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Paper short abstract:

Saami history changed radically in the 1970s. In northern Norway, hydroelectric modernity clashed with nature conservationism and indigenous rights to lands and waters. The way historians tell stories of the conflict impacts the local communities and landscapes ultimately affected by the Alta dam.

Paper long abstract:

How can we describe and understand critical changes in our environments? One of the essential narrative tools for this purpose is the turning point. It forms a connective node between the beginning and end of a story and is crucial for its moral argument.

The Alta controversy (1970-1982) is an interesting case study of competing narrative structures and semiotically charged landscapes. The conflict centred on two interconnected issues: The protection of the Alta-Kautokeino River from hydroelectric development and the position of the Saami as an ethnic minority after generations of repression.

The efforts of a dedicated people’s movement and several indigenous actors induced a lasting change in the framing of waterscapes and local communities in Northern Europe. The collective actions of civil disobedience were deeply performative and continue to resonate in stories of transformation. Although the protests failed to stop the dam construction, the increased public attention to Saami rights has strongly influenced Norwegian society until today. Historians have continuously developed differing narratives, partly grounded in lived experiences. In the process, the status of the conflict as a decisive turning point became nearly self-evident, thus overshadowing inherent complexities and contradictions.

Alta is a rich case study of how the narrative framing of water resources and their ecological, cultural and economic appraisal have fundamentally impacted the history of political empowerment of indigenous communities.

The presentation will feature the results of my dissertation project, finished in 2024.