::o

cuairii 1
Diversifying hegemonic
social science
Traditional knowledge and indigenous epistemo logies
in social research on Smi reindeer herding
Ellen Inga Turi
Recent decades have witnessed increasing criticism of the Eurocentric
or Northern Atlantic domination of social-scientic research. Critics
highlight the undemocratic processes in the production of knowledge,
as well as the potentially major biases caused by a purely Western focus
in research (see Connell :oo;). In terms of research on indigenous
communities and livelihoods in general, and on reindeer pastoralism
specically, the need to incorporate alternative epistemologies and
knowledge systems has been emphasized (see Riseth et al. :o1o; OBrien
et al. :oo,). Traditional knowledge has been recognized as presenting
valuable insight into social-ecological systems in change, for example
(Reinert et al. :oo,; Berkes et al. :ooo). Tis has been matched by
similar developments in international law and international politics,
specically recognizing indigenous traditional knowledge as a keystone
in the understanding and management of indigenous peoples home
areas (Minde et al. :oo;; WIPO :oo1). In addition, in the social science
study of reindeer pastoralism we have witnessed increased eorts to
document, apply, and integrate traditional knowledge into research
and management.
Tis essay asks whether the increased focus on traditional knowledge
in the social-scientic research on reindeer pastoralism in Northern
Norway can be viewed as a counter-hegemonic current in this eld of
research. Te essay is thus distinctly limited in geographical terms, as it
is only concerned with Smi reindeer herding in Finnmark in Northern
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oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
Norway, although sources from other regions and general research on
Smi issues have been included when they have direct relevance to the
Finnmark experience. Te essay will look at current theoretical perspec-
tives, focusing on indigenous methodologies and the acknowledgement,
application, and integration of traditional knowledge in research as a
type of counter-hegemonic current to North Atlantic domination in
research, before moving on to consider the literature, highlighting the
emergence in the 1,,os of research on traditional knowledge in rein-
deer pastoralism; the calls in the early :ooos for the integration and
acknowledgement of reindeer herders knowledge; and the past decades
focus on methodological eorts and challenges. By viewing these trends
in the light of the counter-hegemonic currents in scientic research
and indigenous methodologies, it will be argued that although in some
respects recent reindeer pastoralism research may indeed be described
as counter-hegemonic in tone, the overall trends are better described as
an eort to diversify the hegemonic trends in environmental manage-
ment research, rather than running counter to them.
Counter-hegemonic currents, indigenous
methodologies, traditional knowledge
Wiebke Keims work on the position of southern theories in the disci-
pline of sociology (:o11) develops the concept of counter-hegemonic
currents as a framework with which to analyse research not directly
linked to or dependent on the traditional, dominant North Atlantic
research paradigms, or in other words the original and autonomous
approaches in the periphery, somehow disconnected from the Northern-
dominated mainstream. She also argues that a dening character of
counter-hegemonic currents is their refusal to participate in the com-
mon arenaless through theoretical discussion and explicit critique,
but rather through specic forms of social-scientic practice (Keim
:o11: 1o). Te development of a counter-hegemonic current may be
distinguished by three phases: rst, a turning back to the international
community, focusing on local problems (often commissioned research);
second, a professionalization of the discipline and a more self-condent
reading of theories; and third, an active scholarly community, working
on more equal terms with the international community, and making
original contributions.
Within this framework, research focused on indigenous methodo-
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
:::
logies may be argued to represent a type of counter-hegemonic cur-
rent. Indigenous methodologies are, by denition, alternative ways of
thinking about research processes (Porsanger :oo). Teir main aim is
to ensure that research on indigenous issues is accomplished in a more
sympathetic, respectful, and ethically correct fashion from an indigenous
perspective (Louis :oo;). Further, indigenous methodologies advocate
a move away from Western colonial research approaches, where indig-
enous communities are relegated to being objects of study, towards
research that is centred on the needs and experiences of indigenous
communities (Smith 1,,,; Justice :oo). Indigenous methodologies
do not necessarily represent a coherent guide to research methods,
however, and should rather be viewed as a guide to understanding why
methods matter and as a way of illuminating the political element in
the research (see Kovach :oo,).
A central approach outlined by scholars of indigenous methodolo-
gies is to focus on indigenous perspectives (Smith 1,,,). Simply put,
indigenous perspectives can be viewed as indigenous societies internal
perspectives: in the same manner as the Western research paradigm
has always been built upon Western values, views, and philosophy,
indigenous research should aim to build on the values, epistemology,
and ontology of the indigenous peoples concerned (Kuokkanen :oo,).
A central approach to grounding research on indigenous perspectives
is to base it on indigenous epistemologies, as opposed to interpreting
indigenous experiences by using predened categories derived from the
epistemologies of majority society, for example, from Western science.
Tis is highlighted as one way to overcome what is often dened as
a central challenge for indigenous researchers, namely that there is a
fundamental epistemological dierence between western and indige-
nous thought, and this dierence causes philosophical, ideological and
methodological conicts (Kovach :oo,: :,).
Te research on reindeer herding in Northern Norway that focuses
on traditional knowledge may be argued to represent a method of basing
research on the perspectives of the particular indigenous communi-
ties in focus, as traditional knowledge represents, by denition, the
knowledge and world view of the indigenous community concerned.
Traditional knowledge is commonly viewed as a cumulative body of
knowledge, practice and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and
handed down through generations by cultural transmissions, about the
relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and
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oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
with the environment (Berkes et al. :ooo: 1::), and as such includes
empirical facts, social institutions, and management as well as world
view. Tus, traditional knowledge diers from scientic knowledge
both in methodologies and in manifestation. Traditional knowledge is
experience-based, relies on long-term observations (often over genera-
tions), and is often focused on practical application. Further, it is largely
dependent on local social mechanisms, and is often inseparable from
the holders and context of the knowledge (Riseth :o11; Kuokkanen
:oo,: :; Berkes :oo8). Research on traditional knowledge by deni-
tion refutes the vision that knowledge is always and exclusively devel-
oped in the North Atlantic scientic domain. Tis is consistent with
Kovachs argument that Te infusion of indigenous knowledge systems
and research frameworks informed by the distinctiveness of cultural
epistemologies transforms homogeneity. Indigenous methodo logies
disrupt methodological homogeneity in research (:oo,: 1:).
Te use of indigenous methodologies begs several questions, of course.
Te rst is the question of scale. A pan-indigenous epistemology, or
even a homogenous Smi epistemology, is not necessarily denable
(Kuokkanen :oo,). Indigenous peoples are heterogeneous in their geo-
graphic location, cultures, and epistemologies. Even within the Smi
population, there is diversity in language, dialect, history, geography,
and livelihood, although strong commonalities obviously exist. Te
reindeer-herding community of the Smi population may be viewed
as a minority within a minority, as reindeer herding only accounts for
around one-tenth of the Smi population in general. Tus, in discuss-
ing indigenous epistemologies or traditional knowledge, the empirical
focus needs to be strictly on the specic community in question. For
example, adducing sea Smi knowledge when conducting research on
reindeer-herding Smi could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings
and distortions.
Tis also means that indigenous methodologies tend to be diverse.
Tere is not necessarily a strict methodological framework under the
umbrella of indigenous methodologies; rather, scholars highlight the
role of indigenous methodologies as a guide to the political and ethical
aspects of method. Yet, it is conceivable that continued eorts to estab-
lish guiding principles for indigenous methodologies could lead to the
development of a consensus on general indigenous methodologies.
Furthermore, although indigenous epistemologies tend to be diverse
and indeed local, scholars have highlighted general features of indige-
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
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nous epistemologies and traditional knowledge (see Kuokkanen :oo,;
Berkes :oo8; Mazzocchi :ooo; Nakashima & Rou :oo:), focusing
on aspects such as the holistic and intuitive approach to knowledge
(often described in contrast to an analytical and reductionist Western
science); oral (rather than written) transmission, and the observational
character of knowledge collection.
Te emphasis on the epistemological divide between traditional
knowledge and Western science has not gone uncontested, of course.
Dowie, for example, argues that there is no fundamental gap between
traditional knowledge and Western science, and that any dierence is
rather one of objectives: What we have are two activities with fundamen-
tally dierent objectives, as distinct as farming and cooking Western
science is a truth-focused, certainty-seeking Knowledge Technology
Traditional knowledge is a decision-focused, uncertainty-respecting and
value-based Decision Technology (:oo: 1). Gagnon and Berteaux
(:oo,), on the other hand, argue that it is a question of bridging the
scales of observations between the two knowledge systems. Others have
argued against emphasizing the dierences between the knowledge
systems, as this can distort the utility of traditional knowledge as a
complementary system of knowledge (Tsuji & Ho :oo:).
Winther Jrgensens study (:o11) of academic responses to Linda
Tuiway Smiths seminal book on indigenous methodologies (1,,,)
shows that a majority of reviewers uncritically treat indigenous people
and the west as if the distinction between them is self-evident, and
uncritically attribute legitimacy to one over the other:
Western knowledge is represented as less legitimate, and in need of
deconstruction as an act of resistance towards western imperialism.
Indigenous Peoples is constructed as a location from where legiti-
mate knowledge can be produced: from where western knowledge
can be problematized, and an alternative knowledge can be estab-
lished (an indigenous perspective). (Winther Jrgensen :o11: :)
Tus, as further argued by Winther Jrgensen (:o11: :;), ground-
ing research on indigenous perspectives is not in itself a guarantee of
better knowledge, and legitimacy does not automatically follow a
marginalised position.
Whether an epistemological divide is emphasized or not, a central
issue is the question of the combinability of Western science and tra-
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oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
ditional knowledge, as it is not necessarily a straightforward business.
As Mazzocchi (:ooo: ) points out, Western sciencewhich is deeply
rooted both in the philosophy of Ancient Greece and the Renaissance
and traditional knowledge systems have developed radically dierent
strategies to create and transmit knowledge, and it is exceedingly dif-
cult to analyse one form of knowledge using the criteria of another
tradition Te bringing together of dierent knowledge systems poses
fundamental challenges, as traditional knowledge and scientic research
are often manifested and presented through dierent means. It is not
simply a question of adding traditional knowledge to scientic research;
the challenge is to nd a way to combine the best of both worlds, with-
out depriving either knowledge system of its fundamental strengths.
Developments in indigenous methodologies and counter-hegemonic
currents are perhaps most evident when seen against the framework of
greater societal and political processes such as de-colonization or the
struggles for indigenous self-determination. Jasano (:oo) argues that
science and society are linked in a mutually co-productive relationship
in a way that leaves knowledge-making incorporated into practices of
governance and vice versa. Te rise of indigenous methodologies to
counter traditional research approaches to indigenous methods can
thus be seen as mirroring rising demands for self-determination and
the processes of decolonialization. Te study of social science research
on reindeer herding must therefore also pay attention to political and
social developments at the time.
Northern Norwegian reindeer pastoralism studies
A review of the recent social science research on reindeer herding is a
way of tracing the priorities and methods of social science researchers,
and revealing changes in the patterns of indigenous epistemologies and
traditional knowledge in recent decades. It can also help determine
whether we are indeed experiencing the development of a counter-
hegemonic current in the area, and whether traditional knowledge
research can be included in such trends. To that end, I here trace the
application, integration, and discussion of traditional knowledge in key
social-scientic works on reindeer pastoralism in Finnmark, although
I have drawn on sources from other regions and more general Smi
research when directly relevant to reindeer herding in Finnmark. Te
literature so studied falls into three main periods: before the mid-1,8os;
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
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the mid-1,8os to the early :ooos; and the early :ooos to the present.
Major local and international political developments with a direct
bearing on social science research are incorporated where appropriate.
Studies of the others
Reindeer pastoralism in Finnmark, and more specically Western Finn-
mark, has attracted the attention of social researchers for several centuries.
Examples range from Leems descriptions of reindeer herding (1,;1),
rst published in the mid eighteenth century; Solems analysis of the
legal aspects of reindeer herding (1,;o), rst published in the 1,os;
Vorrens ethnographic study of reindeer nomadism (1,o:); Pehrsons
work on system of family relations in Northern Finland (1,o); and
with references to Western Finnmark, the work of anthropologist Robert
Paine (1,o, 1,;o, 1,;1, 1,,); Kosmo and Lenviks work on reindeer
herding economics in the early 1,8os (1,8), and Aslak Nils Saras
work on developing a model for reindeer pastoralism research (1,8).
In very general terms, research conducted before the mid-1,8os can
be grouped into three central themes: ethnographic research aimed at
documenting and describing the reindeer-herding system; legal work
aimed at clarifying the legal aspects of reindeer herding; and research
intended to inuence agricultural or economic policy. Indeed many
of these works represent important documentation and references of
management systems based on traditional knowledge. However, there
is little reference to the knowledge inherent in reindeer herding, and
the research is primarily conducted from an outside perspective, view-
ing reindeer pastoralism as an object of study, rather than a subject.
Tis research approach was not surprising considering the politi-
cal climate at the time as it related to the Smi and other indigenous
peoples. Politically, in terms of Smi and indigenous issues, the period
between 18o and 1,8o is characterized by a policy of Norwegianiza-
tion (Minde :oo), where the ocial policy was to encourage the Smi
to give up their language and culture and assimilate into a Norwegian
lifestyle and identity, which included eorts to encourage the sedentari-
zation of nomadic reindeer herders. Tese policies were not unique to
Norway, as similar policies of Americanization, Russianization, and
so on show, illustrating the link between assimilation policies and the
emergence of strong nation-states (Minde :oo). It should be noted,
however, that despite (or perhaps because of ) the assimilation policy,
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oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
a number of key Smi NGOs were established in the period after the
Second World War (including the Association of Smi Reindeer Herd-
ers in Norway in 1,, and the Smi Council in 1,o), although their
impact on policy was, at best, minimal in the early stages. In reality,
it was only in the early 1,;os, when assimilation was beginning to be
abandoned, that an indigenous political agenda achieved any signi-
cant degree of recognition.
Implicit acknowledgement and documentation
Te social-scientic research on reindeer herding dating from the mid-
1,8os onwards must be viewed in the light of national and international
political developments. Nationally, the late 1,;os and 1,8os saw a
dramatic change in the history of Smi politics in Norway, cumulating
in the Alta controversy of 1,;,81, when there was massive public
protest and civil disobedience against plans to build a hydroelectric
power plant on the River Alta. Te conict may be viewed as an escala-
tion of the growing Smi political movement, and one that focused on
Smi demands for self-determination and territorial rights (Branteberg
1,,). In its wake, a Smi rights committee was appointed early in
1,8o, which initially resulted in the Smi Act and the Smi Parliament
in 1,8; in response to demands for Smi political representation. Tis
was followed in the 1,,os by Norways ratication of the International
Labour Organizations Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (ILO
Convention No. 1o,), reinforcing the position of the indigenous peoples
as a part of Norwegian political life. Tese national developments should
be seen in the context of international developments in indigenous
politics in the period. Te 1,8os began with the establishment of the
UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples and ended with the ILO
Convention no. 1o,, which recognized the right of indigenous peoples
to self-government (Barsh 1,,), while their right to environmental
security was specically recognized in the Earth Summit in Rio. In 1,,:,
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) explicitly recognized
traditional knowledge as valuable in protecting species, ecosystems,
and landscapes. In addition, 1,, was named International Year of the
Worlds Indigenous People, although according to Branteberg (1,,),
this was more of a lucky coincidence than a result of the heightened
focus on indigenous issues at the time.
It was in the 1,8os that the term traditional knowledge came into
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
::8
widespread academic use (Berkes :oo8: :), and in much the same way,
research on reindeer herding saw a new focus and acknowledgement of
traditional knowledge. As a result of the eorts of the Smi Council (a
NGO working for Smi interests across the Nordic borders), a Smi
research institute (Smi Instituhtta) had already been established in
1,; in the Smi village of Kautokeino (Guovdageaidnu) in Finnmark,
providing the relatively scattered and marginal group of Smi researchers
with a common arena. Te institute started as a small institution with
limited funds and personnel, yet by the late 1,;os its journal, Dieut,
had established itself as the publication of choice for work on Smi
livelihoods and languages, as borne out by the increase in frequency
and number of publications from 1,;8 onwards. In terms of research
on reindeer pastoralism, the late 1,8os and 1,,os saw innovative eorts
by researchers with a background in reindeer herding to document and
describe the traditional knowledge involved: witness Eiras work docu-
menting reindeer herders language (1,8) and describing the seasonal
management system used in reindeer herding (1,,); and Saras study of
reindeer herders adaptation in Kautokeino (:oo1), based on his thesis
from 1,,o. Not that these should be thought the rst attempts by rein-
deer herders themselves to describe the herding systemsthe reindeer
herder Johan Turi (1,1o) had published his seminal work describing
the life and customs of nomadic reindeer herders long beforebut
where Eira and Sara dier is in their more explicit aim to document
and describe knowledge for the sake of the Smi reindeer-herding
community itself, rather than for Western colonial powers. Akin to
Eiras and Saras work is Nils Oskals analysis (1,,) of Smi reindeer
herding from an academic, philosophical perspective.
In the early 1,,os, one group of researchers conducted a series of
projects on the integration of indigenous knowledge (Helander 1,,) in
an attempt to initiate and problematize a debate about Smi traditional
knowledge. In the resultant anthology, Karlstad discusses the challenges
of modernity and the replacement of knowledge in reindeer herding,
but stresses that the challenges at the same time mean an opportuni-
ty and also obligation to enhance the application of this knowledge
and the two kinds of knowledge [traditional knowledge and scientic
knowledge] may then be linked in development activities (1,,: ::).
Other research in the 1,,os on Finnmark reindeer pastoralism also
shows signs of acknowledging the distinct epistemology and knowl-
edge inherent in reindeer herding, although few works apply or analyse
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oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
traditional knowledge directly. Examples include Karlstads work (1,,,)
on the tensions between reindeer pastoralism policy and Smi culture,
where adaptation strategies and institutional knowledge are dealt with
from a primarily Western (economic) framework, relying on classic
theories of pastoralism. Saras work (1,,) on reindeer-herding politics,
and legal studies analysing Smi customary law and legal history (see
Helander :oo; Lasko 1,,; Strm-Bull et al. :oo1), obviously overlap
with the broader perspective of traditional knowledge, but neverthe-
less do not deal with it explicitly. Similarly, Bjrklunds study (1,,o)
emphasizes reindeer pastoralism as an indigenous resource manage-
ment system, and argues against viewing it as a pure system based on
the relationship between animals and land, as leading research in the
1,;os had tended to (see Kosmo & Lenvik 1,8). Nevertheless, even
if they do not address it directly, all these works do acknowledge the
existence of a (distinct) knowledge and management system inherent
to the indigenous reindeer herding community.
Explicit acknowledgement and integration
Te early :ooos were a relatively uneventful period in indigenous poli-
tics in Norway, at least compared with developments in the previous
decade, and the same is true of discussions about traditional knowledge.
Te establishment of the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry
in :oo, a governmental institution tasked with documenting reindeer
herders traditional knowledge, was one of the few notable developments
in Norway at the time, and can be viewed as a response to growing
academic and political interest in traditional knowledge. Surprisingly,
however, this was not accompanied by any signicant direct policy
responses within reindeer-herding governance in Norway, as hardly
any mention is made of traditional knowledge in policy documents.
Internationally, however, the early :ooos saw increased international
recognition and a greater focus on indigenous and local knowledge,
related to developments in international politics and the struggle for
the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination. Te work pre-
paring the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO :oo1) included
the incorporation of traditional knowledge and rights to knowledge.
Of particular relevance to research on reindeer herding were develop-
ments in social-scientic research on climate change. Te Arctic Cli-
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
:o
mate Impact Assessment (a project guided by the intergovernmental
Arctic Council and the non-governmental International Arctic Science
Committee with over oo participating scientists) explicitly singles out
traditional knowledge as critical to understanding Arctic environmental
change (ACIA :oo). Indigenous representatives were included in the
writing process (see Huntington & Fox :oo; McCarthy et al. :oo)
and explicit attention was paid to the dierent ways of understanding
the Arctic environment. According to Martello (:oo8), indigenous
participation was strongly advocated throughout the ACIA process,
and assessment leaders were supportive of indigenous participation.
Reindeer pastoralism in Finnmark was presented as a specic case of
an indigenous livelihood with valuable knowledge and understand-
ing of Arctic environmental change, as it was argued that the herd-
ing practices of reindeer herders represent models in the sustainable
exploitation and management of the Arctic (McCarthy et al. :oo).
Tese developments were accompanied with renewed scientic interest
in reindeer pastoralism, and specically the knowledge and knowledge
systems inherent in indigenous livelihoods.
Te major social-scientic eorts on Smi reindeer herders tradi-
tional knowledge in the :ooos have focused on a number of concerns,
grouped here according to the following general themes: calls for the
acknowledgement of traditional knowledge; eorts to present indi-
genous perspectives; challenges and opportunities for integration; and
developments in methodologies for the integration and incorporation
of traditional knowledge in research. Tere were also a number of
social-scientic studies in Finnmark that did not deal with traditional
knowledge or indigenous epistemologies, as will be seen.
Studies of environmental change in reindeer-herding regions increas-
ingly call for an integration of traditional knowledge into research and
management. Tyler et al. (:oo;) conclude their study of the vulnerability
of reindeer pastoralism that recognition of the knowledge systems of
Arctic cultures and the full engagement of local people throughout the
research process are essential to any understanding of climate-change
vulnerability. Roturier and Rou (:oo,) argue that, in order to promote
the balanced, multiple use of boreal forest ecosystems, it is necessary
to acknowledge and understand Smi reindeer herders knowledge and
thus to fully integrate their needs and aspirations.
Likewise, studies of policy, rather than environmental change, also
call for the integration of indigenous knowledge systems. Saras study
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oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
(:oo,) of traditional knowledge in the social organization of Smi
reindeer herding in Finnmark argues that the recently achieved legal
recognition of the siida (Smi organizational unit) in Norway must
result in recognition of its autonomous processes of knowledge as well
as recognition of its land rights. In studying the national governance of
reindeer herding, Reinert et al. (:oo,) argue that the pastoral practices
of the Smi herders are inherently better suited to handling great nat-
ural variation in climatic conditions than most other cultures. Indeed,
core pastoral practices and herding knowledge are skilful adaptations to
un usually frequent and rapid change, and the key to handling permanent
changes successfully is for herders themselves to have a sucient degree of
freedom to act according to their own knowledge. Marin (:ooo) argues
that insucient acknowledgement of traditional management systems
in reindeer herding represents a aw in the pastoral policy of northern
Norway, while Joks et al. (:ooo) nd that the integration of traditional
knowledge is crucial for successful policy implementation on sustainable
reindeer populations in Western Finnmark.
A further body of research focuses on presenting the indigenous per-
spective, the better to explain knowledge gaps in governance as well as the
reasons for conict and tension. Examples include Riseths study (:oo;)
of nature conservation areas; Reinerts study (:ooo) of the economic
paradoxes in reindeer herding, and Ravna and Ollis survey (:o11: o;)
of customary perceptions of legal relationships and land areas among
reindeer herders, showing that reindeer herders consider reindeer herding
knowledge and traditions important among those who are to clarify legal
relationships and organise grazing within the Smi reindeer pastoralism.
Very recently, several researchers have begun to focus on the challenges
related to the incorporation and application of traditional know ledge
in research and management. Riseth (:o11) studies traditional know-
ledge from a theoretical perspective, concluding that although tradi-
tional knowledge is beginning to be recognized, both within the nature-
management sector and the reindeer-herding sector, there are reasons
to question whether this process will be rapid enough for it to be of
practical signicance, given the continual loss of knowledge through
both modernization and social marginalization. Heikkil (:ooo), on the
other hand, focuses on the dierences between traditional knowledge
and scientic knowledge, and argues that it is unreasonable to expect
that the abrupt insertion of indigenous categories into biological or
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
::
ecological knowledge would make it more applicable. Rather, increased
dialogue is needed:
Te adaptation of management knowledge into practice is a complex
process that involves political decisions on the various aspects of
management, including the principle premises, targets, aims, and
means. In this process, indigenous conceptions may provide angles
and approaches. In short, there is an obvious need for a dialogue
between indigenous and scientic perception before any sort of
integration of the two can take place. On the whole, Smi reindeer
herders question some of the starting points that modern environ-
mental management consider self-evident. (Heikkil :ooo: ;)
In a similar vein, we have Nergrds study (:ooo) of Smi knowledge
traditions, showing how these traditions dier considerably from
Western knowledge traditions, and Jokss study (:oo;) of the role of
women in the transfer of traditional reindeer-herding knowledge to
younger generations, emphasizing the practical character of traditional
knowledge and the importance of maintaining knowledge transfer as
a part of sustainable development.
Te last of these trends in the literature on reindeer pastoralism and
traditional knowledge focuses on developing methodologies for inte-
grating and applying traditional knowledge in research. Te study by
Eira et al. (:o1o) of traditional snow terminology in reindeer herding
reveals the challenges in dening concepts, due to the holistic mean-
ing and associations intuitively applied by herders, and argues for a
methodology where the traditional understanding and denition of
terms (derived from interviews with knowledge holders) is investigated
alongside the application of denitional methods of scientic (linguistic)
research. An investigation of snow, ice, and reindeer pastures in relation
to climate change by Riseth et al. (:o1o) takes an approach where Smi
terminology is compared with scientic measurements, and, nding
remarkable agreement between scientic measurements and Smi
terminology, argues that such collaborations have great potential for
climate change studies. Oskal (:oo8) suggests that the use of a holistic
approach, integrating social and natural sciences and reindeer herders
understanding in the co-production of knowledge, can contribute to
local competence building in indigenous societies and will help tack-
le the future challenges of climate change. Oskal et al. (:oo,) oer a
:
oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
methodology for integration and dialogue between the two knowledge
systems, through community-based workshops with herders, scientists,
and other stakeholders. Other examples include attempts at co-produc-
tion, where indigenous writers are directly included in the publications
(see Turi :oo:). None of the methodological approaches fully resolves
the problems of integration, however.
A few social-scientic studies of reindeer pastoralism in Finnmark
conducted in the :ooos pass over traditional knowledge and indi genous
epistemologies in virtual silence. Two studies stand out. Ulvevadet
(:oo8) argues that the challenges of reindeer pastoralism management
in Norway may be related to the usual power struggles seen in any
democratic setting, and the reindeer herders dissatisfaction with the
system is a result of this. She does not apply indigenous epistemologies
or traditional systems of organization other than to point out that a
shared cultural and historical background should make co-manage-
ment practices easier. Hausner et al. (:o11), meanwhile, investigate the
impact of big-push economic policies on Smi pastoral ecosystems in
Norway purely from an economic perspective, and make no mention
of traditional knowledge, Smi organizations, or indigenous episte-
mology. One possible explanation for the surprisingly few studies on
reindeer herding that do not draw on traditional knowledge or indig-
enous epistemologies is the increasing pressure on researchers working
on indigenous topics to address the issues of ethics and power relations
in knowledge production, and that incorporation of indigenous epis-
temologies and traditional knowledge is an acknowledged method for
addressing such issues.
Diversifying hegemonic trends
Evidently, traditional knowledge and indigenous epistemologies have
attracted increasing attention in the research on reindeer pastoralism,
especially in the :ooos. From the surprisingly limited number of
social-scientic studies of reindeer herding that do mention tradition-
al knowledge at least implicitly (see Ulvevadet :oo8 & Hausner et al.
:o11), it is safe to say that traditional knowledge has been a buzz word
in reindeer-herding research in the :ooos, and that this is not limited
to Smi researchers in the eld. Rather, as often as not, this type of
research is carried out by non-Smi researchers (for example, Roturier
& Rou :oo,; Nergrd :ooo) or in collaboration with Smi researchers
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
:
(for example, Riseth et al. :o1o; Reinert et al. :oo,; Tyler et al. :oo;).
Te vocal and insistent participation of the reindeer-herding community
in research processes can be viewed as an attempt to adopt a method-
ology more sensitive to the needs and ethics of the reindeer-herding
community: in other words, a move towards indigenous methodologies.
However, from the indigenous perspective, one central critique of
the research is apparentmost of the projects apply theoretical frame-
works on, say, adaptation and resilience to climate change (see Tyler
et al. :oo;) that have primarily been developed within and according
to the Western research paradigm. Tis approach skews the research
focus away from the needs of reindeer pastoralism in favour of theory
development in an academic framework. On the other hand, however,
Indigenous approaches to research are not meant to compete with,
or replace, the Western research paradigm: rather, to challenge it and
to contribute to the body of knowledge of indigenous peoples about
themselves and for themselves, and for their own needs as peoples,
rather than as objects of investigation (Porsanger :oo: 1o). Te use
of indigenous methodologies is one way of preventing such distortions
of focus: For indigenous people, decolonizing research isnt about the
total rejection of Western theory, research, or knowledge. Its about
changing focus, centring our concerns and world views and coming to
know and understand theory and research from our own perspectives
and for our own purposes (Smith 1,,,: ,).
However, as we have seen, the mere application and incorporation
of traditional knowledge or indigenous methodologies in research
does not necessarily equate to a counter-hegemonic trend. Recall
that Keim (:o11) describes a counter-hegemonic current as an auto-
nomous and independent research approach, developed locally. What
seems to have happened in the social science literature on reindeer
pastoralism in Finnmark is quite the opposite. In a mutual process,
international trends as well as local research approaches have increas-
ingly recognized indigenous epistemologies and traditional knowledge
as representing signicant sources of understanding about indigenous
areas. Martellos study (:oo8) of the use of indigenous testimonies
and images in the ACIA (:oo) report indicates that this is a trend
that cannot be isolated to reindeer pastoralism studies, but includes
indigenous Arctic studies in general. Moreover, the increased incor-
poration of traditional knowledge, especially in Arctic environmen-
tal-change studies, is not primarily locally driven, but these trends
:
oi viisi i\i xc uicixoxi c soci ai sci ixci
must be seen in conjunction with a changing indigenous politics, and
in broader governance structures in general: Te production of the
ACIA report and its images is coincident with an evolving political
role for indigenous peoples. Arctic indigenous groups are garnering
a prominent prole and voice in global change science and policy
forums. In these forums, Arctic indigenous peoples are becoming
recognized as holders of specialized knowledge, which is crucial for
identifying and understanding local manifestations of global envi-
ronmental change and attendant nature society interactions (Mar-
tello :oo8: ). Tis reading sits well with Jasanos understanding
of how knowledge is co-produced and that knowledge-making is
incorporated into practices of state-making, or of governance more
broadly, and, in reverse, how practices of governance inuence the
making and use of knowledge (:oo: ).
In other words, in its application of novel methodologies, research on
reindeer pastoralism is very much approaching the international arena
for research, as opposed to turning its back on it. Tis is evident from
the chosen vehicles of publication (international journals, conferences,
and international publishers) and the proposed aims of many of the
studies mentioned above, namely to contribute to our general under-
standing of environmental change and local communities (for example,
Riseth et al. :o1o; Reinert et al. :oo,; Roturier & Rou :oo,; Tyler
et al. :oo;). Yet, the incorporation, integration and documentation
of traditional knowledge in recent research on reindeer herding does
represent an important move toward incorporating alternative episte-
mologies into the academic framework. As such, this may be viewed
not as a counter-hegemonic current, but as a wave aimed at directing
international (hegemonic) research agendas generally. As such, the
increased incorporation of indigenous epistemologies and traditional
knowledge in the literature might be viewed as a trend towards diver-
sifying the hegemonic currents in social-scientic research.
Diversifying currents in research can obviously have a signicant
impact on more general trends in society and governance, and can shed
light on the dierent knowledge systems on which governance structures
can be based. In this sense, eorts to diversify research currents should
be seen as going hand in hand with the diversication of the knowledge
basis of policy and governance.
soci ai sci ixci i x coxrixr
:o
Notes
1 Tis essay presents work done as part of the IPY EALT-Reindeer Herders Vulner-
ability Network Study (ID: ,,), supported by the Research Council of Norway
(project IPY EALAT-RESEARCH: Reindeer Herders Vulnerability Network Study:
Reindeer pastoralism in a changing climate, grant number 1;oo;8/So), and funded
by the Reindeer Husbandry Research Fund, Norway, and the Research Fund Spare-
banken Nord Norge, Troms. I am grateful for the comments and suggestions made
by participants of the Ph.D. course Social science in context at the Department of
Sociology, Ume University, where an early draft of this chapter was presented.
: Te establishment of the International Centre of Reindeer Husbandry, however,
was strongly linked to Norways international obligations in relation to the Arctic
Council.