Archaeological ethnography of an indigenous movement: Revitalization and production in a Skolt Sámi community

Abstract

Indigenous social movements contest histories of relocation, assimilation, and inequality. Archaeologists too have identified such processes in recent and deeper time. But what can ongoing sites of indigenous resistance tell us about those of the archaeological record, and what is the value in the present of linking such phenomena through time? The production of material culture embodies the motivations and constraints of these movements. Objects made and used promise to bridge temporalities, yet have been largely overlooked by anthropologists. To strengthen the ability to theorize such movements, we carry out an archaeological ethnography with the Skolt Sámi community of Arctic Finland. We focus our analysis on revitalization movements—a phenomena recognized at archaeological sites from the Pueblo homelands to western Europe—whereby communities intentionally direct cultural change in response to social stress. We bring anthropological conceptions of revitalization into dialogue with definitions of the term enacted by indigenous communities. The study analyzes the revival of technologies associated with Skolt lifeways: a boat made of planks sewn together with pine roots, and tools used to process inner pine bark. We establish the essential role that production of material culture plays in contemporary indigenous movements, and consider these new insights to critically evaluate and build on archaeological conceptions of revitalization. Nuõrttsää'mkˇiõll (Skolt Sámi) Alggmeerlaž liikkõõzz kˇiõtt´tâʹlle kolonialiism da assimilaatio historia. Arkeoloog še lie kaunnâm nåkam proseezzid mõõnnâmääiʹjest. Leâša mâiʹd vuäitt ânn’jõž alggmeerlaž vuâsttlâʹsttmõš čuäʹjted miʹjjid seämmanallšem šõddmõõžži pirr mõõnnâmääiʹjest, da mõõn diõtt lij vääžnai raajjâd õhttvuõđ tuâl’jõž- da ânn’jõžääiʹj kõʹskˇkˇe? Ko kˇiõččâp kääuʹnid, kook lie rajjum da õnnum nåkam liikkõõzzi ääiʹj, vueiʹttep õhtteed tuâl’jõž da ânn’ jõž sosiaalaž proseezzid. Nåkam liikkõõzzi fiʹttjõõzz nâânummuž diõtt muäna tueʹjjeep ânn’jõž arkeoloog projeekt aarktlaž Lääʹddjânnam nuõrttsääʹm-meerin. Muäna kõskkeep analyysân jeäll’tummša - kååʹtt lij vuåinnum arkeolooglaž pääiʹkˇin Pueblo vuuʹdest viõstâr Euroʹppe – koin õhttsažkååʹdd åʹcce muttâz vasttõsân kulttuurlaž da sosiaal stressa. Tuʹtkˇkˇõs analysâstt sääʹmjieʹllemvuâkka õhttneei teknologia jäll’jummuž: pieʹʒʒ vueʹddivuiʹm njõʹđđum võnnâz da tuâjjneävv, koin låʹhteet pieʹʒʒ. Muäna čiõʹlǧǧeep aunnsallaš kulttuur puuttõõzz vääžnai rool alggmeerlaž liikkõõzzin tääʹl, da väʹlddep lokku täid ođđ fiʹttjõõzzid ko ärvvtõõllâp da raajjâp arkeolooglaž jurddi jeäll’tummšest. Muäna eʹtkˇkˇeep, što jeeʹres ääiʹjin da pääiʹkˇin šõddâm vuâsttlâʹsttmõõžži õhttummuš nâânad õhttvuõdid alggmeeri kõõskâst tääʹl pirr maaiʹlm.