Landskap, territorium och identitet i Sapmié Exemplet Handölsdalens sameby

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines the link between landscape and identity among the Sami in HandölsdalensSame village (sameby), one of the 51 administrative units that regulate traditional resourceuse in Sami areas in Sweden. Handölsdalen is situated in the Åre area in the southernpart of the Swedish mountain range. By tradition, the area is inhabited by South Sami, butother Sami groups have migrated into the area, partly as a result of government re-localizationpolicies. The study focuses on the period from around 1900 to the present. Thus study concentrateson the role of landscape in processes of identity formation, relating these processes alsoto various external influences, such as government policies concerning Sami culture and landuse, as well as the general modernization of society. Focusing on landscape and territoriality,the thesis traces the ways in which the Sami respond to, and perceive, the forces of change.The study is based on interviews with Sami who have access to the Sami village, on fieldobservations, as well as on a survey of literature and documents related to the area’s history.Thus, the study is an attempt to approach processes of identity formation from, as it were, theperspective of local Sami as well as the state. The thesis demonstrates, firstly, that the landscapeis an important part of Sami identity, on the individual and collective level. This landscape-based identity is affected, however, by state policies and what many Sami perceive asencroachments by the non-Sami society, as well as the modernization ways of life. Secondly,the thesis demonstrates that there are differences concerning the relationship between landscapeand identity. The dividing line seems to run between Sami who practice reindeerherdingand those who do not, but also between South and North Sami.