Tourism and Sámi Identity – An Analysis of the Tourism‐Identity Nexus in a Sámi Community

Abstract

This article is a study of the tourism-identity nexus in a Sámi community called Karasjohka, often regarded as the Sámi capital in Norway. The aim is, based on focus group interviews, to look at the importance of tourism as a parameter for identity negotiations. The study indicates the existence of a strong Sámi ethos, but people have multiple roles and in many of these the Sáminess is of minor importance. The relation to tourists or to tourism as such seems to be handled through non-Sámi roles. The study unveiled three main reactions to tourism; the first one is to be irritated -by the way the tourism industry handles Sámi culture, and by the fact that the most profitable parts of the business is in the hands of non-Sámi; the second one is called reflexive rejection -tourism is maintained to be of minimal importance for cultural and identity issues; and the third one is called discursive awareness -people admitting that tourism is a significant institution and as such being part of the contexts that over time forms their views of themselves, their culture and of the outer world.

Tourism and the Sámi in transition: a discourse analysis of Swedish newspapers, 1982–2015

“…Such articles show that the Sámi identity is constructed by both the dominant Swedish society and the Sámi themselves. This echoes other researchers' findings, that there is "discursive awareness" of the significance of tourism in its role in constructing Sáminess (Viken, 2006), and that tourism can be used by Sámi individuals to achieve their own subjective goals (Keskitalo & Schilar, 2016;Niskala & Ridanpää, 2016). On the other hand, it contrasts what Pietikäinen (2003) observes about the representation of the Sámi in the national Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat as a primitive and homogenous group.…”

“…The "Sáminess" in tourism How "Sáminess" is represented, constructed and utilized in tourism has been examined in previous studies (Niskala & Ridanpää, 2016;Viken, 2006). Through the articles here, it is also shown that as a consequence of the ethno-political discourses on Sápmi and the Sámi, Sáminess is constructed and negotiated through tourism.…”

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

“…In particular, tourism and handicrafts are seen as vital supplementary revenue for Sámi who continue to practise more traditional occupations, such as traditional reindeer herding, fishing, etc., or who currently practise these activities only to some extent (Müller and Pettersson 2001;Scheffy 2004;Dana and Remes 2005;Viken 2006;Leu and Müller 2016;Niskala and Ridanpää 2016). In contrast to indigenous people elsewhere, Sámi engagement in tourism can thus not be seen as a "last option", but represents rather one alternative among others (Viken and Müller 2017).…”

“…Similarly, it seems that past norms were thought to imply that "a Sámi" could not be, e.g. "a Swede", whilst today with Sámi relations, one can choose or switch between identities or adhere fully to both Sámi and Swedish/Norwegian/Finnish identity (Viken 2006). Hence, Sáminess is seen as valuable, a sort of extra-identity and a matter of "who has it":…”

“…Accordingly, "ethnic distinctions and demarcation have become important issues at both the collective and individual levels" (Valkonen 2014, 210), especially because the question of who is and is not a Sámi is complex (Amft 2000;Müller and Pettersson 2001;Valkonen 2014). For instance, some people might identify as Sámi, but not be recognized as Sámi (Sarivaara, Uusiautti, and Määttä 2013); or some members of a family might both self-identify and be recognized as Sámi, while others might not based on their personal situation (Viken 2006). While Sámi-ness has often been associated with, for instance, reindeer herding, fishing, crafting and closeness to nature, what constitutes Sáminess today is much more contested.…”