The measurement went just fine, although the reindeer were a nuisance.
This comment uttered by a colleague stopped Reetta Toivanen, professor of sustainability science (indigenous sustainabilities), in her tracks:
“I wonder who was actually being a nuisance, and to whom. I think the reindeer and their herders had been there considerably longer than the research team.
Indigenous peoples feel that their opinions are of no interest.
However, such an attitude is regrettably common among researchers,” Toivanen says.
“A feeling is spreading widely among indigenous peoples that their opinions are not of interest and that their way of life is not considered valuable.”
Plans for a new Arctic railway are a good example. The proposed route would divide eight individual reindeer owners’ associations into pieces, impacting reindeer management in extensive regions.
Even though the railway seems unlikely to come to fruition, it is already having an effect on young Sámi people. Due to an uncertain future outlook, they are hesitating to choose reindeer management as their profession. According to Toivanen, this is manifesting as anxiety and mental health problems.
It is exactly the youth of indigenous peoples and their choices that interest Toivanen. In addition to the Sámi, she fantasises about someday studying the San people of southern Africa, whose traditional habitats also extend into the territory of several states.
“It would be interesting to compare the solutions found there to the situation of the Sámi people.”
For now, any new research projects have to wait, since Toivanen already has her plate full for the time being. She is heading a youth project of the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland, which aims to investigate how young people themselves care for their wellbeing.
In addition, she is serving as a deputy director of the Centre of Excellence in Law, Identity and European Narratives, heading a sub-project on migration. The project is investigating migrants’ experiences of Europe from the perspectives of justice, freedom and security.
“In a way, I have three jobs,” Toivanen laughs.
“But two of them are only fixed-term. Maybe I’ll have a chance to visit Africa later.”