Ethics in Indigenous Research

SAMI DUTKAN. SAMISKA STUDIER. SAMI STUDIES. SAMI STUDIER. SAMISKA DUTKAN. SAMI SAMI DUTKAN. SAMISKA STUDIER. SAMI STUDIES. Vaartoe – Centre for Sami Research Umeå University Ethics in research related to Indigenous peoples has, over recent decades, been increasingly discussed in a global context. Decolo- nizing theories and methods have gained legitimacy and prestige, and Indigenous scholarship has challenged mainstream research by adding novel perspectives and critical standpoints that encourage researchers of all origins to reflect upon their own positions within Anna-Lill Drugge (ed.) the colonial academic and social structures in which they work. This development has taken different directions and occurred at different speeds depending on local, regional and national settings. In a Ethics in Indigenous Research Swedish Sami research context, we are now in a time when it is clear that things are moving and discussions on research ethics are taking Past Experiences - Future Challenges place on a more regular basis. This publication is one example of that. In Sweden, it is the first one in English that addresses ethics in Sami and Indigenous research and this will, hopefully, facilitate collabora- Anna-Lill Drugge (ed.) tions, comparisons and discussions on an international scale. The book is based on some of the contributions to the international workshop Ethics in Indigenous Research, Past Experiences – Future Challenges that was held in Umeå in March 2014. The workshop gathered together around fifty scholars from different parts of Sápmi and abroad, and aimed to move forward Indigenous research ethics in Sweden by highlighting and addressing research ethics related to the Sami and Indigenous research field. It is hoped that this book will ETHICS IN INDIGENOUS RESEARCH serve as an inspiration, a critique, and an illustration of where discussions are heading in a Nordic, and more specifically, Swedish context. It is intended to function as a foundation for future ethical discussions at different levels, in national and international settings both within and outside academia. Umeå University 2016 Umeå University Vaartoe – Centre for Sami Research ISBN 978-91-7601-457-8 Vaartoe – Centre for Sami Research Umeå University ISSN 1651-5153 SE-901 87 Umeå Umeå University Ethics in Indigenous Research Past Experiences - Future Challenges Anna-Lill Drugge (ed.) Vaartoe - Centre for Sami Research Umeå 2016 Copyright©the authors and Vaartoe - Centre for Sami Research ISBN: 978-91-7601-457-8 ISSN: 1651-5153, Sámi Dutkan no. 7 Cover photo: Fredrik Juuso Print: UmU Tryckservice, Umeå University Ubmeje/Umeå, Sápmi and Sweden 2016 2 Table of content Anna-Lill Drugge 9 Introduction Stefan Mikaelsson 19 ”We, the Saami, are one People, united in our own culture, language and history, living in areas which since time immemorial and up to historical times, we alone inhabited and utilized” Torjer A. Olsen 25 Responsibility, reciprocity and respect. On the ethics of (self-)representation and advocacy in Indigenous studies Lars Jacobsson 45 Is there a need for a special ethics of Indigenous research? Håkan Tunón, Marie Kvarnström & Henrik Lerner 57 Ethical codes of conduct for research related to Indigenous peoples and local communities – core principles, challenges and opportunities Sandra Juutilainen & Lydia Heikkilä 81 Moving forward with Sámi research ethics: how the dialogical process to policy development in Canada supports the course of action for the Nordic countries Anna-Lill Drugge & Isabelle Brännlund 105 Challenging the mainstream through parrhesiastic theory and practice Rebecca Lawrence & Kaisa Raitio 117 Academia and activism in Saami research: negotiating the blurred spaces between Annette Löf & Marita Stinnerbom 137 Making collaboration work – Reflections from both sides Maui Hudson, Moe Milne, Khyla Russell, Barry Smith, Paul Reynolds & Polly Atatoa-Carr 157 The Development of Guidelines for Indigenous Research Ethics in Aotearoa/New Zealand Snefrid Møllersen, Vigdis Stordahl, Grete Tørres & Inger Marit Eira-Åhrén 175 Developing an adequate questionnaire addressing psychosocial distress in a reindeer herding population: Some lessons learned Biographical notes 199 Máb Ussjadallabe 203 Sámi Dutkan 205 Acknowledgements Many are those who have contributed to making this publication possible. To all authors - thank you for your thoughtful and inspirational texts. To the reviewers – thank you for your appreciated critique and remarks. To the editorial board Lena Maria Nilsson, Krister Stoor, Grete Tørres and Maria J Wisselgren – thank you for your assistance and valuable insights. To Åsa Össbo – thank you for your editorial work. To my colleagues at Vaartoe and NorrSam – thank you for challenging structures and providing a space for radical thoughts. To Åsa Nordin – thank you for breaking new ground. Thank you Isabelle Brännlund for constant collaboration, Sofia Jannok for wisdom and treasured conversations, Maui Hudson for inspiration and Fredrik Juuso for critique and support. My work with this book is dedicated to the ones struggling before me, my Sami ancestors. Fire. An element that carries a symbolic value to many of us, regardless of our backgrounds and perspectives. To me, fire is life. A campfire alone or with a friend, brings me strength and energy and clears my mind. When a fire is lit, it needs help to keep burning, to grow and become strong. It needs small pieces of firewood, carefully placed in a way that will allow it to continue burning. A fire always needs to be looked after, or else it will die away, disappear. But a burning fire that is cared for is a safe, welcoming and natural place to gather around. And, as my father says, “it is easy to have good thoughts and talks around a fire.” I see this book and the theme of it as a fire. My hopes are that we will all contribute to keeping it burning. Anna-Lill Ratan, June 2016 Introduction Anna-Lill Drugge Ethics in research related to Indigenous peoples has, over recent decades, been increasingly discussed in a global context. Decolonizing theories and methods have gained legitimacy and prestige, and Indigenous scholarship has challenged mainstream research by adding novel perspectives and critical standpoints that encourage researchers of all origins to reflect upon their own positions within the colonial academic and social structures in which they work. This development has taken different directions and occurred at different speeds depending on local, regional and national settings. For instance, in New Zealand, Australia and Canada, ethical guidelines for Indigenous research are now integrated into the national systems of ethical review for research. In these and other countries, Indigenous scholars have been particularly important in pushing the limits towards Indigenous self-determi- nation and capacity-building within the academic setting and beyond (for instance, but not limited to, Taiaike Alfred, Asta Balto, Marie Battiste, Maryann Bin-Sallik, Norman K. Denzin, Maui Hudson, Harald Gaski, Alf Isak Keskitalo, Rauna Kuok- kanen, Åsa Nordin Jonsson, Nils Oskal, Jelena Porsanger, Lester Irabinna Rigney, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith). The work of these and other scholars has been essential not only to the cultures, peoples and contexts from which they originate, but also on a global scale, bringing inspiration to others in the work to accomplish and pro- mote ethical awareness in Indigenous research. Not least, this has been of great im- portance to Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars with an interest in research ethics in Sápmi. The discussions on ethical issues in relation to Sami research have predomi- nately been present on the Norwegian side of Sápmi, where voices were raised in the 1970s, requesting that research that related to the Sami should be taking its point of departure from Sami perspectives, values and needs (Porsanger 2008, see also chapter by Juutilainen & Heikkilä, this volume). The development in Norway has in turn been influenced by, and itself has influenced, international discours- es. Given that Sápmi stretches across the national borders of the Nordic countries and Russia, is it natural to think that Sweden should also have exhibited a similar trend when it comes to raising awareness on issues of ethics in scientific contexts 9 Ethics in Indigenous Research - Past Experiences, Future Challenges related to Sami research. In fact however, relatively little attention has been given to this area of interest, both in terms of highlighting research ethics as such, and in terms of promoting the development and adjustment of ethical guidelines (Drugge 2016b). However, a change can be noted as the focus on research ethics in Swed- ish Sami research has gradually grown during the past decade. Through the increased focus on adopting or challenging the concept of traditional knowledge, an increased interest in research ethics can now also be noted on the Swedish side of Sápmi, inspired by international development in the field. In 2010 a seminar on research ethics was arranged with subsequent conference proceedings (Bockgård & Tunón 2010), and in 2011 a book addressing “árbediehtu” (traditional knowledge) was published, edited by Åsa Nordin-Jonsson, who should take credit for intro- ducing Sami traditional knowledge and Indigenous methodologies into the Swed- ish Sami academic context (Jonsson 2011a; Jonsson 2010; Jonsson 2011b). Today, multiple voices are heard from senior scholars and PhD students that challenge, develop and discuss

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