Director

Dr. Judith Miggelbrink

Researchers

Dr. Nuccio Mazzullo
Peter Koch, M.A.

Student Assistents

Lea Bauer, Leipzig
Anneken Brand, Berlin
Jacinthe Briand-Racine, Québec (Kanada)
Paul R. Burgess, New Orleans (USA)
Patrick Frommberg, Potsdam
Anne-Marie Lapointe, Québec (Kanada)
Fabian Reiß, Münster
Lukas Schliephake, Berlin
Johann Simowitsch, Leipzig
Anja Stadler, Köln
Hannah Wenng, Freiburg
Judith Wiemann, Köln
Catherine Willems, Ghent (Belgien)
Trevelyan S. Wing, Hanover (USA)
Andy Womelsdorf, Münster

Project partners

Jun. Prof. Dr. Bernd Belina, Frankfurt a.M.
Dr. Florian Stammler, Rovaniemi (Finland)

Project Group E: Reflexion and Concepts, Project E9

Power Technologies’ Productions of Space: Sámi Territoriality and Indigenity

Programme

The Sámi are the only recognized indigenous people in Europe. The approximately 70.000 to 100.000 members of this community call the area they have been living in and used of since time immemorial Sápmi – the Sámiland. It extends over the northern parts of today’s nation states of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Due to partially divergent interests the Sámi and state representatives are involved in an increasing number of several conflicts on space and resources in northern Europe. From the 1970s, the global emergence of the native revival led to a process of scale jumping – the shift from the state to the international political arena. Sámi have been particularly engaged in the enforcement of legal norms that aim to guarantee universally acknowledged indigenous rights. Documents such as the ILO Convention 169 from 1989 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2007 permit an argumentation according to international law in order to legitimize their territorial claims within Sápmi.

Based on the Foucauldian assumption that space is of fundamental importance in any exercise of power, his triangle terminology of sovereignty, discipline and security will serve as a heuristic model in order to examine present-day conflicts on space and resources that in the same time are conflicts between indigenous and state territoriality. Initially, this will be the first part of the research mostly comprising of empirical field work, which then is followed by yet another phase mainly consisting of theory-building.

During the first phase specific present-day conflicts in the European north are examined with four empirical case studies. The role of self-definitions, definitions by others and legal definitions of Sámi as an indigenous people based on a territoriality, which bears a specific social organization and economic practices will be analyzed. In this context reindeer herding appears to be of significant importance to the Sámi self-concept as it plays a central role in Sámi-state relations. The case studies are:

Timber industry in Finland
The forests in Finnish Lapland are high in lichens, which are a basic food for reindeers, but also in valuable timber of which premium products e.g. fine papers are manufactured. Due to the timber industry’s massive exploitation of this vulnerable ecosystem, lichens will be lost over decades while some areas never will recover from deforestation. However there are some legal limitations that bind the state timber industry not to harm reindeer herding significantly. A definition in question.

National parks in Norway
With the aim to preserve nature for future generations the Norwegian government establishes several national parks. This means affects territories that both are perceived as peripheral by the dominating community and comprise of Sámi pasture grounds. Protection levels to be implemented handicap the use of modern technologies e.g. helicopters and motorbikes that nowadays are necessary to reindeer industries to such an extent that it endangers its future prospect.

Swedish-Norwegian Border
Since the mid-18th century a treaty regulates the Swedish-Norwegian border. As its part the Lappcodicil guarantees the access to pasture grounds to the Sámi regardless of the citizenship they may have adopted. Since the dissolution of the Union in 1905 the right has been more and more abridged in the framework of specifying conventions. By the most actual convention’s expiry in 2003, some disagreement has arisen both between the two states and within the Sámi community itself.

EU Interreg IIIA North
In one of the three sub-programs called Sápmi a specific Sámi perspective is adapted. It aims at spatializing Sápmi as a territorial unit to make a cross-border cooperation of all Sámi possible. The target is to strengthen and develop the Sámi identity, culture, language and livelihoods.

Based on the analysis of these concrete productions of space this project pursues refining the Foucauldian triangle concept towards a model of power technologies’ productions of space. It deals with the inner workings of productions of space as a power-technological medium in conflicts and enhances the understanding of conflictuous clashes of state and indigenous territoriality. Moreover, it may be able to support attempts to solve these kinds of conflicts.

Publications

Dr. Judith Miggelbrink

Belina, B. and Miggelbrink, J. 2012. Raum, Recht und Indigenität – zu den Kämpfen um Landrechte indigener Völker am Beispiel der Sámi in Finnland. Peripherie, 126/127. (in print)

Miggelbrink, J. 2011. Territorium, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 212.

Miggelbrink, J. 2011. Raum, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 164-165.

Miggelbrink, J., Paul, J., Syrbe, D. and Scharrer, U. 2011. Grenze, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 82.

Koch, P. and Miggelbrink, J. 2011. Being in the frontline of a Sámi culture and a private business: Cross-border reindeer herding in northern Norway and Sweden. Nomadic Peoples, 15(1), 114-143.

Miggelbrink, J. and Mazzullo, N.E. 2011. Winterweide und Holzlieferant: Interessenkonflikte bei der Waldnutzung in Nordfinnland. Geographische Rundschau, 63(7/8), 36-42.

Miggelbrink, Judith (2009): Verortung im Bild. Überlegungen zu 'visuellen Geographien'. In: Döring, Jörg/Thielmann, Tristan (eds.): Mediengeogeographie. Theorie - Analyse – Diskussion (Medienumbrüche, 26, Bielefeld: Transcript, p. 179-202 .

Miggelbrink, Judith / Schlottmann, Antje (eds.) (2008): Visuelle Geographien – Visual Geographies. In: Social Geography – Special Issue (in print)

Lentz, Sebastian / Meyer, Frank/Miggelbrink, Judith/Waack, Christoph (2007): Regionalisierungen. Raumdimensionen in der EU-Politik. In: Osteuropa 57 (2/3), S. 117-132. * Miggelbrink, Judith (2005): Die (Un-) Ordnung des Raumes. Bemerkungen zum Wandel geographischer Raumkonzepte im ausgehenden 20. Jahrhundert. In: Geppert, Alexander C.G. / Jensen, Uffa / Weinhold, Jörn (Hrsg.): Ortsgespräche. Raum und Kommunikation im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Bielefeld: Transcript, p. 79-106.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Waack, Christoph (2005): Regionale Einkommensunterschiede. In: Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde (ed.): Atlas Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Deutschland in der Welt, München: Elsevier, p. 60-61.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Hänsgen, Dirk (2005): Cross Border Leasing als transatlantische Geldvermehrung? In: Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde (ed.): Atlas Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Deutschland in der Welt. München: Elsevier, p. 106-107.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Meyer zu Schwabedissen Friederike (2005): Bilder oder Leitbilder? Standortprofilierung(en) Leipzig(s). In: Luutz, Wolfgang/Fach, Wolfgang (eds.): Kulturwissenschaftliche Regionenforschung, Leipzig (Jahrbuch des Forschungsverbunds “Soziale und symbolische Konstruktion von Räumen” 3), p. 155-170.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Meyer zu Schwabedissen, Friederike (2005): „Wo der Standort trompetet, geht die Freiheit flöten“. Bilder interurbanen Wettbewerbs am Beispiel der Bewerbung Leipzigs zur Candidate City für die Olympischen Spiele 2012. In: Social Geography 1, p. 15-27.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Redepenning, Marc (2004): Narrating Crises and Uncertainty, or, Placing Germany: Reflections on Theoretical Implications of the Standort Deutschland Debate. In: Geopolitics 9 (3), p. 564-587.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Redepenning, Marc (2004) „Die Nation als Ganzes“? – Zur Funktion nationalstaatlicher Semantiken. In: Berichte zur deutschen Landeskunde 78 (3), p. 313-337.

Miggelbrink, Judith (2002): Der gezähmte Blick. Zum Wandel des Diskurses über „Raum“ und „Region“ in humangeographischen Forschungsansätzen des ausgehenden 20. Jahrhunderts, Leipzig: Institut für Länderkunde (Beiträge zur Regionalen Geographie 55), 212 ps.

Miggelbrink, Judith (2002): Konstruktivismus? „Use with Caution“... Zum Raum als Medium der Konstruktion gesellschaftlicher Wirklichkeit. In: Erdkunde 56 (4), p. 337-350.

Miggelbrink, Judith (2002): Kommunikation über Regionen. Überlegungen zum Konzept der Raumsemantik in der Humangeographie. In: Berichte zur deutschen Landeskunde 76 (4), p. 273-306.

Miggelbrink, Judith / Schröder, Sebastian (2002): Why regions? – Discussiong the regional dimension of EU politics. In: International Critical Geography Group (eds.): Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Critical Geography, Békéscsaba, Hungary, June 25-30, 2002, o.O, p. 184-191.

Knappe, Elke / Miggelbrink, Judith (2002): Creating a new place for living? Tourism and Transition in the Military Area of Baltiysk (Pillau) and Wislinskiy Spit (Frische Nehrung), Kaliningrad Oblast. In: Coles, Tim / Schnell, Peter (eds.): Tourism and Leisure Research in the New Millenium: Progress in the German- and English-speaking worlds. – Conference Proceedings. o.O. [published as CD-ROM].

Miggelbrink, Judith / Wardenga, Ute (1998): Zwischen Realismus und Konstruktivismus: Regionsbegriffe in der Geographie und anderen Humanwissenschaften. In: Wollersheim, heinz-Werner / Tzschaschel, Sabine / Middell, Matthias (Hrsg.): Region und Identifikation, Leipzig (Leipziger Studien zur Erforschung von regionenbezogenen Identifikationsprozessen 1), p. 33-46.


Dr. Nuccio Mazzullo

Mazzullo, N. forthcoming. The Nellim forest conflict in Finnish Lapland: between state forest ‘mapping' and local forest ‘living’, in Nomadic and Indigenous Spaces: Productions and Cognitions, edited by Miggelbrink, J., Habeck, J.O., Stammler, F. and Koch, P. Ashgate: Aldershot.

Mazzullo, N. 2012. The sense of time in the north: a Sámi perspective. In: Polar Record, FirstView Article online 29.02.2012, Printversion im Juni 2012.

Mazzullo, N. 2011. Sámi, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 190-191.

Istomin, K. and Mazzullo, N. 2011. Rentier, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 182.

Mazzullo, N. 2011. Lappland oder Sápmi, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 124-125.

Miggelbrink, J. and Mazzullo, N.E. 2011. Winterweide und Holzlieferant: Interessenkonflikte bei der Waldnutzung in Nordfinnland. Geographische Rundschau, 63(7/8), 36-42.

Mazzullo, N.E. 2010. More than meat on the hoof? Social significance of reindeer among Finnish Saami in a rationalized pastoralist economy, in Good to Eat, Good to Live with: Nomads and the Animals in Northern Eurasia and Africa, edited by F. Stammler and H. Takakura. Center for Northeast Asia Studies (CNEAS), Tohoku University: Sendai, 101-119.

Mazzullo, N. 2009. Sápmi: a symbolic re-appropriation of Lapland as Saamiland, in Máttut – Máddagat: The Roots of Saami Ethnicities, Societies and Spaces / Places, edited by T. Äikäs. Giellagas Institute, University of Oulu: Oulu, 174-185.

Mazzullo, N. and Ingold, T. 2008. Being Along: Place, Time and Movement among Sámi People, in Mobility and Place: Enacting European Peripheries, edited by J.O. Bærenholdt and B. Granås. Ashgate: Aldershot, 27-38.


Peter Koch, M.A.

Koch, P. forthcoming. ‘Reindeers don’t care about the border.’ Others may do, in Nomadic and Indigenous Spaces: Productions and Cognitions, edited by Miggelbrink, J., Habeck, J.O., Stammler, F. and Koch, P. Ashgate: Aldershot.

Koch, P. 2011. Mehrheit und Minderheit, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 126-127.

Koch, P. 2011. Indigenität, in Kleines abc des Nomadismus, edited by A. Nippa. Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg: Hamburg, 98.

Koch, P. and Miggelbrink, J. 2011. Being in the frontline of a Sámi culture and a private business: Cross-border reindeer herding in northern Norway and Sweden. Nomadic Peoples, 15(1), 114-143.