Variations of ethnic boundary significance in north Norway

Abstract

In coastal north Norway the Saami people have lived in a close relationship with Norwegians or Norse people for a thousand years or more. This relationship has been articulated in various ways over the centuries, and this article argues that in parts of the region it took a rather intimate form based on the shared exploitation of the dominant marine and terrestrial niches, a common class position as tenant farmers, a varying practice of inter-ethnic marital relations and the effects of a bilateral kinship system. Various forms of inter-ethnic contact and exchange may thus have served to reduce the relevance of ethnic difference in daily life, as suggested by Barth's argument about the integrative effect of transactions, but contrary to his argument about the transactional reinforcement of ethnic boundaries. Contrary to the intention, governmental assimilatory efforts served to reproduce the boundary as the basis for a ranked society and left coastal Saami individuals in some confusion as to how to define themselves, often opting for a mixed category of Norwegian and Saami, labelled ‘Northerner’. Ethno-political emancipation in recent years has tended to put pressure on this identity construction and promoted a dichotomised identity as either Saami or Norwegian.

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

“…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).…”

“…Paradoxically enough, national assimilation policies may have initially fortified the categories "Sámi" and "non-Sámi", dichotomizing the social realms and creating some sense of otherness (Minde 2003;Thuen 2012). Thuen (2012) suggests that, later on, the ethno-political emancipation of Sámi likewise put pressure on identities and promoted dichotomized identities as either Sámi or Swede/Norwegian/Finn. According to Gaski (2008), for many Sámi the clear ethnic dichotomization implicit in the symbols of emancipation (map, flag, etc.)…”

“…For instance, coastal Sámi might be seen as "less" Sámi, because reindeer herding tends to be portrayed as the more "authentic" Sámi occupation (Thuen 2012). Equally, Sámi who do not express visible cultural traits or who are not seen to possess specific cultural knowledge may feel somewhat less entitled to their Sámi identities (Gaski 2008).…”

“…For local people, this may bring about both lucrative opportunities to sell their ethnic otherness, as well as new tensions as ethnicity becomes politicized and essentialized both internally and externally (Thuen 2012;Viken and Müller 2017). It may mean a new reflection and renegotiation of what a given ethnicity is about, which might not include or be comfortable for all.…”

“…Such open approach led us (as it has other authors) to revolve around and concentrate on the ethnic divide that is upheld between indigenous "Sámi" and "non-Sámi" people. It is this divide that seems to be the most defining categorization, and it is the one on which we will elaborate here (Minde 2003;Gaski 2008;Thuen 2012;Valkonen 2014). Thus, while there exist multiple identities and variations within these categories, our work highlights how the interviewees construct ethnicity in handicrafts through these two denominations.…”