Call for Papers: “Sámi Perspectives on and Engagements with Contemporary Bordering and Othering”

2026-07-07

Experiences of Indigenous people split by international borders have long been an important theme in Border Studies. Yet there is relatively little work in our interdisciplinary field that explicitly addresses this theme from a European perspective. This may reflect conceptual and political complexities around the term ‘Indigenous’ in Europe, and the uneven patterns of formal recognition across states. While many European states have national minorities and autochthonous ethnic groups, to date only Sámi people have achieved official legal recognition as Indigenous people in parts of Northern Europe.

Thinking through Sámi people’s official designation as Indigenous, this special issue will offer a synthetic account of understanding indigeneity, borders and bordering in Sápmi – homeland of the Sámi people, stretching over northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

The special issue attempts to bring together research articles examining both historical and contemporary issues that create a dialogue between Sámi Studies and Border Studies by scholars from broad range of Social Sciences and Humanities – e.g., Indigenous Studies, Social Anthropology, Human Geography, History, Cultural Studies, Political Science, International Relations, Law, etc.

Proposals are specifically invited on the following sub-themes:

  • Sámi movement and Indigenous Internationalism
  • Historical and contemporary experiences of Sámi collaborating across borders
  • Historical and contemporary experiences of the East-West divide and confrontation in Sápmi
  • Sámi engagements with and perspective on work of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in Finland, Norway and Sweden
  • Everyday bordering in Sápmi (e.g., sustaining cultural identities in a globalised world and countering long-term consequences of assimilation policies)
  • Interactions between Sámi Art and border art
  • Other relevant themes

Submissions by indigenous scholars are particularly welcome.

Important Dates:

  • Abstract Submission Deadline: August 1, 2026
  • Notification of Acceptance: August 5, 2026
  • Full Draft Submission: October 1, 2026
  • Publication*: January 2027 (*subject to successful completion of double-blind peer-review)

Submission Process:

Please submit your abstracts (maximum 500 words) to ekaterina.mikhailova@uit.no with a subject “BIG Review Sámi Perspectives.”