New knowledge about South Saami history – Collaboration between academic and traditional indigenous knowledge

That is why Mid Sweden University and Gïelem nastedh are conducting this Interreg Aurora project. Participants are the reindeer husbandry districts Ohredahke, Jijnjevaerie, Njaarke, Handölsdalen, Tossåsen, Ruvhten Sijte, Låarten Sijte, Fovsen Njarke Sijte and Skæhkeren Sijte.

The overall goal of the project is to implement the right of the Southern Sámi community to education and knowledge about its own history on equal terms with the majority population and in culturally adapted ways. The project will build infrastructure for, and create conditions for, research on Southern Sámi history and place names where traditional knowledge (for example about reindeer herding and its landscape use) is given the same value as academic knowledge. 

Mutual understanding and respect for traditional Sámi and academic knowledge

The ambition is to promote mutual trust, respect and understanding between the Southern Sámi community and researchers, and to equate traditional and academic knowledge systems. The project will build a robust foundation for future research, identify research questions that are relevant to the Southern Sami community and build networks between the academy in Åarjelsaepmie, Gïelem nastedh in Snåsa municipality, Sami villages, reindeer herding districts and Southern Sami people who are interested in history.

Through three digital workshops, participants will gain basic knowledge about how archives can be used and how historical research is conducted (from the academy) and how to do fieldwork, inventory and register cultural monuments on their lands (from other Sami people). Only then will the Sami stakeholders have equal opportunities to form an opinion about what research they would like.

At the same time, the researchers will gain a basic understanding of Sami culture and traditional Sami landscape use, and thus the conditions to conduct good and relevant research. The hope is that collaboration with the Sami community and teaching about colonial archives with relevance to the Sami villages will give the researchers new ideas for relevant research. The project includes a workshop at Snåsa to jointly formulate questions for future research on South Sami archaeology and history.

The project also aims to stimulate young Sami to pursue higher education and to research, write and teach about their own history. The project is funded by Interreg Aurora Sápmi with co-financing from Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Trøndelag County Council and the Sami Parliament in Norway.

The project is led by Camilla Olofsson Båatas, administrative officer for Saami matters and teacher of South Saami history at Mid Sweden University, and Hanne-Lena Wilks, head of Gïelem nastedh, Snåsa municipality's South Saami language centre.