Doctoral Dissertation Research: Colonial Encounters of Sami Reindeer Herders in Alaska

本文研究了阿拉斯加萨米驯鹿牧人的角色，探讨了萨米人、阿拉斯加原住民和政府官员之间的关系如何影响了美国在该地区的殖民历史。挪威的萨米族居民在19世纪末被招募来指导阿拉斯加原住民放牧驯鹿的实践。这一畜牧实验为阿拉斯加引入了一种新的自给经济，改变了土著社区和人类与动物的关系。本研究将调查萨米人在阿拉斯加畜牧业发展中的作用，强调散居土著的概念；也就是说，萨米人是如何在其他土著民族的家园中体验土著的。研究还将有助于对驯鹿放牧的比较研究，驯鹿放牧是许多北极社区的重要生存活动。该项目采用文本分析和照片提取，结合半结构化访谈，以更好地了解阿拉斯加萨米人的经历以及萨米人生活和工作的殖民背景。这项工作将探索有关阿拉斯加驯鹿项目的政府文件、私人信件和账户，以及来自美国档案馆的照片。由此产生的论文和在挪威和美国的社区演讲将加强对阿拉斯加土著和欧洲土著历史的理解，并促进将照片视觉返还给萨米社区。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This dissertation research investigates the role of Sami reindeer herders in Alaska, asking how relations among Sami, Alaska Natives, and government officials shaped the American colonial history of the territory. Sami residents in Norway were recruited in the late 1800s to instruct Alaska Natives in the practice of reindeer herding. This experiment in pastoralism introduced a new subsistence economy to Alaska, transforming Indigenous communities and human relations with animals. This research will investigate the role of Sami in the development of herding in Alaska, highlighting the concept of diasporic indigeneity; that is, how Sami experienced indigeneity in the homelands of other Indigenous peoples. Research will also contribute to the comparative study of reindeer herding, a critical subsistence activity in many Arctic communities.This project employs textual analysis and photo elicitation in conjunction with semi-structured interviews to better understand the Sami experience in Alaska and the colonial context in which Sami lived and worked. The work will explore government documents reporting on the reindeer program in Alaska, personal letters and accounts, and photos from archives in the United States. The resulting dissertation and community presentations in Norway and the U.S. will enhance understanding of linked Alaska Native and Indigenous European histories and facilitate the visual repatriation of photographs to Sami communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.