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«We must go in the same direction» Understanding the promotion of the Northern Sámi language in Gáivuotna/Kåfjord and Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino in a multi-actor and multi-level perspective ANNA TERRA VELOSO MENDES SUPERVISOR James Tommy Karlsen University of Agder, 2019 Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Political Science and Management ABSTRACT The general endangered status of indigenous languages worldwide is a reality that demands quick action from authorities belonging to different governmental spheres to safeguard their use, protection and further development for the next generations. In view of the complexity of this issue, which stretches itself over public sectors such as health and education, public and private actors have sought to join forces to guarantee the promotion of indigenous languages. Hence, this thesis aims to understand how the existence of different actors within a multi-governance system can enable the promotion of the Northern Sámi language in the Norwegian municipalities of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino and Gáivuotna/Kåfjord. This work was mainly guided by two main theoretical approahces: the governance network theory, allowing the comprehension of the actors that take part into a system in which they interact with one another through the formation of networks and are affected by external factors in each municipality. Besides this, the concept of multi-governance was also used, in order to place these local dynamics into a broader arrangement that depends not only on the local sphere, but also on regional and national actors. In methodological terms, this is a comparative case study led mainly by qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The investigation found similarities in terms of the type of actors involved in each of the local governance networks, as well as a general common goal in terms of the use and promotion of the Northern Sámi language. The networks are also comparable in size, density and governance mode, in view of the preponderance of the Sámi Parliament as a coordination and major funder, and the role of the municipalities as providers of public services and funds to other institutions in these systems. Despite the more prominent status of the Northern Sámi language in Kautokeino than in Kåfjord, where it is mainly restricted to language courses, Norwegian and Northern Sámi are not fully equal languages, but Kautokeino is still closer to this status. Moreover, in the governance system towards the promotion of indigenous languages, external dimensions such as ethnicity, identity and demographics matter when public service provision and the implementation of policies are to be put forward in contexts dominated by societal conflicts or different ethnical groups. Key words: Actors. Northern Sámi language. Governance. Norway. Municipalities. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Everything started in 2005, when I first read Sofies Verden by the Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder. This was my first contact with the Norwegian alphabet and the year that would change my life forever. In between many readings about Scandinavia, the Sámi people found me. This encounter made me reconnect myself to my indigenous heritage, to my interest for Nordic and Finno-Ugric languages and to the Nordic region, which became my research field. This thesis is the result of two years of studies in the Nordig program, which would not have been possible without the financial support of the Nordic Council, the University of Tampere and the Erasmus+ scholarship, which I am eternally grateful for. The University of Agder, my university for two semesters, also offered me help in a myriad of situations, making student life run way smoothier. To James Karlsen, my supervisor, with whom I have learnt verynmuch during this period: thank you for asking me questions, for motivating me and for dealing with my occasional frustrations in the best possible way. Also, a big thanks to my coordinators and professors Maria Ranta, Rómulo Pinheiro, Dag Ingvar Jacobsen, Arne Isaksen, Elias Pekkola, Motolani Agbebi, Aino Nordling, Lars Geschwind and Linda Barman, for your constant assistance and encoragement during this journey. Thanks as well to Aleksandar Avramovic, for his availability and valuable methodological tips. My gratitude also goes to the informants that made this work possible. Thank you for such a warm welcome from the cold and beautiful North. Being in contact with so many wonderful people and having the opportunity to take such a close look into the Sámi language and culture was a dream come true for me. Giitu! Friendship was also a great driving force during this process. I am very happy to have my Nordig colleagues always close by – even if not physically -, as well as my Brazilian and international friends. Thanks for always having my back! My Nordic and Latin family, no words are enough to describe how much your existence and support mean to me. Thank you for everything! 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Aim and research question ................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Organization of the study ........................................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Main concepts and terms .......................................................................................................................... 10 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: POLICYMAKING, GOVERNANCE, NETWORKS AND THE GOVERNANCE NETWORK THEORY ............................................................................... 11 2.1 Policymaking and modes of governance in Public Administration ......................................... 11 2.2 Governance..................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Networks .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Governance network theory .................................................................................................................... 16 2.5 Analytical model ........................................................................................................................................... 21 3 METHOD ................................................................................................................................................................ 23 3.1 The position of the researcher ................................................................................................................ 23 3.2 Selecting the research topic ..................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Research strategy ................................................................................................................................... 24 3.4 Research design ....................................................................................................................................... 25 3.5 Data collection ......................................................................................................................................... 26 3.5.1 Primary data ...................................................................................................................................... 26 3.5.2 Secondary data .................................................................................................................................. 28 3.6 Data analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 31 3.7 Challenges ................................................................................................................................................. 32 3.8 Learning ..................................................................................................................................................... 35 3.9 Reliability .................................................................................................................................................. 35 3.10 Validity ................................................................................................................................................... 36 4 THE SÁMI AND THE NORWEGIANS – HISTORICAL RELATIONS AND POLICIES 38 4.1 Who are the Sámi? ...................................................................................................................................... 39 4.2 Sámi policies in Norway: from assimilation to accommodation ............................................... 40 4.3 Sámi policies and institutions within and without Norway: recognition and empowerment ....................................................................................................................................................... 44 4.4 Case presentation: a brief institutional panorama and the situation of the Northern Sámi language in Kåfjord and Kautokeino .............................................................................................. 51 4.4.1 Kåfjord: Northern Sámi as a minoritarian language .................................................................... 52 4.4.2