Doing research into Indigenous issues being non-Indigenous

Based on research into Indigenous people and sport, this article discusses the opportunities and challenges for a non-Indigenous researcher to study Indigenous issues. The author shares personal experiences from research into Sámi sport (Sámi are the Indigenous people of the North Calotte) and compares these with the literature relating to post-colonial methodologies. It concludes with some overarching elements to take into consideration when researching Indigenous peoples: reflection including critical self-reflection (as in any qualitative research); reciprocity, including respect, dialogue and that the research must benefit the Indigenous people under study and in general; and awareness about the heterogeneity within Indigenous groups and consciousness about the interface between researcher and Indigenous peoples. Given the heterogeneity, the interfaces varypublishedVersio

Alternative sport programmes and social inclusion in Norway

The original publication is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1356336X06069273his paper examines the ?alternative? sport and physical activities provided by the Sports City Programme (SCP) in Norway, which are designed to attract more young people (especially inactive young people) to take part in physical activities. In particular, it examines whether these ?alternative? sports have been more successful than conventional sports in breaking down class and gender-based barriers to participation. The data indicate that the SCP has proved more attractive to working class young people than conventional sport and there is also some evidence that the SCP has had some success in breaking down gender barriers, especially among working class girls. However, one aspect of the SCP ? the open sport hall ? has generated a pattern of male dominance and female exclusion which is even more unequal than that which characterizes conventional sport. Within the open sport hall, young people are left largely to organize their own ctivities and it is argued that the relative absence of adult control in the open sport hall has facilitated the development of a distinctively masculine culture which is dominated by the older, stronger males and which marginalizes young females

Indigenous sport and nature–a case study of a Sámi sport club

Applying a broad interpretation of education, this paper investigates how one Sámi (the Indigenous people of Northern Norway) sports club teaches traditional lingual knowledge to its youth members. Using Wittgenstein’s language philosophy and Mead’s understanding of figurative cultures as theoretical frameworks, and qualitative methods, two relatively contradictory sets of findings were revealed. First, the content of the education focusing on the accuracy and functionality of Sámi words for elements of nature based on traditional Sámi knowledge; second, the education takes modern forms. Sport club is a modern concept, as is friluftsliv – the Norwegian/Scandinavian way of nature life often aiming at recreation and experience of nature aesthetics—which is apparently challenging the traditional Sámi nature life aiming at purposefulness in every aspect. The paper also shows the dispute and actuality surrounding the Sámi accuracy of words for nature elements.publishedVersio

State Sport Policy and Voluntary Sport Clubs: the Case of the Norwegian Sports City Program as Social Policy

The original publication is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16184740802461736This article scrutinizes the relationship between state policy and voluntary sport clubs. While the latter development is to consider sport as social policy, the case of the Norwegian Sports City Program (SCP) was initiated by the state and implemented by voluntary and competitively orientated sport organizations. The research question concerns whether the logic of integration in social policy is compatible with the logic of competition in sport. With new institutionalism as the theoretical framework, and based on a case study of multiple methods, the analysis reveals how processes of isomorphism and translation take place in sport clubs. While the general picture shows that sport clubs resemble the competitive script which seems perceived as immanent in sport, the representatives of the SCP clubs respond to requirements in their local communities and—at the same time—translate the incentives of the state. In so doing, the state policy fits the philosophy of SCP clubs' social work and these clubs get subsidies for implementing sporting activities with a social profile, but the motive for the work of sport clubs representatives is anchored in the local community and is limited only to a degree influenced by state policy

Indigenous Sport and Nation-Building

This book investigates the social, political, and cultural dimensions of Indigenous sport and nation-building. Focusing on the Indigenous Sámi of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, it addresses how colonization variously impacts organizational arrangements and everyday sporting life in a modern world. Through detailed case data from the Norwegian side of Sápmi (the land of the Sámi), this book provides a critical and contemporary perspective of post-colonial influences and their impacts on sport. The study uses concepts of conventions, citizenship and communities, to examine the tenuous roles of Indigenous-based sport organizations and clubs towards the building of an Indigenous nation. The book further draws together international, national, and local Sámi experiences to address the communal and assimilative influences that sport brings for people in the North Calotte. Taken together, the book signals the importance of sport in future community development and the (re)emergence of Indigenous culture. Appealing to policy makers and scholars alike, the book will be of particular interest to researchers in sport sociology, Indigenous studies and post colonialism. It also provides essential insight for public officials and administrators of sport and/or Indigenous issues at various levels of public office

Biggest but smallest: female football and the case of Norway.

The original publication is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14660970802257598This essay discusses the contemporary gender situation in Norwegian football (soccer), with reference to three questions: (i) why is there still a significant gender gap; (ii) why has female football grown rapidly over the last decades; and (iii) why is the Norwegian situation relatively egalitarian after all, when compared, for example, to the UK? The former two questions are analysed by the application of the work of Dunning, which shows that, first, football has historically been a male preserve, and secondly, the civilizing process has led to a more regulated society, which in turn has led to increased female participation in sports. The latter question is analysed in the contextual research on leisure and the welfare state to nuance the general picture of the welfare state, to show that the process of civilizing has worked differently - and probably faster - in the Scandinavian countries, which has also led to increased female participation in football in Norwa

Indigenous Sport and Nation-Building

This book investigates the social, political, and cultural dimensions of Indigenous sport and nation-building. Focusing on the Indigenous Sámi of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, it addresses how colonization variously impacts organizational arrangements and everyday sporting life in a modern world. Through detailed case data from the Norwegian side of Sápmi (the land of the Sámi), this book provides a critical and contemporary perspective of post-colonial influences and their impacts on sport. The study uses concepts of conventions, citizenship and communities, to examine the tenuous roles of Indigenous-based sport organizations and clubs towards the building of an Indigenous nation. The book further draws together international, national, and local Sámi experiences to address the communal and assimilative influences that sport brings for people in the North Calotte. Taken together, the book signals the importance of sport in future community development and the (re)emergence of Indigenous culture. Appealing to policy makers and scholars alike, the book will be of particular interest to researchers in sport sociology, Indigenous studies and post colonialism. It also provides essential insight for public officials and administrators of sport and/or Indigenous issues at various levels of public office

The role of sport organizations for local and national community: The case of Sámi sport organizations

Research question: This paper investigates (1) how representatives of Sámi sport clubs understand local and national communities, and (2) and the role of the sport organization in the creation and perception of local and national community. The study contributes to the research field by showing how sport organizations are the basis of the community, locally and nationally. Research methods: Interviews were conducted with seven board members representing five Sámi sport clubs in four municipalities. The sport clubs were all members of the Sámi sport organization, and located in core Sámi areas where Sámi language and culture is manifested in everyday life. Sámi are the indigenous peoples of the northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and north-west Russia. Results and findings: For sport club representatives, Sámi sport refers to specific activities associated with Sámi husbandry heritage, and to the Sámi sport organization. Sport clubs function as community organizations at the local level. Moreover, through affiliation with the Sámi sport organization, the sport clubs are the link to the Sámi national community. Sámi indigeneity is played out internally in the local community as well as on the borderline to other communities with other ethnic compositions. Implications: The study revealed a complex relationship between the local and national elements of indigeneity, and between the internal and the external elements. These elements of multiculturalism and sport clubs require to be taken into account in future sport management and policy-making in addition to multicultural policies towards immigrant sport participation and organization.acceptedVersio

Politicians, bureaucrats and a voluntary sports organization : the power play of Norwegian sport policy in the matter of anti-doping

The original publication is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.108017430430802196553The aim of this essay is to understand the tripartite relationship between politicians and bureaucrats in the public sector and the leadership in voluntary sport organizations. In so doing, we conducted a case study of a specific incident in the history of sport policy, based on written texts (newspaper articles and books) as well as interviews (personal information) from those involved. With Elias¿s game models as the theoretical framework, we analyse the case where the General Director of the Department of Sport Policy (DSP) expressed his personal/political opinion about anti-doping in public, and played the game in two figurations. First, the game was played in the sport figuration, where the General Director¿s competitors were the leaders of the voluntary sport organization (the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, NOC). Second, the game moved up a level and was played in a political figuration, where the General Director¿s competitors were the political leadership in the DSP. While the Director General was used to playing one to one, the combination of a union sport figuration and the formal power in the political figuration led to an outcome that no one had intended, namely the resignation of the Director General

Leisure-Time Activities in Different Contexts and Depressive Symptoms in Norwegian Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between physical activity organised in sports clubs, non-organised physical activity, other organised leisure-time activities, and depressive symptoms among adolescents. This study was based on cross-sectional data from the Ungdata survey conducted between 2017 and 2019. The sample comprised 7656 adolescents (aged 13–16 years). Binominal logistic regression was used to analyse the association between the three different leisure-time activities and depressive symptoms. All models were adjusted for gender, family economy, parents’ higher education, having friends, alcohol intoxication, and smoking. The odds for symptoms of depression were higher for those who were less physically active in a sports club (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.15–1.57) and in non-organised physical activities (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.29–1.74) and lower for those who participated less in other organised leisure-time activities (OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.68–0.92) compared with those who were physically active (sports club and non-organised) and those who participated in other organised leisure-time activities. Our findings suggested that being physically active, both in a sports club and in non-organised activities, was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Additional research is needed to confirm a possible causal relationship.publishedVersio