Sanna Valkonen

Groupism and the politics of indigeneity: A case study on the Sámi debate in Finland:

The article addresses the problems of defining an indigenous people by deconstructing the Sámi debate in Finland, which has escalated with the government’s commitment to ratify ILO Convention No. 169. We argue that the ethnopolitical conflict engendered by this commitment is a consequence of groupism, by which, following Rogers Brubaker, we mean the tendency to take discrete groups as chief protagonists of social conflicts, the tendency to treat ethnic groups, nations and races as substantial entities and the tendency to reify such groups as if they were unitary collective actors. The aim of the article is to deconstruct groupist thinking related to indigenous rights by analytically separating the concepts of group and category. This allows us to deconstruct the ethnicised conflict and analyse what kinds of political, social and cultural aspects are involved in it. We conclude that indigeneity is not an ethnocultural, objectively existing fact, but rather a frame of political requirements.

Embodying religious control: an intersectional approach to Sámi women in Laestadianism

Drawing on the theory of intersectionality and feminist and political studies of religion, this article analyses the embodiment of gendered religious control in the case of Sámi women in Firstborn Laestadianism, a conservative Lutheran revivalist movement holding strong ideals of asceticism and pietistic religiosity. Womens bodies and actions are closely controlled in Firstborn Laestadianism, whereas in the Sámi community at large the position of women has traditionally been central and the social order matriarchal. The article maintains that control over sexuality, clothing and behaviour regulates not only the personal experience of being a decent and suitable religious bodily subject but also the communitys reaction towards women. The female body appears as a space for interplay between the sacred and the worldly, the suitable and the forbidden. However, for Sámi women in Laestadianism, religion is only one matrix of power that regulates their lives. This article argues that being a Sámi woman in Firstborn Laestadianism is not a fixed subject position: particular intersections, most importantly the practices and traditions of the Sámi community and culture, enable women to transgress and negotiate the beliefs and norms of the movement.

Practising postcolonial intersectionality: Gender, religion and indigeneity in Sámi social work

This article brings to light multiple manifestations of colonial power relations and the interplay of religion and indigenous culture by analysing Sámi women’s experiences of empowerment and subjectivity at the intersections of Firstborn Laestadianism, a conservative religious movement, and Sámi culture. The article argues that if we are to develop culturally sensitive research approaches and practices in social work, it is important to understand and take into account the complexity of religious and ethnic commitments and structures. The article thus deepens the cultural and communal knowledge needed to better inform social work practices and research with indigenous and religious communities.

Indigenous Peoples' Cultural Heritage

Indigenous rights to heritage have only recently become the subject of academic scholarship. This collection aims to fill that gap by offering the fruits of a unique conference on this topic organised by the University of Lapland with the help of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The conference made clear that important information on Indigenous cultural heritage has remained unexplored or has not been adequately linked with specific actors (such as WIPO) or specific issues (such as free, prior and informed consent). Indigenous leaders explained the impact that disrespect of their cultural heritage has had on their identity, well-being and development. Experts in social sciences explained the intricacies of indigenous cultural heritage. Human rights scholars talked about the inability of current international law to fully address the injustices towards indigenous communities. Representatives of International organisations discussed new positive developments. This wealth of experiences, materials, ideas and knowledge is contained in this important volume.