Hopeful, but Worried for the Future: An Analysis of the Lived Consequences of Colonisation as Narrated by Older South Sámi in Norway

Tove Mentsen Ness () and Mai Camilla Munkejord
Additional contact information
Tove Mentsen Ness: Centre for Sámi and Indigenous Studies, Faculty of Education and Art, Nord University, Høgskolevegen 27, 7600 Levanger, Norway
Mai Camilla Munkejord: Centre for Care Research West, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Årstadvegen 17, 5009 Bergen, Norway

Societies, 2024, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Various forms of colonisation and discrimination processes are unfortunately common to Indigenous Peoples worldwide. In this article, the focus is the lived consequences of colonisation in the Norwegian part of Sápmi (the Sámi traditional lands), where systematic state-imposed colonisation officially ended decades ago. Thus, based on a thematic analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews with 12 South Sámi aged 67–84, the aim was to examine how stories about hopes and worries for the future can shed light on how colonisation is experienced among older South Sámi today. The voices of these participants are important, as they can be considered triply muted, due to (a) ageism and (b) continued yet unconscious colonising practices against the Sámi in general and (c) against the South Sámi people in particular, a minority within the minority. Inspired by decolonising perspectives, this article reveals that older South Sámi are worried for the future, not only due to memories from the past but also their experiences with persisting colonial practices such as the ongoing enlargement of windmill parks and cabin areas in the midst of the winter pastures of the South Sámi reindeer herders. Hopefully, the time has come to finally put an end to colonial practices and take collective responsibility for creating a more just future for both coloniser and colonised. Similarly to the participants in this study, the report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission also stresses issues such as loss of language, experience of racism, and reindeer husbandry being under pressure. This report may therefore be used as an important tool to ameliorate the conditions of the Sámi people if taken into consideration in the time to come.

Keywords: indigenous peoples; South Sámi; Norway; older people; lived experience of colonisation; collective responsibility for the past; decolonising perspective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/14/5/71/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/14/5/71/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:14:y:2024:i:5:p:71-:d:1396416

Access Statistics for this article

Societies is currently edited by Ms. Farrah Sun

More articles in Societies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().