company that has had its eye on Gallók for many years. Many thought that the mine would never be approved because of the steady and increasing opposition.

There is nothing green about this proposed iron ore mine so close to the Lule River, or the many other iron ore, copper and other mines planned for Northern Sweden. Nor is there much that'svery  green about the proposed steel mills near Luleå, which will rely for energy on hydropower and a proposed huge wind farm.

Mikael Kuhmunen participated in one of the two panels on Climate Justice held at the EU-Sámi Week. These two panels involved Sámi politicians, activists, and youth organizers, as well as a few non-Sámi politicians from Sweden and Finland and EU bureaucrats, one of whom was Jesús Alquézar Sabadie, a socio-economic analyst, who projected sympathy and understanding for the issues facing the Sámi in the Arctic, and said that most climate policies are based on macro-modeling, and don't take into account human rights and the rights of Indigenous people.

Michael Mann, the EU Special Envoy for Arctic Matters, participated in both panels. He is British and has held various portfolios; his air was polite and politic. He wanted to listen, he often said, while often reminding the Sámi that they shared the same goal (fewer hydrocarbons) and that the Sámi would not get everything they wanted from the EU.

As the panels went on, I often had the feeling that in spite of the expressed desire to work together, the Sámi panelists and the EU representatives were often speaking to different worldviews and in parallel languages. The tone was even and courteous, but the Sámi took issue at times with EU-speak about sustainable growth. In the second panel, Åsa Larsson Blind, currently vice-president of the Saami Council, asked some searching questions about growth and what was meant by the word sustainable. “What are we sustaining?” she asked. “Should we be using this many resources or should we become more efficient with the resources we have?” She side-stepped a suggestion from the EU parliament member from northern Sweden that the Sámi might consider becoming part owners of some of these energy companies, such as LKAB, the giant Swedish state-owned mining company that operates the lucrative mine in Kiruna and has development interests elsewhere in northern Sweden/Sápmi. Such ownership would result in benefit-sharing of profits. Behind such talk was the assumption that northern Sweden is both empty and poor, and that everyone would benefit from the income generated by “green” projects.

Åsa Larsson Blind quietly countered that the Sámi people considered themselves “caretakers” of the land, and their primary responsibility was to protect the land, as they had always done. She spoke of Indigenous knowledge as a benefit to others, that Sámi use of the land had something to teach outsiders. For instance, biodiversity loss tends to be far less in Indigenous lands than in more developed areas.

Just as pointed were the thoughtful words of Eirik Larsen, an Indigenous lawyer and a political advisor to the Norwegian Sámi Parliament. He spoke of the richness of Sámi life and reminded the EU speakers that not everything in life was based on money. Just as importantly he spoke to the issue of consent.

Throughout the text of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007 by the General Assembly (including all the countries in the EU), the words “free, prior, and informed consent” consistently appear. Of note in the case of land use is Article 32, which states that:

 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources.

2. States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the develop­ment, utilization or exploitation of mineral, wa­ter or other resources.

Eirik Larsen reminded the EU representatives that “first we talk about consent. And then we talk about sharing benefits.” He also reminded those on the panel that sometimes when the state and Sápmi consulted together, “the answer is no.”

This discussion is taking place at a time when member states of the EU are highly concerned about energy security because of the war of aggression against Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia. Part of the desire for security is not having to depend on unstable states outside the EU for energy supplies but to develop the EU's own resources and to focus on renewable energy. In this calculation, member states like Sweden and Finland are thought to play a significant role. The Arctic is under extreme stress from climate change, including the warming of the polar areas and the destruction of boreal forests to logging and disease. But the lands above the Arctic circle also are rich in minerals, rivers, and less populated areas for wind farms.

If Sápmi didn’t have many things that Europe now wants and needs, there might not have been the impetuous for an EU-Sámi week of discussions open to public viewing. The Sámi, a minority in the Nordic countries and even more a minority in Europe, are important players in Arctic and energy discussions and will become more so in future. The question is whether Indigenous rights and a parallel view of what makes life rich and sustainable will also get a hearing. 

And whether the Sámi will find enough support to demanding the right to say “No.”

 

 

 

 

Notes on EU-SAMI WEEK 2022

 
 

Between the recent conservative decisions at the Supreme Court and the January 6 hearings, I’ve been online a lot these days, trying to keep up with fast-moving events. But I also made time to stream panel discussions and catch videos on YouTube of the recent EU-SÁMI WEEK 2022, held in Brussels from June 20-22. 

This event is described as “the first step in raising awareness among EU decision-makers about the need to include the Sámi people in EU policymaking.” Sámiráđđi, the Saami Council, a pan-Sámi organization based in Karasjok, Norway, was the prime organizer, along with Finnish Sámi Youth (Suoma Sámi Nuorat: SSN), in Utsjoki, Finland.

The Saami Council formally established an EU Unit in January, 2019, headed by lawyer and reindeer herder, Elle Merete Omma, a quiet but dynamic force much in evidence at the panels.

The panels were notable for including a majority of women and particularly Sámi young women as speakers and moderators. Most of the participants from Sápmi wore gakti. They included those who have been elected representatives of the Sámi parliaments or who belong to the Saami Council, and those who have legal backgrounds and contribute to Arctic organizations. The panels also included non-indigenous people from Finland and Sweden, who are representatives to the EU parliament as well as a few people representing the EU's committees on the Arctic.

It's obvious that decisions made in the EU and decisions among member states, Finland and Sweden, impact the Sámi indigenous peoples of all the Nordic countries, including Norway. The EU-Sámi Week was designed to continue the process of "filling in the knowledge gaps" on both sides. The EU needs to know more about culture, heritage, and economics in Sápmi, and the Sámi people need to know more about how the EU functions, so as to be able to work more effectively with the EU to address issues of concern.

As was pointed out in the opening panel, the EU is very supportive of Indigenous people, but their proclamations have often applied only to Indigenous people outside the EU. The Sámi, as is well-known, are the only Indigenous people within Europe. The panelists pointed out three areas where EU policies impact Sápmi. Some of the clean energy projects promoted by the EU are actually harmful to the people and animals of Sápmi. Many of the solutions to the current climate crisis promoted by the global community have an impact on traditional ways of life, in Sápmi as well as other Indigenous areas. There is often little input from Sámi about where these some of these energy projects are located. The panelists also described how, although member states receive funding from the EU, little of that generally goes to the Sámi. Thirdly, the panelists mentioned that many EU regulations that directly impact the Sámi are often imposed without input from the Sámi, and that exemptions are not discussed. 

More on the panel discussion on Climate Justice to come in another blog. I'm still thinking about the issues that came up when I watched this particular panel and the questions it raised raise about underlying assumptions around resources and sustainability.