This years’ UiT seminar addresses cross-border collaboration between Indigenous Peoples, with today’s geopolitical situation as the backdrop. What is the importance of collaboration and solidarity in the time ahead? How does the large-scale political currents impact the shared, Indigenous community? 

Historian Katri Somby introduces the seminar with a reflection on political currents and collaboration from a historical perspective, with the Sámi political movement as the starting point. Then, we look ahead and ask what the status is for Indigenous Peoples’ collaborations today. The present time can be described as ‘a time of the wolf,’ characterized by war and conflicts. This has obvious consequences for Indigenous Peoples and for cross-border collaboration. Through this seminar, we want to illuminate some of these. We also want to discuss how values such as solidarity and community can be protected. Can historical Indigenous collaborations help us understand today’s situation and give us directions for the future? 

The talk is led by Kristin Evju, university lecturer, Centre for Sami Studies, UiT The Arctic University of Norway