“Here we are just inside out gáktis”

Abstract

The Fovsen actions consisted of three events that influenced the Sámi society throughout 2023. In February/March, a week-long action began in the capital of Norway, where both Sámi and non-Sámi gathered to take actions against the Norwegian state. Among other things, gáktis turned inside out and civil disobedience was used as ways to show resistance to an ongoing human rights violation against the reindeer herding district Fovsen-Njaarke Sijte.

This master’s thesis is based on the observations that many of the front figures and other active participants during the Fovsen actions were young Sámi women. It has further been observed that there are generally many Sámi women who are active participants in the public sphere of Sámi society today. This combined has led to a desire to investigate young Sámi women’s society engagement using citizenship and birget as a theoretical framework.

This master’s thesis presents three main findings based on an analysis of five interviews with young Sámi who have participated in the Fovsen actions. The first finding concerns how an inclusive Sámi community is important for the research participants, both for cultural socialization and managing being a minority. The second finding concerns how the research participants’ engagement is based on a dimension of care which I have called caring citizenship. The last finding concerns the Fovsen actions and how it created an inclusive Sámi community which was embedded in mutual care. The last finding shows how mutual care is important for the well-being of the Sámi society, the Sámi community, and the Sámi citizen.