Browsing Master's theses in indigenous studies by Title
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- Browsing Master's theses in indigenous studies by Title
Browsing Master's theses in indigenous studies by Title
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Swanson, Shanley (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-May-2012)[+][-]
Abstract: Trauma affects children from all races, ethnicities, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. However, indigenous children may experience trauma differently than their majority population peers due to traumatic histories of colonization and ongoing marginalization. This thesis explores how service providers in Western Montana and Northern Norway conceptualize Native American and Sámi children’s experiences of trauma today. Additionally, I ask if these providers draw links between the historical traumas of the past and current traumatic events facing indigenous children in these two locations. Interviewees spoke about the effects of historical trauma in eight identified themes. The diversity of the themes and concepts discussed imply that providers regard their indigenous clients as being impacted by the historical traumas suffered by indigenous peoples in Montana and Northern Norway. Acknowledging past histories of injustice and focusing future research on the unique resiliencies of indigenous children, families, and communities were two main recommendations for promoting the treatment and understanding of indigenous child trauma. The thesis provides a brief look into the experiences of Native children in Montana and Sámi children in Norway facing trauma, as seen from the eyes of their social workers, therapists and advocates. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/5079 File(s) in this item: 1
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Bellis, Dana (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 04-Jun-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis focuses on representations of gender in Sami reindeer herding in West Finnmark, Norway. I analyze to what extent are scholarly representations of gender accurate when compared to the local experience of modernization, by focusing on masculinity. This analysis builds on the history of Norwegian reindeer herding regulations from the Lapp Codicil to recent debates on the amendments to the 1978 Reindeer Herding Act to determine when and why gender has become a topic of concern. Mechanization’s impact on gendered participation and representation is analyzed by determining to what extent early ethnographic works contributed to the masculinization of reindeer herding. This is contrasted against local narratives that demonstrate how modernizing transportation was adapted in the family and siida differently than described by scholars. Analyzing the relationship between regulations and gendered representation in reindeer herding will argue that current gender discussions have marginalized the gendered experience of men. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2672 File(s) in this item: 1
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Uzawa, Kanako (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 08-Nov-2007)[+][-]
Abstract: Who defines indigenous peoples, and in whose interests does the definition serve? If there is a definition that is regulated in relation to indigenous peoples, how much does it the protect rights of indigenous peoples? Considering these questions as my point of departure, I have chosen to do a comparative study on the Sami in Norway and the Ainu in Japan in the context of ILO Convention No. 169. There are great differences between the Sami and Ainu in terms of governmental policy, legal frameworks, institutional structures, levels of domestic and international movement, awareness of human rights, and social atmospheres, especially given the fact that Norway is the first country to ratify ILO Convention No. 169. A main focus of this thesis is to pursue understanding the causes of those differences as well as similarities focusing. Moreover, how ILO Convention No. 169 has or has not been implemented at the domestic and international level is another main focus in this thesis. The thesis relies on an interview method to clarify the facts, and draws upon different levels to illustrate the topic by using texts and by interviewing people who have various perspectives on the issue. For instance, I interviewed Sami representatives who have been involved with the process of ratification of the ILO Convention No. 169 at the international and domestic levels and the Ainu representatives who have dealt with the international and domestic issue. Also, the government officials and ILO representatives also provided a different perspective on this matter. Finally, the thesis concludes with description of the dilemma that has been created in the process of legal and political development of the Sami and Ainu, and it suggests possible solutions for these matters in the future. The thesis focuses mainly on the legal perspective; but also by using the author’s own subjective experience as a point of reference it brings into focus other dimensions of indigenous politics, knowledge, and reality. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1261 File(s) in this item: 1
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Tripura, Sontosh Bikash (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, Jun-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: The special focus in this thesis is about the challenges of the indigenous peoples land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh. Traditionally, indigenous peoples practiced jhum cultivation. The notion of the ownership of the land for the practices of jhum cultivation is distinct from wet-rice cultivation. The jhum cultivator must every year change the places to plant from one field to another. On the other hand, jhum cultivation has been blamed for environmental problems since the British period, while justifying taking the land in relation to profit or a commercial perspective. Jhumia Indigenous Peoples in the CHT have been ruled over from the British to the successive Bangladesh period. The approach of the entire ruler has centrally focused on the land and natural resources in the CHT. Furthermore, the policy on the Jhumia indigenous people’s economy and livelihoods has been imposed by outsiders throughout time. In this context, I especially concentrated on how the Jhumia Indigenous Peoples have been alienated from their land from the British period to the present state of Bangladesh. That is why, I focused on how the indigenous peoples have been displaced and lost control and their rights to their own land. Jhumia Indigenous peoples are still being dislocated from their land due to the state policy, particularly Bengali settlement with the state security support. The myth of vacant land was established during the British period and the Bangladesh state still has been allying the concept of vacant land. However, behind the myth of vacant land what is the State policy and how it affects on the Jhumia indigenous peoples, which has not been discussed as much. Hence, I have discussed the historical context for the imposition of the “doctrine of terra nullius” during the British period and its implication in the successive nation states of Pakistan and Bangladesh. By the imposition of the “doctrine of terra nullius” the land has been used for the State’s own interests and its impacts on the indigenous peoples have been the focused in this thesis. In this study I will present the general picture of the root causes of the land alienation of the Jhumia indigenous peoples and the conflict therein. Thus, to analyze the present context, I have focused on the changing trends of land ownership patterns and the hidden interests when they blame jhum cultivation since colonial authority to the nation-state of Bangladesh. The major findings in my thesis are that the local people’s existence has been violated by the imposition of power for the extraction of the land and natural resources. Using the author’s own subjective experience as a point reference, it brings into focus the present reality of indigenous peoples in the CHT of Bangladesh. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1535 File(s) in this item: 1
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Kim, Jung Im (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-May-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis discusses Coastal identities in the modern age - the case of Storfjord in Northern Norway as studied in 2009. Populations in the coastal areas of Northern Norway are more or less a mixture of Coastal Sami, Kven and Norwegian. Historically, it might be analyzed as some results of the encounters of three ethnic groups; the Coastal Sami, Kven and Norwegian historically. Therefore, there is a natural tendency to choose a “both–and” ethnicity. However, the Coastal Sami and Kven experienced the worst form of the Norwegianization policy until the last century. The Coastal Sami and Kven ethnicity were often stereotyped as a stigmatized ethnic identity or just inferior. The mixed ethnic population in Northern Norway was therefore integrated into the Norwegian mainstream. My thesis brings out the contemporary changes among them. I observed the different ethnic identifications among the mixed population in Storfjord. I analyzed them in three categories: Category 1 termed “the North Calotte Cocktail” and “Northerner (Nordlending in Norwegian)” group. Category 2 is the group who chose the single ethnic identity as Sami instead of Northern Norwegian. Category 3 comprises of those who claim double/multiple ethnicity instead of Northern Norwegian. Furthermore, this thesis includes how these different ethnic identifications are influencing Sami ethnic revitalization and their mechanisms for strengthening their new identity. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2689 File(s) in this item: 1
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Abate, Abebe Gizachew (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 09-Jun-2006)[+][-]
Abstract: The questions of land rights, identity and power are related to what constitutes nation-states, the relations between nation state and their constituent peoples and territories. These questions are debatable in artificial African nation states emerged in the wake of European colonialism. The notions of territoriality defined in context of African nation states are more likely sources of frictions and contests than `imagined community` notion of (Anderson 1991) used to reflect on historical origins of nation. This is due to the fact that international boundaries of African nation states were grounded on the denial and subjections of rights, cultures, world views and existence of indigenous peoples. Based on the contemporary ethnographic and historical data from Oromia regional state of Ethiopia the study examines complex relationships and contradictory processes of the effects of resource based-development policies of the Ethiopian regimes on land rights related to Oromo peasant livelihoods, environment and development. The thesis discusses the rights to define; allocation and use of resources have been related to the fundamental questions of land rights, identity and power. The compressive analysis focuses on how the power to define resource use and rights are socio-culturally and historically constructed and ideologically driven. In concern to this humane issues students of society and culture have studied social and cultural changes unfolded related to the integrations of indigenous nations or peoples into nation-states, colonial regimes, and world capitalist economy. Indigenous peoples suffered from the asymmetric power relationships and assimilative packages of those forces. Some of the works view indigenous people as passive victims of those forces. However, this study suggests that indigenous Oromo peasants and pastoral communities resist and sometimes obstruct encroachments of those forces into their livelihoods. II But given the asymmetric power relationships, the question is how indigenous people with different views of rights encapsulated into modern nation states enjoy cultural continuity and their rights to existence as a people maintained within this framework, where their views of land rights connected to ethnic identity and development is not `legal `? Analytically , a new ethnographic paradigm of approaching the notions of land rights, power and resistance that problematize custom as static culture vs. dynamic understanding of culture opens up a more dynamic, practical , contextual and relational understanding of ` rights`. The analytical paradigms that focus on historical context of cultural and legal processes of indigenous relations to their land and nation state-indigenous people relationships allows looking into the constraints and limitations of actions and practice of the governance of land rights .This thesis has selected four conflicts of interests over the use of land and natural resources among different stakeholders in Oromia with particular focus on the two recent court cases: the case of Inxoxilsh and Hidha Gamme in Alam Gana to examine the continuity of challenges of land rights of the Oromo peasants in Ethiopia. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/153 File(s) in this item: 1
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Ciocîrlie, Elena Mirona (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 06-Jun-2005)[+][-]
Abstract: My work of cultural analysis is a labyrinth for cultural understanding and mediation. At work are the disciplines and trends of analysis - cultural, historical and legal-, the minotaurs. ''Cultural Mediation. A Case Study of Sami Research'' is the nest of a magpie with bits and pieces gathered in a mixed style, interdisciplinary, translating the oral tradition of the academic lectures in the lanscape of the Sami and Norwegian geo-political and economic landscape. The argumentative talks between the students and the lecturers in the Programme, on the methodology used in the Indigenous Studies Programme at the University of Tromsoe, as shared by both well-established academic fields and newly emerged fields such as Indigenous Studies, allowed the room for developing this style and discussion on and of old and new texts and performative acts, artistic qualities imbeded, and differences underlined or merged. The personae, Ande Somby and Henry Minde, as discussed in the paper are only discursive instances and fabulae of their written and performed acts. I apologise for any discrepancy, wrong or missing reference, which might interfere with the conventions of the academic writing in the text - they were possibly left out due to the economy of a Master thesis (as opposed to a PhD thesis, for example) of time, money and experience, and especially of time. The thesis contains four parts: 1. Introduction - discussing the research problem, 2. Theory and Methodology - stating the definitions used for concepts employed in the thesis, such as ''discourse'', ''ethics'', ''autobiography'', ''political and juridical indigenous discourse'', ''symbolic action'', 3. Ande Somby: ''Some Hybrids of the Legal Situation on the Sami People in Norway'' - discussion of Ande's project as artistic manifestation, performativity, cultural mediation, 4. Henry Minde: ''Assimilation of the Sami-Implementation and Consequances'' - history writing and the Sami political changes, staging as discursive mode, Norwegianisation strategies, state institutions, Sami community, assimilation stages, ''voice'' as discursive strategy. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2929 File(s) in this item: 1
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Angell, Synnøve (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 20-May-2009)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis focuses on the significance of Sámi and indigenous vocal and musical expression in ethno and indigenous political mobilizing in the 1970s and particularly in June 1979. My point of departure is the Davvi Šuvva festival; the first Sámi and international indigenous culture and music festival after the establishing of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. It took place on a hill in a Sámi and Swedish/Finnish border village in the north of Sweden and in the middle of Sápmi. My research is based on the interviews with people who organized the festival, artists and audience as well as written contemporary sources, a film about the event and 16 authentic tapes of recordings of the concerts at Davvi Šuvva. The oral sources of eye and ear witnesses represent insider views and experiences and the contemporary written sources of attending news paper journalists and writers from other magazines represent both insider and outsider perspective. “Davvi Šuvva 1979” also documents the ethno political background of the festival and discusses various perspectives on collective identity. While powwow dance and traditional native chanting expressed First Nation and Cree Indian identity and Inuit identity was expressed by traditional drum dance and drum singing Davvi Šuvva also demonstrated how yoik conveyed various Sámi identities. My intention is to show how and why vocal and musical expressions had, and still have, a particular significance in oral indigenous cultures as a means of struggle. The conclusions reached are that manifestations of Sámi and indigenous cultural expression and resistance like the Davvi Šuvva festival contributed to pride, recovery, dignity and positive self awareness and that the festival as such strengthened Sámi identity and indigenous togetherness and belonging. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2059 File(s) in this item: 1
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Boakye, Priscilla Akua (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 08-Jun-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: The transition from childhood to adulthood is a major one, not only for the individual but the society at large. In some societies, the rites of passage are observed to usher young people into adulthood. The Krobos in Ghana are no exception. They have the most elaborate puberty rites for girls in Ghana today. This study investigates the historical background of the practice, the changes it has undergone and reasons for these changes. The ways in which this practice forms part of the ethnic identity of the Krobos and more importantly, a Krobo woman is explored. The study draws on concepts such as gender, values, modernization, and ethnicity. The study reveals that the practice was a form of vocational training for young women in which they were taught generally how to assume their roles as responsible women in the society. Changes observed in the rite serve to ensure its continuity. The custom is adept with symbols, the major one being that initiates are transformed into women. The study shows that the custom is a means of female empowerment in a patrilineal society as it is aimed at bringing females into the limelight. People adhere to the practice mainly because it is tradition and the desire to have a place in their family home in Kroboland. The deep sense of belonging therefore becomes part of the motivation to engage in the practice. Christianity and modernization are however factors that make people refrain from the practice. The practice was however described as a rich custom and an ethnic hallmark of the Krobos. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2673 File(s) in this item: 1
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Fant, Elijah Kombian (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 13-Jun-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: Education is a human right. It is guaranteed under the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child. This convention is the most widely ratified international treaty in the world today. Ghana has ratified the Convention on the Rights of a child and makes education a Constitutional right. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees Free and Compulsory Basic Education to every child of school going age irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity or geographical location. Yet, ‘Basic Education for All’ is still very far from being a reality for many children, particularly the girl-child. This study emphasizes that a major barrier to girl-child access and participation in formal education is the cultural and traditional values and the daily realities of poverty stand between girls and their prospects for educational opportunities. Traditional beliefs, practices and sayings perpetuate gender imbalance in terms of educational attainments. This paper argues that the education of girl-child would improve their life chances, and also enhance the welfare of their households, thus its resultant benefit of the girl-child being empowered. In the light of these challenges in the girl-child education, this paper further brings to the fore the efforts of a growing number of NGOs and international agencies complementing the government’s efforts in the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo in promoting greater participation towards girl-child education. This study shows that early marriage is somewhat a reality among many of the target girls for this study. Girls are also more likely to drop out of school because of their domestic responsibilities. The study also shows that girls are often discriminated against when it comes to parents’ decision to fund their wards education. In the light of this, the study makes the following recommendation towards improving girl-child education: Educating parents on girls’ education, Abolition of schools fees and other related at the Junior High School level, enforcement of laws on early marriages, enforcement of laws on child labor, expansion school feeding programme and Engagement of men and civic groups as advocates for girls' education. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1541 File(s) in this item: 1
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Rørholt, Anne Cathrine (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 08-Jun-2009)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis is about the loss of pastures as a problem for the Sami reindeer husbandry. The aim is to describe measures that may contribute to a new policy of dealing with the problem of the further loss of pastures perceived for the Sami reindeer areas. Whereas the Sami reindeer husbandry has managed to deal with the development so far, there are voices that claim: "Our land is taken bit by bit: one day it will be too much for us", and "this does not seem to be understood". The issue is studied from two different points of view, one shows how the reindeer herders view the problem today, the other shows the legal protection against loss of pastures in the past, present and proposed Norwegian legislation. The first study argues: To the reindeer herders, encroachments mean that they have to change their use of the areas. The problem is not the change of use. The problem arises when the alternatives for changing the use become too few. Complying with the problem is to improve the alternatives for changes of the reindeer herders' use of the pastures and to avoid unnecessary damage. This may be achieved by several means, "limited only by imagination", in the view of the informants used in the thesis, if only the reindeer herders may decide how. The second study argues: Whereas the Norwegian State at all times has recognized the right of the Sami reindeer herders to use the pastures, the legal protection against any loss of the pastures due to the development in society has been, and is weak. One of the objects of the Sami Right Committee, in their last report in 2007, was to propose legal measures to improve the protection against the losses of pastures in the Sami reindeer husbandry. This thesis argues that their proposal for a consultative institute seem to aim at refusing new losses of pastures, using the reindeer herders to front these refusals. This may prove to be a futile strategy, since new losses are likely to take place, and since there already is a need for improving the pasture conditions. In addition the proposal may lead to tie up the reindeer herders in dealing with the encroachment cases, as well as to give them the blame for the denial of new development. The thesis argues that the key to success for a new policy to improve the pasture conditions is the knowledge and skills of the reindeer herders to adapt to shifting conditions. Recognition of this knowledge, and a policy to improve the pasture conditions, may at the same time be means to get rid of the remains of colonialism against the Sami reindeer husbandry. Key words: Sami reindeer husbandry/ pastoralism/management, encroachments, resilience, Reindeer Husbandry Act, Sami Rights Committee, NOU 2007: 13, colonialism. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2078 File(s) in this item: 1
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Sirna, Zelalem Tesfaye (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 22-May-2012)[+][-]
Abstract: As student of law and later as a teacher, I was questioning whether Gadaa System has something to contribute to democratic values and sustainable institutions of governance in contemporary Ethiopian legal system. In particular, in sub-Saharan African countries where democracy and rule of law are proclaimed but not translated into practice, it appears vital to look into alternatives that can ll governance de cits. It is against this backdrop and after series of research processes; eld work among the Boran and Guji- Oromo, that Ethiopia: When the Gadaa Democracy Rules in a Federal State; Bridging Indigenous Institutions of Governance to Modern Democracy came into focus. The main objective of this research is, therefore, to respond to the search of alternative solution to hurdles democratisation process, Africa as a region as well as Ethiopia as a country faces, through African indigenous knowledge of governance, namely the Gadaa System. Accordingly, institutional and fundamental principles analysed in this thesis clearly indicate that indigenous system of governance such as the Gadaa System embraces archaic democratic values that are useful even today. However, bridging two separate institutions and political systems is not without challenges. This study is committed to discerning tensions and compatibility issues. The incompatibilities arise from both political systems; indigenous as well as modern. However, they bear not only tensions but also solutions. Hence, where the challenges that arise from indigenous political system could be resolved by progressive principles of modern political systems; tensions that arise from modern political system are sought to be addressed by embracing legally viable values of the Gadaa System through the instrumentality of federalism and legal pluralism. In sum, three main reasons support the approach of this study: in Africa no system of governance is perfect divorced from its indigenous institutions of governance; indigenous knowledge of governance as a resource that could enhance democratisation in Ethiopia should not be left at peripheries; and an inclusive policy that accommodates diversity and ensures the advancement of human culture appeals. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/5080 File(s) in this item: 1
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Asebe Regassa Debelo (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 29-May-2007)[+][-]
Abstract: This study deals with ethnicity and inter-ethnic relations in African context, with particular emphasis on the new ‘Ethiopian Experiment’ of ethnic politics. The study challenges the already existing thoughts on ethnicity, which map the concept on contours of polar extremes and suggests an approach to transcend the primordialist/constructivist perspectives. It is argued that in the face of rising ethnic politics in Africa, and particularly in Ethiopia where everything is ethinified, ethnicity can no longer remain only an analytical concept nor can inter-ethnic relations be understood separately from the political context. This study thus makes use of ethnicity both in analytical and political contexts. The concepts of politicised ethnicity or ‘Formal Ethnicism’ and its policy instrument - ‘Ethnic Federalism’ - are used in drawing the contours of national discourse on ethnicity and the dynamics of local inter-ethnic relations, taking the Guji-Gedeo relations in Southern Ethiopia as a case study. In this study, I agued that with the politicisation of ethnicity in the country’s political scene, particularly following its articulation in a formal political programme of the government in 1991, ethnic entrepreneurs activated elements of dichotomies at the expense of mutual co-existences like the Guji-Gedeo case. The historical relationship between the Guji and Gedeo ethnic groups has been examined in the context of economic interdependence, sharing some elements of cultural practices, political allegiances, belief in ancestral curse in case of homicide and myth of common ancestor. It also addresses the 1990s conflicts between the two groups drawing lines of connection between the national discourse on ethnicity and the local realities. This study also casts some light on the convergence between ethnicity and indigenousness in an African context, both concepts inconveniently sidelined by the bogus ambitions of post-colonial African leaders who try to build ‘nation-states’ at the expense of the rights of their member groups. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/990 File(s) in this item: 1
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Nicolai, Dean (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, May-2012)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis suggests that the state of cooperation between Native American peoples and the archaeological community today is a product of historical circumstances. The historical situation is characterized by the frustration felt by Native American communities as to the treatment of cultural resources. Two questions were posed: How can an indigenous methodological perspective operate effectively within state and federal Cultural Resource Management (CRM) frameworks concerning the identification, evaluation, assessment, and treatment of cultural properties? How are the laws and practices that regulate indigenous and scientific communities in the practice of archaeology and CRM, adaptable to the ideals of an indigenous methodological perspective? This thesis aims to clarify distinctions between western scientific and indigenous methodological perspectives within the practice of cultural resource management. The basis of the discussion is centered on authority and cultural values, and illustrated in the case study of the Ram’s Head Medicine Tree. A landscape perspective is utilized as a bridge for understanding, which accounts for scientific and traditional knowledge systems. Ultimately this thesis suggests that an indigenous methodological paradigm concerning the research and management of traditional cultural properties can contribute to archaeological knowledge and understanding of indigenous peoples within the western scientific archaeological community. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/5096 File(s) in this item: 1
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Zarcos Jimenez, Beatriz (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 25-May-2012)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis focuses on the interaction of so-called indigenous and Euro-American healing traditions in one of the most formal institutional settings: the hospital. The setting for this study is the Canadian Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and the main indigenous population are Plains First Nations. In the study I wish to discover if indigenous healing practices are able to adapt to a setting that is so central to the definition of settler states. I do so within a broader perspective that sets healing within a study of the decolonization process. The main argument is that part of the road to healing lies through the official institutions of the Canadian medical system and that it involves decolonization process for both the indigenous and the dominant society. The thesis asks why are hospitals settings being chosen today as the places to establish indigenous healing services and practices? To answer this question the thesis employs qualitative interview data and a reading of the literature. One of the key answers is that the hospital context permits the community of biomedical practitioners and the indigenous healers to interact. On the one hand, this interaction is seen as an important step for the revalorization and formal recognition of indigenous knowledge, and as determinant for the preservation and survival of it. On the other hand the field research shows that aboriginal patients feel extremely vulnerable when hospitalized and that the integration of indigenous healing within hospitals would improve the quality health care. Despite these strong answers, the project remains explorative. The conclusions show that there is no simple answer for how these two traditions can come together. One of the main reasons is that this process of implementation is at the very beginning. It shows as well that not all healers think that this is a good idea, and are worried about the expropriation and integrity of the knowledge. Some questions remain inconclusive and further research will be necessary in order to give further answers URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/5098 File(s) in this item: 1
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Brattland, Camilla (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 2005)[+][-]
Abstract: In the thesis, we follow the development of a discourse on coastal Sami rights on the local level and in public discourses from the 1970s up until today. In Norwegian fisheries management, fishing is only to a certain extent protected from regulations that threaten culture, livelihoods and settlement in coastal Sami areas. Resource use in coastal Sami areas has previously not been a subject of research, and it has been argued that coastal Sami fishing is not culturally specific in the meaning that coastal Sami are similar to any Norwegian citizen. However, when investigating local fishing practices in a coastal Sami fjord, we find that the local population has argued for several decades that their traditional ways of fishing are threatened by the Norwegian fisheries regulations. In 1985, the Supreme Court of Norway recognized a group of fishermen’s right to compensation after their livelihood was damaged following the construction of a hydroelectric power station. Fishing practices that were documented in the beginning of the 1980s connected to the court case are investigated and compared with today’s practices in the same area. The thesis argues that some practices have stood the test of time, while others are rejected, as the circumstances require a flexible approach to resource management in the fjord. Coastal Sami rights are to a great degree unspoken among the fishermen in the area of research. The local fishermen’s association in Kåfjord has acted as a resource management institution and a channel for local complaints, but it has not argued in terms of indigenous rights until recently. This is due to the process of assimilation and local circumstances, where expressing any kind of Sami belonging has been sanctioned before the coastal Sami revitalization process made an impact in the Lyngen region in the 1990s. In public discourses, the issue of coastal Sami fishing rights meets with challenges. During the course of a project aiming at local management in the Lyngen fjord, issues pertaining to the process of expressing a Sami identity in the three municipalities involved in the project, was one of the factors leading to the project’s abortion. Another factor was the general power structure in Norwegian fisheries management, where communities stand few chances against a few large fishing companies of controlling fisheries in fjords and at sea where the local population has fished for centuries. Coastal Sami thus face a double challenge in their struggle for recognition of their fishing rights. Today, coastal Sami rights discourse is met with better conditions both on the local level and from the authorities, giving hope for the future if indigenous rights claims are able to overpower capitalistic interests. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1384 File(s) in this item: 1
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Pyzhova, Anna (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, Oct-2011)[+][-]
Abstract: The thesis focuses on the identity of an unrecognized, small-numbered people in the northwestern part of Russia– the Pomor people (or Pomory). The thesis will examine the history of this group and how they came to be ‘fragmented’ from the main identity-forming process of the central Russian nation from the ninth to the 21st centuries. Using fieldwork materials, the thesis will present which identity markers are presented by Pomor activists today to support their claim for recognition. It will also analyze the main aspects of Russian national policies towards minority and indigenous groups. The thesis will examine why people in post-Soviet Russia are searching for a different type of identity structure that goes beyond citizenship. And how and why a fragmentation of identity occurs. The thesis further reflects on the difficulties and advantages of analyzing one’s own culture. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3688 File(s) in this item: 1
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Das, Smritikana (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-Jun-2011)[+][-]
Abstract: Indigenous land access in Bangladesh is limited at local levels as well as national levels, since indigenous peoples have no political recognition and documentary evidence provided by the government. The present research attempts to uncover the level of indigenous people’s land access on what is believed to be their informally inherited common property. It deals with the history of land access of the Santal people in different periods, from early ages to present day, and at a glance gives some geographical perspectives on land access in the northern-belt of Bangladesh. Practical questions according to an in-depth inquiry, along with snow-ball sampling accompanied by available secondary data on Santal people’s land access have been analyzed to uncover some reasons for this land loss. This study also endeavors to analyze some consequences regarding the problematic land access of the present period marked by disputes between the government and indigenous communities. The study also explores trends of protest by indigenous peoples in order to reclaim their access to land. The study shows that indigenous people’s access to land has highly fluctuated throughout different periods, escalating in the post-independence time and taking a critical shape at present. External and internal complexities inter alia complicated government procedures, indigenous peoples’ limited understanding on land ownership, political manipulation, majority-minority conflict, and language barriers have caused major discriminations for the Santal people in achieving their expected access to land. As a result of problematic land access, mass poverty and continuing social complexities have degraded living conditions in indigenous communities, particularly in Santal areas of Bangladesh. The study suggests that indigenous people’s protest and revolt against the oppressions may become fruitful if concerted initiatives are taken at individual, national, community and non-governmental levels. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3471 File(s) in this item: 1
thesis.pdf (9.700Mb) -
Cárdenas, Rosa Inquiltupa (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 07-Dec-2007)[+][-]
Abstract: In this thesis I discuss and show how the unequal distribution of water rights results in a deprivation of economic, social, and cultural prospects for the indigenous peoples in Chinchero. I attempt to illustrate that Peruvian water legislation does not belong to the same context as the indigenous people’s cultural perception. Firstly, the Peruvian legal context based on the national Constitution and its framework of laws does not work in a traditional culture background due to the ineffectiveness of water ownership in the indigenous territories. Secondly, the Ayllu is considered the indigenous’ unit institution as far as water management is concerned, and, thus, it shapes the cornerstone of a legal system that has been a model in an ancient Inca social structure or “collective community system of ownership”. It also demonstrates that indigenous people have practiced their own rules, characteristics and principles with regard to water. As an extension, a strong argument may be made based on the “Ayni” principle, which connects humans and water. How could the ILO Convention No. 169 warrant the rights to water for indigenous population in Chinchero? The answer to this question lies in articles 14 (land ownership) and 15 (natural resources ownership) of ILO Convention 169. It may also be explained in “Water Law and Indigenous Rights” (WALIR in regard to water self-determination). The above-mentioned international legal framework may be use as a local tool in terms of defending indigenous rights. However, this is the case only when those claiming these rights are aware of them, otherwise they become useless. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1337 File(s) in this item: 1
thesis.pdf (17.29Mb) -
Rojas Hooker, Sandra Carolina (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 30-May-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis discusses the Justice Administration System in Karata and the influence of Positive Law over the Indigenous Law or vice versa. The research was based primarily on participatory observation, focus group discussion, interviews with key person and literature review regarding Indigenous law, legal pluralism and conflict resolution. The conclusions reached was that Justice Administration in Karata is carried out by an administrative body composed by the Wihta, Elders, Communal Police, Religious Leader and Director from the Primary School, with the responsibility to maintain peace and social harmony in the community by the use of sanctions and punishment based on their customs and traditions such as public shame, talamana – payment of blood and exile. The Indigenous System of Law has experienced transformations that are evidenced during the oral hearing by the incorporation of elements from the Positive System of Law such as the principles of orality, immediacy and publicity among others, that requires the Wihta to have basic legal knowledge, due to the coordination/collaboration existing between authorities of the Indigenous system and the Positive System of Law. In relation to the knowledge and understanding of the Indigenous System of Law and the Positive System, the community members are aware of the existence of the Positive Law and have basic knowledge of the Human Rights instrument. Yet, the members of the community prefer the Indigenous System of Law and use the Positive System as a last resort when they claim that their standard Human Rights have been violated in the Indigenous System. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1544 File(s) in this item: 1
thesis.pdf (6.801Mb)
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