S\xe1mi Archaeology and the Fear of Political Involvement: Finnish Archaeologists\u2019 Perspectives on Ethnicity and the Repatriation of S\xe1mi Cultural Heritage

Eeva-Kristiina Harlin

doi:10.1007/s11759-019-09366-7

Abstract

In recent years, there have been remarkable developments in the repatriation of Sámi ethnographic objects in Finland. The repatriation of large archaeological collections excavated from Sápmi, the homeland of the Sámi people (the only indigenous people in the European Union), however, has not been discussed. Based on thirteen interviews, this article examines Finnish archaeologists’ views on the repatriation of the Sámi cultural heritage. The research shows that there is suspicion or wariness towards questions of ethnicity in Finnish archaeology and a fear of political involvement, which makes the matter of repatriation an uncomfortable issue. Nonetheless, the practices of doing research in Sápmi or studying Sámi materials are changing as a result of the Sámi gradually taking a stronger role and engaging in and governing research in Finland, too, especially with the stronger role, through the Sámi parliament and the Sámi Museum, in the administration of archaeological heritage in Sápmi.

Highlights

In February 2017, the Sami people of the Nordic countries celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the first Nordic meeting of the Sami representatives in Traante or Trondheim
The study of ethnicity from archaeological material is difficult, the interviews suggest that this may not be the main reason why it is little discussed in Finnish archaeology
The theoretical and methodological challenges seem secondary to non-scientific issues, the dispute on the definition of the Sami and indigenous politics

Summary

Introduction

In February 2017, the Sami people of the Nordic countries celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the first Nordic meeting of the Sami representatives in Traante or Trondheim. I seek to provide a general picture of how the interviewed archaeologists conceive and relate to the idea of repatriating archaeological collections from the Sapmi back to the Sami.

Results

Conclusion