Arctic youth transcending notions of ‘culture’ and ‘nature’: emancipative discourses of place for cultural sustainability

This article presents research on contradictory representations of the Arctic and its inhabitants from the point of view of sustainable development. Indigenous peoples are repeatedly presented as connected to nature but outside politics, while business and state stakeholders portray the Arctic as uninhabited and utilizable for extractivism. These depictions diminish the agency of indigenous Sámi in political decision-making, agency that is integral to achieving a sustainable future both for Arctic lands and cultures. Contrary to what older generations fear, research from this decade shows that youth — who are increasingly moving to urban centers — are not necessarily leaving Sámi culture and lands. They are finding new modes of agency by transcending the discursive boundaries of periphery and center, nature and culture.