Published: 2008-05-20
ISBN:
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
This paper deals with the question of how the Sami; an indigenous people in northern Scandinavia and Russia; over a period of more than 130 years have been presented in permanent exhibitions at the Nordiska Museet; the Swedish national museum of cultural history. It is a topic that can be used to analyse the construction of the national museum as well as the narratives about the Sami; but also to understand the role of museums in shaping social and ethnic categories and their situation in society.
The paper has the character of being an overview of a work in progress; and it touches upon a series of aspects that will be researched more closely further on. It is divided into four sections; representing how the Sami issue has been managed in the contexts of nation building; modernity; contemporary representation; and globalisation.
