”Rustad med arv och liv”: Samiskhet i svenskspråkig samisk samtidslitteratur

Sina Lynn Sachse

doi:10.54797/tfl.v55i3.57181

Författare

Sina Lynn Sachse Institut für Skandinavistik/Fennistik, Universität zu Köln

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54797/tfl.v55i3.57181

Nyckelord:

Samisk litteratur, Samiskhet, identifikation, etnicitet, minneskultur, Linnea Axelsson, Ædnan, Ann-Helén Laestadius, Stöld, Straff, Tina Harnesk, Folk som sår i snö

Abstract

”Armed with heritage and life”. Sáminess in contemporary Swedish-language Sámi literature

Linnea Axelsson’s epic poem Ædnan (2018), Ann-Helén Laestadius’ novels Stöld (2021) and Straff (2023), and Tina Harnesk’s debut novel Folk som sår i snö (2022) exemplify a politically engaged trend in contemporary Swedish-language Sámi literature. These works document the colonial past and postcolonial present – from 1913 to the 2020s – and expose ongoing racism and persistent power structures. Sámi literature in majority languages fulfils a dual function: cultural self-understanding and communication with non-Sámi readers. Given the notable success of this literature, several questions arise: how is Sáminess depicted and discussed in these texts? How is contemporary Swedish-language Sámi literature involved in discourses on Sáminess and how does it contribute to the construction of Sámi identities?

This article examines these four literary works in separate chapters, focusing on their representations of Sáminess and the ethnic markers used to signify identification. The analyses show that these texts emphasise the constructivist nature of ethnic identity, portraying Sáminess as a fluid and context-dependent construct. Nonetheless, all four works also draw on traditional markers – particularly Sámi dress and reindeer herding. This tendency is examined here using the postcolonial concept of strategic essentialism.

Ultimately, however, a shared past emerges as the most significant criterion of Sáminess: memories and historical experiences are transmitted across generations and become a central element of Sámi identities. In this way, memory culture forms the foundation of Sámi identities, implicitly transcending any strategic-essentialist notions of Sáminess.

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Författarbiografi

Sina Lynn Sachse, Institut für Skandinavistik/Fennistik, Universität zu Köln

Mastersexamen i skandinavistik och musikvetenskap. Sedan 2023 anställd vid Institut für Skandinavistik/Fennistik (Kölns universitet). Skriver för närvarande en doktorsavhandling om det politiska i nordisk samtidslyrik.

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