Conflicts Over the Repatriation of Sami Cultural Heritage in Sweden

Abstract

More than 400 years of colonization and assimilation policy by the Nordic states has created a new situation for Sami culture. Over this long period the Sami heritage has become thoroughly marginalized, but today the more overt conflicts that we find elsewhere in the world between colonizing states and indigenous peoples have diminished. Such conflicts are, perhaps, more characteristic of an earlier stage of the colonial frontier, and they have been replaced by post-colonial forms of consensus. Despite the shared experiences of the Sami in their recent history, some important differences have emerged between Nordic states in how the Sami heritage is perceived and how it is managed. Much more than in Norway, the dominant attitudes of the Swedish state continue to echo the discriminatory attitudes of the past, but in a more restrained way. This continuity of attitudes is demonstrated here using examples of current policies and practices. Particularly in Sweden, there are continuing conflicts between nationalism and the Sami world view, but I argue that these old conflicts are no longer the main problem in Scandinavia. Instead, scholars, Sami leaders, and others concerned with heritage in the north are finding common cause in opposing what we might call the 'wilderness assumptions' of policy makers in the south, especially within the neo-liberal Swedish state. These assumptions have been reinforced by the restructuring of state finances, and they are now leading towards neglect of northern cultural heritage and its associated institutions, particularly museums. These assertions are supported using examples from various museums and through case studies of the repatriation of Sami cultural objects such as drums and siejdde-stones, and the continuing problems with Sami skeletal remains.

Ethnic boundaries and boundary-making in handicrafts: examples from northern Norway, Sweden and Finland

“…The current position of individual Sámi people can vary according to background, lifestyle, community as well as the legal situations found in the different nation states (Åhrén 2010). Addressing cultural policies, Mulk (2009), for instance, critically points out that the Swedish state may be continuing to echo the discriminatory attitudes of the past; while in Norway, stronger politicization seems to have led to a stronger position for Sámi people. Hence, neither Sámi nor any of the other minority groups can be viewed (or studied) as a single entity without acknowledging the great internal variation and heterogeneity.…”

“…Particular research attention has been paid to the Sámi's exposure to national assimilation politics, the period of cultural revival from the 1960s onward, as well as their more recent recognition as indigenous people (e.g. Eidheim 1971;Minde,2003;Gaski 2008;Mulk 2009;Thuen 2012;Valkonen 2014;Viken and Müller 2017). The current position of individual Sámi people can vary according to background, lifestyle, community as well as the legal situations found in the different nation states (Åhrén 2010).…”

Caring for the dead? An alternative perspective on Sámi reburial

“…Similar concerns are reflected in various ways in the discourse on these issues in relation to Sámi contexts (see, e.g. Sellevold 2002;Schanche 2002aSchanche , 2002bSchanche , 2002cFalck and Skandfer 2004;Holand 2004;Lehtola 2005;Stångberg 2005;Harlin 2008aHarlin , 2008bNilsson Stutz 2008;Mulk 2009;Ojala 2009Ojala , 2016 The symbolic value of reburial appears to be of fundamental significance in all cases.…”

Remembering and Forgetting, Discovering and Cherishing

“…The acquisition by an official museum or similar memory institution not only dislocates the objects from its original (or the latest) location and owner (see Mulk 2009, for example, concerning Sámi objects in Swedish museums and complications over repatriation), but alters the status of the object: 'the special, "musealised" status of objects in museums -their selection due to a connection to a significant individual or as representative of communities, historical periods, artistic or craft styles, or scientific advancements (to name a few possibilities) -transforms them from mere objects into "museum pieces"' (Grove & Thomas 2016, 2).…”