© 2013. Erika Sarivaara, Satu Uusiautti & Kaarina Määttä. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative
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Global Journal of HUMAN SOCIAL SCIENCE
Arts & Humanities
Volume 13 Issue 1 Version 1.0 Year 2013
Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal
Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA)
Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X
The Position and Identification of the Non-Status Sámi in the
Marginal of Indigeneity
By Erika Sarivaara, Satu Uusiautti & Kaarina Määttä
University of Lapland, Finland
Abstract - The concept of a Non-Status member of an indigenous people refers to a person who is
Indigenous but does not have the status as an indigenous person. The indigenous status has often
been lost after the adaptation of complicated legal rules resulting to a situation that is not equivalent
with individuals’ self-identification with an indigenous people. This article introduces the concept of
Non-Status Sámi in the Finnish situation where some of the Sámi are excluded from the official
definition of indigenous. This was a narrative study aiming at producing subjective knowledge about
Sámi identity and experiences of it. Non-Status Sámi (N=10) were interviewed. The study took place
in Finland which is one of the four countries inhabited by the Sámi. The study showed that the official
definition of an indigenous people matters for the identity of an individual person. The purpose of this
study was to increase information about the phenomenon and tear down stereotypes and myths
about Sáminess.
Keywords : indigeneity, non-status sámi, cultural identity, identification, marginal, indigenous
research.
GJHSS-A Classification : FOR Code: 940106
ThePositionandIdentificationoftheNon-StatusSmiintheMarginalofIndigeneity
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