When I first heard the word “Samis” was on a lecture in the introductory course. Although I had heard the word “Lapones” (Samis in Spanish), I mainly heard about this term in the sentence “En Laponia hace frío” meaning “In Lapland, it is cold”. Now, thanks to the courses and being here, I got to know a bit more than that!
Some of the lectures during the introductory course were centered on traditional knowledge and indigenous communities. We read research papers about the Samis, representation and collaboration. In fact, a classmate won a scolarship for her Thesis work, here a link to her Thesis: Grönvall, Agnes, 2019. Governing orders at odds in Sápmi : assessing governability in trans-border reindeer herding with help of social impact assessment. Also, there are open lectures on varied topics in Uppsala, such as one I attended about what challenges reindeer herders face with climate change and urban development.
One memorable moment for me was visiting “Jokkmokk’s market”. This is a Sami market organized every year, where I saw handmade crafts, reindeers, dog sledding, and walked on the frozen lake without even knowing it, actually. I bought one thing I really needed at -22ºC: wool socks.
Some recommended literature (1st course, 2017):
Larsen, R.,Raitio, K., Stinnerbom, M. & Wik-Karlsson, J. (2017) Sami-state collaboration in the governance of cumulative effects assessment: A critical action research approach. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 64: 67–76.