Paper Short Abstract:

Sámification as Decolonial Practice: Rewriting Museums and Cultural Heritage This paper examines Sámification, the process through which the Sámi reclaim and transform museum practices to align with their cultural heritage. Framed as a decolonial, two-way dynamic, it explores how Sámification reshapes both museums and broader heritage discourses.

Paper Abstract:

The entanglement of museums and cultural heritage practices with colonialism and Western hegemony is a widely recognized reality, as is their role in reinforcing narratives that marginalize Indigenous voices. Equally acknowledged is the critical need to decolonize museums, a challenge increasingly addressed by both majority populations and marginalized groups, including Indigenous Peoples. My research, based on my doctoral dissertation, investigates the Sámification of museums, examining how the Sámi—the only Indigenous people within the European Union—have reclaimed the museum institution. By establishing Sámi museums, the Sámi have redefined museum practices to align with their cultural heritage, values, and needs.

Museums, as fundamentally European institutions, were historically designed to serve the needs of nation-states, which adapted them to reflect their own values and priorities. For stateless Indigenous peoples such as the Sámi, integrating their cultural heritage into this framework requires deeper and more transformative processes. I conceptualize Sámification as a two-way dynamic: it involves reshaping Sámi cultural heritage to fit dominant museum conventions while simultaneously transforming museums to meet the evolving needs of the Sámi people. This dual process entails both unwriting and rewriting entrenched practices, dismantling colonial norms while fostering inclusive, decolonial approaches. I argue that Sámification transcends the Sámi context, offering valuable insights into how decolonization can address broader societal inequities in our colonial world order. Finally, I explore the implications of Sámification for critical heritage studies, particularly the concept of authorized heritage discourse, advocating for a transformative and inclusive reimagining of museums.