The past is present: Death systems among the Indigenous Sámi in Northern Scandinavia today

Abstract

Despite growing interest in Indigenous health, the lack of end-of-life (EOL) research about the Sámi people led us to explore experiencebased knowledge about EoL issues among the Sámi. We aim here to describe Sámi death systems and the extent to which Kastenbaum's conceptualisation of death systems is appropriate to Sámi culture. Transcribed conversational interviews with 15 individuals, chosen for their varied experiences with EoL issues among Sámi, were first inductively analysed. Kastenbaum's model of death systems, with functions along a time trajectory from prevention to social consolidation after death, and the components of people, times, places, and symbols/ objects, was applied thereafter in an effort to understand the data. The model provides a framework for understanding aspects of the death system that were Sámi-specific, Sámi-relevant as well as what has changed over time. Whereas Kastenbaum differentiated among the components of the death system, our analysis indicated these were often so interrelated as to be nearly inseparable among the Sámi. Seasonal changes and relationships to nature instead of calendar time dominated death systems, linking people, places and times. The extended family's role in enculturation across generations and EoL support was salient. Numerous markers of Sámi culture, both deathspecific and those recruited into the death system, strengthened community identity in the EoL.

Report of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death: bringing death back into life

“…Researchers explored death and dying among the indigenous Sámi people in Northern Scandinavia and concluded that despite differences in core concepts—for example, depending on seasonal changes and relationships rather than calendar time—Kastenbaum's model provides a useful tool for understanding this death system. 51 Similarly, a group studying the preparations made for death by rural Chinese elders found that the tasks, rituals, imagery, meaning, and roles resonated broadly with the structure developed by Kastenbaum. 52 …”

A Salutogenic Perspective on End-of-Life Care among the Indigenous Sámi of Northern Fennoscandia

“…We find that comprehensibility is heightened by a clear understanding of both roles and responsibilities, as well as norms and values that have permeated the Sámi culture across generations. This knowledge, and its dissemination through processes of enculturation [ 1 , 2 ] seem to help make EoL care both meaningful, comprehensible and manageable. Meaningfulness is indeed one of the most prominent aspects of these data, and difficult to disentangle from comprehensibility and manageability, as both concrete and general descriptions could be permeated with pride and joy in Sámi traditions and culture.…”

“…While the bulk of the data used for analysis was generated as described above, this was complemented with a directed content analysis [ 27 ] to find additional relevant data from our combined, previously generated data with 58 other individuals derived from (a) individual interviews ( n = 15, see [ 1 ] for detail) from 2016–2017 with both Sámi and non-Sámi informants with experience of dying, death and bereavement among Sámi; (b) storytelling in go-along group discussions to gravesites at the tree-line with cultural and historical significance for the Indigenous Sámi peoples held in 2017 ( n = 12 Sámi participants [ 2 ]); and (c) brief explorative advance care planning (ACP) discussions with 31 Sámi people with participants at Sámi events in 2019–2020 [ 3 ], see Table 1 . While the data collection approaches varied, they shared the characteristic of addressing EoL issues in conversational form, and the combined database for this analysis focused on transcript excerpts related to EoL care only.…”

“…These projects also share some methodological features, working with innovative approaches in partnership with different publics and disciplines. Prompted by the limited empirical data about both health and EoL issues, the article presented here is one of several in a project focusing on EoL issues among the Indigenous Sámi people in Sweden [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. While there is increasing international attention paid to Indigenous health issues, most EoL-related research still derives from Australia, New Zealand and Canada [ 4 , 5 ].…”

“…In contrast to many assumptions, we found that by using a variety of conversational-based data collection and analysis approaches, Sámi people were willing to share their experiences and knowledge related to EoL issues with us. However, the research we conducted previously did not focus on the part of Kastenbaum’s death system related to “care for dying” [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]; in this article, we make an effort to fill this knowledge gap.…”