An Historical Overview of Gender Equality and Sámi Women in Reindeer Herding Communities

This chapter provides an historical overview of gender equality of Sámi in the area that is now known as Finnish Lapland. This study focuses on the populations of Utsjoki, the northernmost Sámi parish of Finnish Lapland, and Inari, situated on the south side of the Utsjoki. The Sámi area of northernmost Finland is compared with Sweden and the rest of the northernmost Fennoscandia. Due to their inherited reindeer stock, reindeer herder Sámi women have often been economically independent, and there have been many outstanding female reindeer herders in Utsjoki and Inari during the past centuries. However, there were also certain limitations in women’s lives, and Sámi women of the past were marginalised in a number of ways. Women were usually not able to participate in social and professional activities of Finnish society. In reindeer herding Sámi families, men and women had many similar duties, but there are also historical examples of imbalances in the division of labour. Although the gender roles were restricting and labour division was sometimes very gendered, the gender roles of Sámi men and women also complemented each other. Despite their heavy workload in families, Sámi women often held acknowledged positions in their own communities (reindeer villages) and families

Lukuhaluinen luonnonkansa

Between the 1600s and the early 19th century the Sami of what is today called Finnish Lapland adopted the Christian system of values that was new to them. The history of the education of the Sami can be studied by focusing on examples taken from church registers and other written sources. Since official documents portray events from the perspective of the majority, this material must be complemented using oral histories collected from the Sami as well as the material brought to light by archaeological excavations. During the 18th century the Sami were increasingly learning Christianity, admitted to schools and started acquiring Christian literature. This transition came, to some extent, from the outside in the form of priests and other officials who arrived in the region, but was mostly due to active interest by the Sami themselves. The Sami were considered primitive, but they were nevertheless eager to read in the 1700s.Nykyisen Utsjoen alueella eläneet saamelaiset omaksuivat 1600-luvun lopun ja 1800-luvun alun välisenä aikana aivan uudenlaisen arvomaailman. He luopuivat vanhasta luonnonuskonnostaan 1700-luvun alkuun mennessä. Tämän jälkeen he opettelivat ahkerasti kristinoppia, pääsivät käymään koulua ja alkoivat hankkia kristillistä kirjallisuutta. Tässä artikkelissa pohditaan, minkälaisin keinoin saamelaisten kristillisyyttä rakennettiin ja missä määrin saamelaisten sosialisaatio on selitettävissä saamelaiskulttuurin ulkopuolelta, toisin sanoen valtakulttuurin taholta tulevilla tekijöillä

Debate concerning the early transport infrastructure in the Sámi area of Finnish Lapland

This article examines early Arctic transport infrastructure, especially roads, in the Sámi area of Finnish Lapland during the interwar period. The modernisation process accelerated the utilisation of northern natural resources, and the first roads in northernmost Finland also facilitated mining industry and logging sites. In the research concentrating on infrastructure, indigenous peoples have often been depicted one-dimensionally as victims and forces resisting development. While this study introduces the views of various stakeholders, it also emphasises the importance of understanding indigenous peoples as active agents, some of whom actively lobbied for plans to build roads. While the Sámi resistance to roads referred to, for example, their ability to damage and erode the traditional way of Sámi community life, the supporters underlined the economic possibilities and other benefits to be gained from the improved connectivity. Even though the vocabulary of the 1920s and 1930s differs from today’s language use, many of the ideas which have been discussed more recently – such as remoteness as a potential asset and the value of being disconnected – were already present in the debates of the beginning of the twentieth century

Historiantutkimusta hyvinvointivaltion iduista

Arvosteltu teos: Suomen maalaisseurakuntien köyhäinhoito luterilaisen ortodoksian aikana (1571-1686) / Paavo Alaja. Helsinki : Suomen kirkkohistoriallinen seura : Tiedekirja [jakaja], 2013

Suureen yleisöön vetoavaa suurvalta-ajan historiaa

Arvosteltu teos: Jumalan vihan ruoska: Suuri nälänhätä Suomessa 1695-1697 / Mirkka Lappalainen. Helsinki : Siltala, 2012