The Sámi in Urban Areas: Revitalizing and Reinventing Indigenous Identities in Times of Heightened Urbanization

• Main Author: Shani, Serah
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Anthropology Book Forum 2023
• Subjects: Sámi
• Online Access: https://journals.sfu.ca/abf/index.php/abf/article/view/609

Urban living is one of the major features of 21st century societies. However, studies of urban Indigenous populations, the urban areas they occupy, and the historicity of these spaces is scarce. So too is literature about the complex dynamics of Indigenous identity formation vis á vis the majority cultures surrounding them and their responses to urbanization. This is partly because most Indigenous people are associated with rurality and an attachment to subsistence economies based on rural environments. These attributes of rurality continue to perpetuate a static version of Indigenous experiences and relegate them to rural experiences only. However, this book, An Urban Future for Sápmi? Indigenous Urbanization in the Nordic States and Russia, focuses on the Sámi Indigenous people and their long history of lived urban experiences. The book highlights that Indigenous people around the world are part of modern urban populations, and it presents insights about how Indigenous people continue to both struggle and succeed in practicing their indigeneity in urban areas.