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

这篇论文调查了阿拉斯加萨米人驯鹿牧民的角色，询问萨米人、阿拉斯加原住民和政府官员之间的关系如何塑造了该地区的美国殖民史。19世纪末，挪威的萨米人被招募来指导阿拉斯加原住民放牧驯鹿。这种畜牧业的实验为阿拉斯加带来了一种新的自给自足的经济，改变了土著社区和人类与动物的关系。这项研究将调查萨米人在阿拉斯加牧业发展中的作用，突出散居海外的印第安人的概念，即萨米人如何在其他土著民族的家园经历印第安人。研究还将有助于比较研究驯鹿放牧，这是许多北极社区的一项关键生存活动。该项目采用文本分析和照片启发，并结合半结构化访谈，以更好地了解萨米人在阿拉斯加的经历以及萨米人生活和工作的殖民背景。这项工作将探索报道阿拉斯加驯鹿计划的政府文件、个人信件和账户，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示将增进对相关的阿拉斯加原住民和原住民欧洲历史的了解，并促进将照片视觉送回萨米人社区。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.