An Urban Future for Sápmi? Indigenous Urbanization in the Nordic States and Russia

CBEES Advanced Seminar with Mikkel Berg-Nordlie, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) at Oslo Metropolitan University

Speaker: Mikkel Berg-Nordlie, PhD., Senior Researcher, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR)

Discussant: Dmitry (Dima) Arzyutov, PhD., Research Fellow in History and Anthropology, University of Oulu, Finland

Chair: Vassilis Kitsos, PhD. in Sociology, Södertörn University

Abstract: Presenting the political and cultural processes that occur within the indigenous Sámi people of North Europe as they undergo urbanization, this book [An Urban Future for Sápmi? Indigenous Urbanization in the Nordic States and Russia External link, opens in new window.] examines how they have retained their sense of history and culture in this new setting. The book presents data and analysis on subjects such as indigenous urbanization history, urban indigenous identity issues, urban indigenous youth, and the governance of urban “spaces” for indigenous culture and community. The book is written by a team of researchers, mostly Sámi, from all the countries covered in the book.

Mikkel Berg-Nordlie is a senior researcher at Oslo Metropolitan University’s NIBR Institute. He has a PhD in history from the University of Tromsø – Arctic University of Norway. His research mainly concerns Indigenous and other minority politics in Norway and Russia. Berg-Nordlie recently headed the research project “An Urban Future for Sápmi” which resulted in, among others, the book of the same name that he edited together with Astri Dankertsen and Marte Winsvold. The book concerns Sámi urbanization processes in Norway, Russia, Sweden, and Finland.