The indigenous Sámi languages of the Nordic countries and North-West Russia have gained official recognition after a long period of neglect and assimilation policies. In the context of positive changes in state or macro level indigenous policy and especially that regarding language policy, this paper investigates what subsequently happens at the grassroots or micro level. This investigation shows that despite more positive policies, there is a strong sentiment of defeatism with regard to Sámi. Sámi speakers face problems because of the lack of implementation of nationally decided laws at the local level, they encounter prejudice and neglect from other people, even in their families, and as a result they often experience difficulty in transmitting Sámi to their children. Nevertheless, they also express belief in Sámi and feel a need for this transmission, not only for affective reasons and for the sake of cultural maintenance, but also for instrumental reasons, i.e. to give their children better opportunities in the labor market where knowledge of Sámi is necessary.
Indigenous journalism can facilitate the inclusion of Indigenous voices in the public sphere, thereby contributing to social change. Contemporary Indigenous journalism is in part facilitated by the introduction and diffusion of paradigmatic media innovations, including the Internet, mobile technology, and social media. Based on a literature review, we investigate how media innovations are understood to facilitate Indigenous journalism and find that few empirical studies directly address this question. Analyses of Indigenous journalism, reaching beyond the potential for increased access to media and for amplification of Indigenous voice, are lacking. Furthermore, little research investigates how the appropriation of new technological affordances influence the production of Indigenous journalism. Our review also indicates that while Indigenous political participation can be facilitated by media innovation, these innovations can also serve to reinforce existing power relations. We submit that more critical analytical approaches are required to investigate how media innovations might facilitate the potential of Indigenous journalism for social change.
More than a thousand children attend Sámi kindergartens daily, while quite a number of Sámi children get Sámi language instruction in other kindergartens. This activity is one of the most important arenas for transmission and acquisition of Sámi languages. A question raised in this article is how these kindergartens are used as research fields in the disciplines of language and sociology and early childhood pedagogy. Another question is what kind of language teaching models are used. The article shows that little research has been carried out on how Sámi kindergartens teach Sámi language. There is also little research done on the results from this education. A review of the Sámi kindergartens’ history shows that statistical material on Sámi kindergartens and Sámi language instruction in other kindergartens is available only from some geographical areas, and existing statistical information is only partly suitable for analysis. This makes it difficult to use existing material to monitor the vitality of Sámi languages. The article calls for more research on Sámi kindergartens and language teaching models used in them. A goal could be to create a basis for monitoring this crucial indicator of language vitality for Sámi languages: whether new generations of Sámi become Sámi-speakers or not. This should be followed up with more research on the language teaching models used in Sámi kindergartens
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