In 1970 the Norwegian government publicly announced plans for a monumental dam and hydropower-station located in the far north of the country. The Sámi minority played an important role in the numerous oppositional movements formed against these plans. The Alta-saken was a definite turning point in the history of the indigenous Sámi-population in northern Europe. Drawing on Jurij Lotman’s work, I analyse the narrative construction of this crucial event to explain the cultural negations surrounding the Alta-river.
By focusing on the close interconnection of the population with their local waterscapes, I open a comparative pathway to other conflicts and cooperations concerning water usage and cultural interests worldwide. For the analysis, a wide variety of text types as well as visual representations of the conflict is utilized to convey what kinds of qualities were attributed to the Alta-saken. How is it possible that this event constituted a critical tipping point for the Sámi, who had been subjected to several generations of Norwegian assimilation policies?
Publications from the project
- (with Solveig Marie Wang and Mary Keogh) “The Relationship Between Energy Equity and Green Colonialism: The Arctic Paradox?,” in: The Energy-Trilemma in the Baltic Sea Region. Security. Equity and the Environment, ed. Michael Kalis. Abingdon: Routledge, 2024.
- “Der Fosen-Konflikt. Mehr als 700 Tage Kampf gegen Windmühlen,” [blog] NORDEUROPAforum blog, October 26, 2023, https://portal.vifanord.de/blog/der-fosen-konflikt-mehr-als-700-tage-kampf-gegen-windmuehlen/.
- “Landnutzungskonflikte für die Gewinnung von Energie,” [radio podcast] VerQuer.Radio, June 8, 2023, https://bildung-verquer.de/radio/vera-165-landnutzungskonflikte-fuer-die-gewinnung-von-energie/.