Sámi Blood: Discrimination in Sweden

• The presentation focuses on the film Sámi Blood (2017), directed by Amanda Kernell.
• The film explores historical discrimination against the Sámi people in Sweden.
• It challenges Sweden’s image as a progressive and equal society.

Importance of the Film

• Sámi Blood exposes a history of oppression that contradicts Sweden's self-image.
• It highlights centuries of discrimination, forced assimilation, and systemic racism against the Sámi.
• The film provides a personal perspective through the story of Elle Marja.
• Elle Marja is a young Sámi girl who must abandon her culture to integrate into Swedish society.
• The film questions whether Sweden can be truly progressive without acknowledging and reconciling with its past.

Historical Context

• The Sámi were viewed as ‘primitive’ and excluded from Swedish society for centuries.
• In the early 1900s, Sámi children were forced into boarding schools to erase their language and traditions.
• These schools aimed to make Sámi children ‘useful citizens’ as laborers or servants.
• Sweden conducted racial biology studies on Sámi people.
• These studies measured skulls and classified Sámi as an inferior race to justify discrimination.
• These policies limited Sámi rights to education, land ownership, and participation in Swedish society.

Plot Summary and Elle Marja’s Conflict

• Elle Marja is sent to a boarding school in the 1930s.
• She realizes she must abandon her Sámi identity to be accepted as Swedish.
• She tries to change her name, speak only Swedish, and hide her heritage.
• Society continues to see her as different, despite her efforts.
• Elle Marja's struggle reflects the experiences of many Sámi people who had to choose between culture and future.
• The film portrays the pain of forced assimilation and internalized racism.

Key Themes

• Identity Conflict: Elle Marja is caught between two worlds, wanting to escape discrimination.
• Assimilation vs. Belonging: The film questions whether belonging is possible in a society that rejects identity.
• Systemic Racism: Swedish institutions reinforced Sámi exclusion through education and scientific racism.
• The film challenges the audience to rethink Sweden’s history and treatment of the Sámi.

Cinematic Techniques

• Amanda Kernell uses visual storytelling to enhance the film’s emotional depth.
• Natural lighting and warm colors create a sense of belonging in Sámi settings.
• Cold, blue tones emphasize Elle Marja’s isolation in Swedish society.
• Close-ups of Elle Marja's face highlight her internal struggle.
• Minimal dialogue and long silences make her pain and alienation more powerful.
• These choices create an immersive experience, emphasizing Elle Marja’s dilemma.

Folkhemmet and Exclusion

• Sweden’s welfare state, Folkhemmet, was built on the idea of social equality, which did not extend to the Sámi.
• The Swedish government viewed the Sámi as incapable of modernization.
• This led to policies that limited Sámi rights, including forced schooling and racial classification.
• Sámi Blood exposes the contradiction of Sweden’s progressive identity built at the expense of Indigenous people.

National Identity and Sámi Representation

• Sweden prides itself on being a humanitarian leader, but has failed to acknowledge colonial-like treatment of the Sámi.
• Sámi communities still face land disputes, political exclusion, and cultural erasure.
• Sámi Blood forces Sweden to confront this reality and consider true reconciliation.

Academic Perspectives

• Early Sámi portrayals in film were either exoticized or demonized.
• Swedish whiteness has historically excluded Indigenous identities, reinforcing a dominant national identity.
• Films like Sámi Blood offer an insider perspective, challenging colonial narratives.
• Analyzing the film academically shows how storytelling can rewrite history and bring marginalized voices to the forefront.

Relevance Today

• The Sámi people still struggle for rights in Sweden today.
• Recurring issues include land ownership disputes, threats to language and education, and ongoing racial discrimination.
• Sweden has yet to formally apologize for past abuses against the Sámi.
• The film has sparked conversations about Indigenous rights, but real change is still needed.

Conclusion

• Sámi Blood is a critique of Sweden’s national identity.
• It exposes Sweden’s hidden colonial past and the exclusion of Sámi people.
• It questions the value of assimilation.
• The film calls for recognition and justice for Indigenous communities.