Towards a Coastal Sámi Atlas

Mapping of Sámi space in Norway is dominated by early ethnographic work and collections carried through by "Lappologists". As invaluable sources to Sámi history and culture, the maps by J. A. Friis and the documentation of Sámi language, place names, and culture by Just Qvigstad are central to current mapping projects. Both the Friis maps and the work of Qvigstad are part of  the Sámi ethnographic collection  at the Tromsø university museum.

While indigenous land claims agreements processes in Canada led up to documentation of indigenous land use and occupancy, the same has not happened for Sápmi. In a book chapter on mapping of indigenous peoples in the Arctic (Raymond-Jakoubian et al, 2020), Brattland characterizes the mapping undertaken in Norway as mainly government-led. While the same is also true for other Arctic indigenous regions, such as the land use and occupancy mapping conducted by Freeman in the 1970s, including ethnographer's work such as Franz Boas, there is an increased focus on the role of indigenous communities themselves in community-based monitoring projects (Arctic Observing Networks, reports by Finn Danielsen, Noor Johnson and others from 2016; 2021). Raymond-Jakubian et al. 2020 underscore the importance of equity in Arctic indigenous mapping processes.

In the case of the Sami people, there is a general lack of comprehensive statistical and cartographic material. The most comprehensive Sámi atlas in recent times was collated by Nordregio in the "Atlas of the Saami space" as part of the project "Mapping and Analyzing Saami Space" (2009-2011) (Johanna Roto and Rasmus Ole Rasmussen, Nordregio).  This map  is a compilation of existing statistics and administrative and legal boundaries pertaining to the Sámi people demarcated by Finnsh, Swedish and Norwegian authorities (Roto 2014). There is however no single site for accessing information on Sámi communities, languages, and cultures, as envisioned in the Mathiesen map from 1975.

Nordregio was also involved in the project "Eastern Sámi Atlas", which led up to the production of a series of maps of the ethnic distribution of Sámi in the north and the Skolt Sámi history and culture, for the exhibition "Saa'mijânnam - the Skolt Sámi Land" at the Ä'vv Skolt Sámi Museum in Neiden:  Forside - Skoltesamisk museum .

The historical documentation and research into Skolt Sámi history and culture also resulted in the publication "Eastern Sámi Atlas" by Tero and Kaisu Mustonen, in collaboration with the Skolt Sámi siidas and the Saami Council which was at the time lead by the Skolt Sámi woman and eco-activist Pauliina Feodoroff.

Reviewed by Tim Ingold, the Eastern Sámi Atlas (published by the Snowchange cooperation in collaboration with the Saami Council, 2011) consists of historical and personal narratives and maps of village locations, place names, historical usage jumbled together in what Ingold describes as a disjointed and fragmented history. However, as he remarks, its disconnectedness and incoherence "is indeed a precise and honest reflection of the historical experience of the people themselves" (Ingold 2013). Nonetheless, the project itself is a contribution to increased historical and cartographic equity for the Easter Sámi. This map is one of many showing the seasonal settlements in the Njauddâm (Neiden - Näätämö) siida from the Eastern Sámi Atlas (Mustonen and Mustonen 2011).

A unique example of a contemporary mapping of ethnic populations in northern Norway was conducted by historian Bjørg Evjen as part of NOU 2007:13, the second Sami Rights Commission which investigated the status of Sámi presence in the counties of Nordland and Troms. This image shows the registered Sámi population in northern Troms based on the 1900 and 1930 population censuses. For the audiences looking for information on the changing ethnic composition over time, this is a unique source of information which gives additional context and detail to the Norwegianization process.

The Finnmark Commission can be seen as a parallell to indigenous land use and occupancy mappings in other parts of the Arctic (Tobias 2010; Brattland 2010). The collection of maps, interviews and oral histories in Sámi and Norwegian language is a unique material and source of knowledge about historical and contemporary land use and culture in Finnmark.