Traditionalisation for Revitalisation: Tradition as a Concept and Practice in Contemporary Sámi Contexts

This article investigates the use of ‘tradition’ as a concept in indigenous discourses and as a label of practices within revitalisation processes, using the case of the Sámi in Sweden as an example. By approaching emic applications of the concept, the article aims at emphasising processual and consequential aspects of ‘tradition’. This study illustrates how traditionalisation takes place through the processes of negotiation of identities, globalisation and authority, as well as through the institutionalisation of vernacular practices. It is a double-edged process, including and excluding, which is balanced with creative initiatives striving for keeping traditions alive rather than frozen in time.