Content area
Abstract
The Sámi people have struggled for centuries to maintain their culture in spite of pressures against it from colonialism. The formal education systems of Norway and Finland have acted in discord with Sámi decision-making since their inception. In response to this lack of decision-making power, there is a dynamic internal process at work; Sámi people have begun to take control of their own schooling.
This thesis qualitatively examines the processes of curriculum development and implementation for wood handicraft programs at the Sámi colleges in Guovdageaidnu, Norway and in Anár, Finland, and details the most significant educational and political factors involved in the transmission and production of indigenous knowledge associated with Sámi handicraft. Factors associated with the teaching of Sámi handicraft in the form of increasing commercialization, generalization and mechanization in formal duodji education and the stereotyping of Sámi cultural imagery pose potential risks to appropriate transfer of Sámi cultural knowledge. This thesis will show that the teaching of Sámi handicraft (duodji) is an educational and political tool that helps develop and define modern Sámi culture. Accordingly, attempts by the Sámi colleges to incorporate greater indigenous knowledge have resulted in the implementation of modern indigenous curriculum that promotes cultural knowledge through the teaching of Sámi handicraft.
