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

本论文的研究调查萨米驯鹿牧民在阿拉斯加的作用，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美国殖民历史的领土。挪威的萨米居民在19世纪末被招募来指导阿拉斯加土著人放牧驯鹿。这一畜牧业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。这项研究将调查萨米人在阿拉斯加畜牧业发展中的作用，强调散居印第安人的概念;也就是说，萨米人如何在其他土著人民的家园经历印第安人。研究还将有助于驯鹿放牧这一许多北极社区的重要生计活动的比较研究，该项目采用文本分析和照片启发，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环境。这项工作将探讨政府文件报告的驯鹿计划在阿拉斯加，个人信件和帐户，以及照片从档案在美国。由此产生的论文和社区介绍在挪威和美国将提高阿拉斯加原住民和土著欧洲历史的联系的理解，并促进视觉遣返的照片萨米社区。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

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.