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Book chapter - Peer-reviewed, 2016

Academia and activism in Saami research: negotiating the blurred spaces between

Lawrence, Rebecca; Raitio, Kaisa

Abstract

In much discourse about academia in the Nordic countries, the role of the academic is revered as objective, neutral and disengaged. Getting involving in issues of so-cial justice or Indigenous rights claims is considered inappropriately political, risks making researchers subjective, and is thought to lie outside of the scope of aca-demic activity. In this paper, we argue that research must necessarily be reflexive, participatory and collaborative if, as non-Indigenous researchers, we are to engage with the colonial relations that have historically structured, and in many cases con-tinue to structure, relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous socie-ties. We use illustrations from our own research experiences to demonstrate how positivist assumptions, and a continuing denial of colonial injustices, prevail in the Nordics. We discuss the kinds of ethical dilemmas this produces for academics en-gaged in critical research, not only in relation to Indigenous communities, but also in relation to other non-Indigenous participants in the research process.

Published in

Sámi Dutkan - Samiska Studier - Sami Studies
2016, number: 7, pages: 117-136
Title: Ethics in indigenous research : past experiences - future challenges
ISBN: 978-91-7601-457-8
Publisher: Vaartoe - Centre for Sami Research (CeSam)

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
    Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/81261