Swedish settler colonialism: May-Britt Öhman, ‘Settler Colonialism in Ungreen, Climate-Unfriendly Disguise and As a Tool for Genocide’, in Hiuwai Chu, Meagan Down, Nkule Mabaso, Pablo Martínez, Corina Oprea (eds), NEW! CLIMATE: Our Right to Breathe, K. Verlag, 2022 | settler colonial studies blog

Swedish settler colonialism: May-Britt Öhman, ‘Settler Colonialism in Ungreen, Climate-Unfriendly Disguise and As a Tool for Genocide’, in Hiuwai Chu, Meagan Down, Nkule Mabaso, Pablo Martínez, Corina Oprea (eds), NEW! CLIMATE: Our Right to Breathe, K. Verlag, 2022

05Jan23

Abstract: More recently, the concept of settler colonialism has come to be used increasingly in analyses of the colonial relationships between the Swedish state, the Swedes, and the Sámi. The history of interaction is complex, as the territory has been shared for millennia. The concept of settler colonialism is nevertheless useful to apply to strategies that aim to displace Indigenous rights to the lands and waters and replace them with those of the settlers, as if the settlers hold equal and/or authentic rights as heirs. Furthermore, a specific way of life—that of the settler—takes precedence, whereas nomadic lifestyles are considered to be outside of the normal way. The colonial state’s ethnic cleansing of Sámi forms part of these settler-colonial practices, within which racism has been, and still is, used as a tool. In this essay, I discuss some of the perspectives on “climate change” and “green transition” I have come across within my research and supradisciplinary collaboration over the last two decades. I also argue for the use of the concept of (cultural) genocide as a basis for discussing the Swedish state’s actions and policies regarding the Indigenous Sámi.

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