Doctoral Dissertation Research: Colonial Encounters of Sami Reindeer Herders in Alaska

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

This dissertation research investigates the role of Sami reindeer herders in Alaska, asking how relations among Sami, Alaska Natives, and government officials shaped the American colonial history of the territory. Sami residents in Norway were recruited in the late 1800s to instruct Alaska Natives in the practice of reindeer herding. This experiment in pastoralism introduced a new subsistence economy to Alaska, transforming Indigenous communities and human relations with animals. This research will investigate the role of Sami in the development of herding in Alaska, highlighting the concept of diasporic indigeneity; that is, how Sami experienced indigeneity in the homelands of other Indigenous peoples. Research will also contribute to the comparative study of reindeer herding, a critical subsistence activity in many Arctic communities. This project employs textual analysis and photo elicitation in conjunction with semi-structured interviews to better understand the Sami experience in Alaska and the colonial context in which Sami lived and worked. The work will explore government documents reporting on the reindeer program in Alaska, personal letters and accounts, and photos from archives in the United States. The resulting dissertation and community presentations in Norway and the U.S. will enhance understanding of linked Alaska Native and Indigenous European histories and facilitate the visual repatriation of photographs to Sami communities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.