| Summary: | What can female Sámi perspectives on Indigenous innovation unearth about implicit influencesof culture on the development of business and partnerships? Relying on approaches of BusinessAnthropology and indigenous studies, this paper aims to analyze the expressions and influencesof cultural values and patterns that affect the partnerships and entrepreneurial decisions inIndigenous innovation. Collected through qualitative and collaborative methods, the empiricaldata for the case study of the Tánnak company and its indigenous owners shed light on theposition of female Sámi innovators in Sweden. The analysis shows that, on the one hand, thetraditional settler-colonial cultural values and patterns are still proliferating in the social,cultural, and business spheres of the society, affecting the knowledge, decisions, and actionsof stakeholders in the private and institutional sector, and resulting in discriminatory orexploitative actions. This is especially true when adding gender perspective. On the other hand,it shows that indigenous innovation as a field should have a bigger place in Sweden, given thatit is demonstrated that the cultural values, manners of doing business, partnerships, andmotivations differ from the mainstream models of business in the mainstream society. Thepaper finally suggests advocating for a different, collaborative model of business andestablishing Indigenous innovation as a field of study in Sweden. Furthermore, it emphasizesthe importance of listening and collaborating with Sámi when researching, makingrecommendations, and starting actions for the amelioration of their position. It suggestsestablishing higher education in and for Sámi in Sweden, including Sámi representation andculture in the educational system, making legal structures and institutions with Sámi expertsthat could aid (female) Sámi business growth and collaboration, resulting in reinforcing Sámi self-determination, protection of their culture and sustainable development on Sámi terms inSápmi.
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