نبذة مختصرة : Since research on Sámi people was initiated in the 17th century, the majority of research projects on Sámi related issues have been pursued by non-Sámi scholars. At the same time there are Sámi who are academic scholars, but who do not find it beneficial – or rather detrimental – to self-identify as Sámi within the current Swedish academic context, as well as in any other context outside of the Sámi cultural context. This is due to a colonial situation, which touches both territorial issues – detrimental to traditional and modern Sámi livelihood, economic and cultural activities as well as identity aspects. The indigenous Sámi share these experiences and struggles with indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, and local/tribal communities in other parts of the world. Although in some countries, including in the U.S. and Canada, ethnic and indigenous studies programs and scholars have grown in number and prominence since the late 1960s. This symposium will include scholars, activists, and artists who are indigenous themselves, as well as non-indigenous people who work in support of indigenous, and other minority and local community perspectives in the US, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, India, Peru, and other countries along with Sámi scholars, artists and activists from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Russia. The aim of the symposium is to provide a platform for a comparative and critical analysis of the development of indigenous and other community-relevant scholarship, thus furthering both methodological and theoretical development of academic research and culture revitalization. Ultimately we intend to promote the re-claiming of indigenous/tribal/local communities identities, while striving at empowering and inspiring ourselves and each other in this important work. This is a supra-disciplinary symposium, i.e. the symposium is open to scholars/students activists – artists, and an important focus is on the exchange in between, as well as for scholars/students who are a
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