The Commons in a Glocal World

11Constitutionality and identity

Bottom-up institution building and identity among Coastal Sami in Northern Norway

Angelika Lätsch

Introduction

The Coastal Sami population has always lived in the shadow of the reindeer herd.

(H. Johansen, personal communication November 2011)

The citation above indicates that ‘being Sami’ in the sense of identity performance has been relatively easy to Sami reindeer herders, whereas Sami who settled along the coast and fjords of Northern Norway and who live as fishermen and small-scale farmers, collectively known as the Coastal Sami, have long remained invisible both on the political agenda and within the cultural Sami landscape. Owing to political experiences such as an enduring assimilation policy conducted ...