Same Sámi? A comparison of self-reported Sámi ethnicity measures in 1970 and 2003 in selected rural areas in northern Norway

In post-war Norway, only the 1970 national census has recorded ethnicity information about the indigenous Sámi, however restricted to those living in selected areas in the north. In this study, we combine replies about Sámi ethnicity given by the same individuals in Norway’s 1970 census and in the population-based SAMINOR study in 2003–04, to compare self-reported Sámi ethnicity at two points in time that encompass a period when the effects of a long-standing assimilation policy gradually lost ground in favour of upcoming Sámi revitalization. We found self-reported Sámi ethnicity – measured as (1) Sámi as home language in each of three generations and (2) the respondent’s self-identification as Sámi – to have remained generally stable, but some changes were observed. We argue that the results reflect interplays between societal and individual factors. We conclude that any statistical study involving an indigenous people, when clarifying the ethnicity measures, should also address the issue of ethnic mobility.     

The Sámi and Their Land. The Sámi versus the Swedish Crown. A Study of the Legal Struggle for Improved Land Rights: The Taxed Mountains Case

The Sámi and Their Land. The Sámi versus the Swedish Crown. Study of the Legal Straggle for Improved Land Rights: The Taxed Mountains Case. Tom G. Svensson. Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture Series B, 96. Oslo: Novus forlag; Instituttet for sammenlignende kulturforskning, 1997. 213 pp.     

Healing in the Sámi North

There is a special emphasis today on integrating traditional healing within health services. However, most areas in which there is a system of traditional healing have undergone colonization and a number of pressures suppressing tradition for hundreds of years. The question arises as to how one can understand today’s tradition in light of earlier traditions. This article is based on material collected in Sámi areas of Finnmark and Nord-Troms Norway; it compares local healing traditions with what is known of earlier shamanic traditions in the area. The study is based on 27 interviews among healers and their patients. The findings suggest that although local healing traditions among the Sámi in northern Norway have undergone major transformations during the last several hundred years, they may be considered an extension of a long-standing tradition with deep roots in the region. Of special interest are also the new forms tradition may take in today’s changing global society.     

Wood formation in urban Norway maple trees studied by the micro-coring method

Intra-annual wood formation in healthy and affected Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) street trees in the City of Ljubljana, Slovenia, was studied by the micro-coring method. Samples were taken with a Trephor instrument at weekly intervals during the 2005 growing season. The beginning of wood formation corresponded to the initiation of cambial activity in the middle of April in all investigated Norway maple trees. In healthy trees, the period of wood formation was finished in mid-September, persisting 7 weeks longer than in affected ones. Small destructivity and sufficient quality of micro-cores confirmed that sampling with a Trephor is a convenient method for the study of wood formation in diffuse-porous hardwoods, growing in the harsh conditions of an urban environment.     

Scented grasses in Norway—identity and uses

Background

Some grass species are richer in coumarin and thus more sweetly scented than others. These have been eagerly sought after in parts of Norway, but the tradition has been weakly documented, both in terms of the species collected, their vernacular names, and uses.

Methods

Based on literature data and a substantial body of information collected during my own ethnobotanical field work, artefacts and voucher specimens, the grass species are identified, and their uses clarified.

Results

In Norwegian literature, the tradition of collecting and using scented grasses has received little attention, and past authors largely refer it to Anthoxanthum spp. The tradition’s concentration to the Sámi strongholds of northernmost Norway, and most authors’ lacking knowledge of the Sámi language, have contributed to the weak and misleading coverage in previous publications. Coumarin-rich grass species are well known in folk tradition in northernmost Norway, as luktegress (Norwegian, “scent grass”), háissasuoidni (North Sámi, “scent grass”), hajuheinä (Finnish, “scent grass”), or similar terms. They have been (and still are) frequently collected, and used as perfume, for storing with clothes, and a number of other purposes. Despite literature records identifying the species used as Anthoxanthum odoratum coll. (including A. nipponicum), the main source utilized in North Norway is Hierochloë odorata, both ssp. arctica and ssp. odorata. Anthoxanthum nipponicum and Milium effusum are alternative, but infrequently used sources of material, depending on local tradition and availability.

Conclusion

By far the most important grass species hiding behind the “scented grass” tradition in Norway is Hierochloë odorata. Anthoxanthum nipponicum is also used, but much less frequently, and only a single record confirms the use of Milium effusum. Only the foliage of Hierochloë provides suitable material for making traditional braids. The three major ethnic groups in Norway have all utilized scented grasses as perfume and for storing with clothes, but the tradition’s geographical concentration to the far north of Norway (Finnmark and NE Troms), suggests that it has originally mainly been a Sámi tradition, adopted by their neighbours.

     

Have the Harmful Effects of Introduced Rats on Islands been Exaggerated?

Introduced rats are now being eradicated from many islands. Increasingly, these eradications are contested by activists claiming moral, legal, cultural, historic or scientific reasons and poorly documented evidence of effects. We reviewed the global literature on the effects of rats on island flora and fauna. We then used New Zealand as a case study because of its four-decade history of rat eradications and many detailed and innovative studies of how rats affect native species. These include use of exclosures, local manipulations of rat populations, video surveillance, and measurements of responses following eradications. The most intensive studies have been on the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans), a small South-East Asian species spread by Polynesians throughout the Pacific. These and the more recently introduced Norway rat (R. norvegicus) and ship (roof) rat (R. rattus) suppress some forest plants, and are associated with extinctions or declines of flightless invertebrates, ground-dwelling reptiles, land birds, and burrowing seabirds. On islands off France, Norway rats are also implicated in declines of shrews. Globally, ship rats were associated with declines or extinctions of the largest number of indigenous vertebrate species (60), including small mammals such as deer mice and bats. Effects of rats on forest trees and seabird populations are sufficiently pervasive to affect ecosystem structure and function. However, the data are patchy. Deficiencies in our knowledge would be reduced by documenting distribution and abundance of indigenous species before and after eradications. Comprehensive measurements of the responses of indigenous species to rat eradications would enable the development of testable models of rat invasion effects.     

Creencias de Nuestros Antepasados

Creencias de Nuestros Antepasados. Maruch Sántiz Gómez. Mexico: Centro de la Imagen, CIESAS, Casa de las Imágenes (distributed in the United Slates by The Latin American Book Store, Ltd., 204 North Geneva St., Ithaca, NY), 1998. 108 pp.     

The first record of the non-indigenous signal crayfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pasifastacus leniusculus</Emphasis> in Norway

The non-indigenous signal crayfish Pasifastacus leniusculus was registered for the first time in Norway in October 2006. The location represents an isolated pond about 100 km in air line from the nearest known signal crayfish population in the neighbouring country Sweden without any connecting watercourses. The occurrence is therefore undoubtedly caused by human introduction. Molecular analyses confirmed that tested individuals from the signal crayfish population were carriers of the crayfish plague agent Aphanomyces astaci. Disease carrying signal crayfish represents a severe threat to the indigenous and endangered noble crayfish Astacus astacus. Norwegian authorities are currently considering actions for the eradication of the signal crayfish population.     

Agra, arboreal beetles of Neotropical forests: feisthameli group systematics (Carabidae)

Abstract. This paper is the sixth in a series designed to cover taxonomically all species groups of Agra , whose cumulative ranges extend from southernmost Texas to northernmost Argentina. The feisthameli, mixta, virgata and ohausi groups constitute the Feisthameli Section of the genus. The feisthameli group consists of seventeen species which have a composite range extending from Guatemala to Bolivia and southeastern Brazil.
Among this group, nine new species are described from the following type localities: chapada (BRAZIL, Chapada de GuimaráTes), phite (BOLIVIA, Provencia de Gutierrez), para (BRAZIL, Pará), rubra (BRAZIL, Para, SáTo Félix do Xingu), dation (BRAZIL, Minas Gerais, Teófilo Otoni), tuitis (PERU, San Martin, Tarapoto), memnon (BRAZIL, Espírito Santo, SáTo Mateus), lata (BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz), magdalena (COLOMBIA, Santander). A dot map illustrates the range of each taxon.
Distribution and relationships are discussed in general, but detailed cladistic analysis is deferred until taxonomy of other sections is completed. Species distributions correspond in part to pleistocene refuges suggested by other authors based on other classes of organisms; however, more species occur outside such centres than in them.     

Dancing with a Difference: Reconfiguring the Poetic Politics of Aboriginal Ritual as National Spectacle1

This paper argues that indigenous dance is a poetic politics of cross‐cultural encounter that engages Aboriginal identities with those of the Australian nation. I question the nature of this encounter in terms of a performative dialogue that is both musically and kinesically presented by indigenous communities and ‘translated’ into political discourse by the government. The sentiments of ‘translation’ raise questions as to how local ritual expressions of Aboriginal dance can mediate dialogue when presented as national spectacle. What is being meditated? What is happening in the process of evocation? In this performative nexus, I focus specifically on the poetic politics of Yolngu ritual as spectacle; the nature of performative dialogue in terms of shared dance forms between indigenous communities; the problem of the authentication of dance identities; and how corporeal dispositions of indigenous dance genres influence national sentiment by their symbolic power. I pursue these issues through an analysis of how ancestral dances have been repositioned in national performance venues, such as concerts, cultural centres and ritual arenas, as a means of asserting performative statements about indigenous positioning within the nation‐state. The nature of this dialogue raises questions of authenticity and processes of authentication. It highlights indigenous concerns to control representations of indigeneity as national event, as well as a desire to convey something of the sentiment and sentience embodied in the poetics of their ancestral performances.     

Natural revegetation on forest topsoil and subsoil along roadsides in boreal forest

Questions: Does natural revegetation from indigenous soil improve the restoration success of roadside areas? What are the effects of topsoil, subsoil and fertilization on natural revegetation? Location: Akershus county, SE Norway (10°25′ E, 59° 44′ N). Methods: We used a recently constructed road through a boreal coniferous forest for a three year (2000–2002), fully replicated revegetation experiment (six replications). Treatments were soil type (two levels; one topsoil and one subsoil type) and fertilization (two levels; NPK and unfertilized control). Ordination methods, constrained ordination methods as well as univariate statistical methods, such as Wilcoxon's signed‐rank test and correlation analysis, were used to assess the relative importance and significance of treatments on the plant species composition. Results: There was no fertilization effect on species composition. The species composition on both soil types was stabilised by the second year. The species dominating the topsoil were more in accordance with the indigenous vegetation than was the case on the subsoil. The significant difference in species composition among blocks, persisting for the entire study period, indicated that local factors are important determinants of the outcome of revegetation. Conclusions: Unfertilized topsoil provides a revegetation result in better accordance with the indigenous vegetation than does subsoil.     

Isolation of Neisseria Ovis and a Colesiota Conjunctivae-Like Organism from Cases of Kerato-Conjunctivitis in Reindeer in Northern Norway

Eye inflammation in reindeer seems to be a condition frequently observed in many reindeer herding areas. Bergmann (1912) reported outbreaks of the condition in Scandinavia already at the beginning of this century, and it spread like a contagious disease. The aetiology seems to be complex, as Bergmann found many different kinds of bacteria in his material. In a recent publication, Rehbinder (1970) reported the occurrence of larvae of the reindeer nostril fly (Cephenomyia trompe) in affected eyes. In Norway, eye inflammation in reindeer has also been observed, although outbreaks of the disease seem to be rare.     

Fungal depsidones – an inducible or constitutive defence against herbivores in the lichen Lobaria pulmonaria?

Herbivore-deterrent depsidones in the epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria were quantified after a 104-day exposure to indigenous lichen-feeding mollusc communities in broadleaved deciduous forests in southeastern Norway. Controls and acetone-rinsed living thalli were transplanted under open and shaded tree canopies. Rinsed thalli had their depsidone concentration reduced to 36% of the pre-rinsing level, which is below the level needed to deter grazing molluscs. Grazing did not raise the concentration of depsidones beyond the level occurring in control to which molluscs had no access. Inducible responses were not detected in controls nor in acetone-rinsed thalli. Depsidone resynthesis was negligible in acetone-rinsed thalli regardless of grazing and/or light regimes. Our results suggest that C-based depsidones represent a constitutive type of herbivore defence in L. pulmonaria. A constitutive defence is probably an advantage for stress-tolerant slow-growing lichens inhabiting habitats with a constant presence of generalist invertebrate herbivores.     

A new Delphinium subsp. firom Formentera (Balearic Islands)

A new subspecies, Delphinium pentagynum subsp. formsnteranum N. Torres, L. Sáez, Rosselló & C. Blanché, is described from the island of Formentera (pytiusic Islands, Balearic archipelago). The new plant differs typical D. pentagynum by the narrower sepals and smaller size of the corolla, spur, and follicles. Both D. pentagynum subsp. pentagynum and D. pentagynum subsp. formenteranum have 2n= 16 chromosomes and share similar karyotypes. The new taxon is regarded as a schizoendemic and dry island vicariant of Iberian and North African populations of D. pentagynum subsp. pentagynum which probably evolved under insular isolation. After revision of its conservation status, it should be considered as critically endangered (CR) following the IUCN criteria.     

Consequences for genetic diversity and population performance of introducing continental red deer into the northern distribution range

For several centuries, game management has involved translocations of non-native individuals of many species to reinforce local native populations. However, there are few quantitative studies of potentially negative effects on population viability as expected when taxa with different local adaptations hybridise. The European red deer has been subject to particularly many translocations. Around 1900, a total of 17 red deer of Hungarian (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) and German (C. e. germanicus) origin were introduced onto the island of Otterøya in Norway where few native red deer (C. e. atlanticus) remained (n ~ 13). To assess interbreeding, the present stock on Otterøya and the indigenous Norwegian and Hungarian populations were characterised in 14 microsatellite loci and in the control region of mtDNA. An intermediate level of genetic variation in the Otterøya population and the presence of population specific alleles from both the indigenous Norwegian and the Hungarian population demonstrate that the introduced red deer interbred with the native. Even distributions of one indigenous and one non-indigenous mtDNA haplotype in the Otterøya population and two point estimates of admixture indicate similar genetic contributions from the two parental populations into the hybrid stock. Low numbers of migrants identified with Bayesian assignment tests demonstrate low recent gene flow from Otterøya into the Norwegian mainland population. The Otterøya hybrid stock has grown vastly in numbers during recent decades, suggesting a high population viability. We observed that the body mass of red deer on Otterøya was similar or greater than in adjacent indigenous Norwegian stocks, indicating that population performance has not been reduced in the hybrid stock and that gene flow probably has not had any negative effects.     

Prehistory, Identity, and Archaeological Representation in Nordic Museums

In this article, I examine the variable representation of Saami (Lapp) prehistory in several Nordic museums. The analysis is situated at the intersection of (1) the examination of the ideology of archaeological practice, (2) the discourse about creation of indigenous identity, and (3) the visual culture of museum exhibitions. I describe and analyze displays about archaeology and prehistory from seven museums in Sweden, Finland, and Norway. The presentation of Saami prehistory differs significantly between majority community museums and those run by Saami communities. These presentations reflect ideologies implicated in building indigenous, nationalist, and pannational identities as well as in establishing legitimacy of Saami claims to land and heritage. Representations of the past are inevitably political because they are about linking people, place, and legitimacy. Ambiguities in these uses of prehistory are discussed, as is the globalizing role of the European Union.     

Evaluation of three commercial bovine ELISA kits for detection of antibodies against Alphaherpesviruses in reindeer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rangifer tarandus tarandus</Emphasis>)

Background  

The genus Varicellovirus (family Herpesviridae subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae) includes a group of viruses genetically and antigenically related to bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) among which cervid herpesvirus 2 (CvHV-2) can be of importance in reindeer. These viruses are known to be responsible for different diseases in both wild and domestic animals. Reindeer are a keystone in the indigenous Saami culture and previous studies have reported the presence of antibodies against alphaherpesviruses in semi-domesticated reindeer in northern Norway. Mortality rates, especially in calves, can be very high in some herds and the abortion potential of alphaherpesvirus in reindeer, unlike in bovines, remains unknown.     

Trichogramma bournieri Pintureau & Babault (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Chilo sacchariphagus Bojer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in sugarcane in Mozambique: A new association

Chilo sacchariphagus Bojer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), a sugarcane stalk borer indigenous to South East Asia, and the nearby Indonesian Islands, was identified from African sugarcane in Mozambique in 1999. Prior to a classical biocontrol programme being implemented against it, intensive pre-release surveys for the presence of any indigenous natural enemies on life stages of the borer were completed. Negligible parasitism of larval and pupal stages was recorded. In contrast, egg batches found were heavily parasitised. Parasitoid adults emerging from the eggs were found to be only the indigenous Trichogramma bournieri Pintureau & Babault (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Aspects of the impact of T. bournieri on C. sacchariphagus eggs in Mozambican sugarcane are presented, and the potential of using this egg parasitoid against C. sacchariphagus in an augmentation biocontrol programme is discussed.     

Doing Sovereignty in Native North America: Anishinaabe Counter-Mapping and the Struggle for Land-Based Self-Determination

Beginning with the premise that sovereignty may be most constructively contemplated not as a definable object or objective but instead as a process, this article examines counter-mapping as a way for contemporary indigenous citizens to “do” sovereignty. It surveys three Anishinaabe/Ojibwe communities’ recent use of geographical techniques to communicate their own territorial claims and counter the competing claims of others. In a 21^st century context characterized by urgent extractive-industrial threats to indigenous landbases and lifeways, the cases presented here demonstrate that counter-mapping can serve as a powerful positive tool. Yet because the prevailing methods available to safeguard land-based self-determination also have the potential to undermine it, I conclude by considering some of the pitfalls that complicate counter-mapping’s ability to promote the sovereignty process. I suggest that indigenous people who choose to enact their sovereignty in this manner are indeed empowered, but only within an existing—and inequitable—socio-political system.