Sámi Genealogy Research as Resistance Practice : Countering Ethnical Cleansing andReclaiming Our Memory, History and Culture

Abstract

This article accounts for the history of Swedish state regulations against the Samipeople in terms of numbers, heritage and decision-making. For instance, currentlyit is not the Sami People as a People, that are considered to be Sami. The currentofficial number of Sami often referred to in official documents are based onthose Sami working in the profession of reindeer herding the number of Samiwho owned reindeer at a specific period, around 1965-71. The actual much largernumber of Sami is hidden by State-based regulations and categorizations. This isdue to a century long racist Lap-should-be-Lap policy, aiming at invisibilising and  reducing the number of Sami persons, and thereby phasing out the Sami culture.In the article the author describes how performing Sami genealogy research andpublishing the results four times per year in the newsletter (Medlemsnytt)of the Sami association Silbonah Sámisijdda is a resistance practice against this colonialinvisibilisation of the Sami. It is a reclaiming of Sami history and memory. Theauthor also shares some background for understanding from her own family history,and how this history is interlinked with the genealogy and heritage of the Sami ingeneral. Lastly, some reflections on the future of Sami genealogy are discussed.Rivers Resistance Resilience: Sustainable Futures in Sápmi and in other Indigenous Peoples Territorie