Issues of Sámi Representation in Finnish Tourism:A quest for authenticity
Over the course of centuries, literature and travel accounts of the northern people have framed representations of the Sámi people according to either the pejorative image of primitive inhabitants or the romantic image of children of the forest. Nowadays, these exaggerations are not as prominent, an...
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| Other Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | English |
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Routledge
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/88bcad98-6319-4291-8aaf-1d53dea600c4 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003025511 |
| Summary: | Over the course of centuries, literature and travel accounts of the northern people have framed representations of the Sámi people according to either the pejorative image of primitive inhabitants or the romantic image of children of the forest. Nowadays, these exaggerations are not as prominent, and yet they continue to influence representations – for instance, in tourist brochures about Lapland. This chapter shall explore these representations by juxtaposing them with the notions of Sámi identity held by the Sámi themselves. In the context of increasing involvement of Sámi people in the tourism business in Sápmi, the chapter describes the struggle of reappropriating the means of self-definition, such as media channels. The aim of this reappropriation is to finally give an authentic and realistic representation of the Sámi people and their culture to visitors, without resorting to stereotypes and definitions that are generated outside the Sámi community. |
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