The Future of Sápmi: A Conversation Series with the Author and Journalist Arne Müller

As part of the exhibition, a series of lectures and talks have been organized by Kin based on the themes and questions brought up in Britta Marakatt-Labba’s work. The series has been put together by the Umeå-based freelance journalist Arne Müller, who has written the books Smutsiga miljarder: den svenska gruvboomens baksida” (2013) and Norrsken: drömmen om den gröna industrin (2023). In collaboration with ABF.

Saturday, October 26, 13:00

The Dream of Green Industry
Part 1
Lecture by Arne Müller, freelance journalist and author, Umeå. Respondent: Rickard Eriksson, professor of Economic Geography at Umeå University.
Northern Sweden has become a haven for industrial investment. In total, around SEK 1400 billion is expected to go into industries in Norrbotten and Västerbotten County. It is estimated that around 100,000 people are needed in both counties within the next ten years to fill the newly created job vacancies. The ventures have raised hopes, but they do not come without risks and complications. Is it possible to build housing and expand public services at the same rate as the rapid growth of the industries? How great are the economic risks that the affected municipalities will have to become liable for? Will the entire region benefit from the projects, or will regional discrepancies widen? Who gets to decide on the next steps of a process that is so fast paced?

Thursday, November 21, 17:00

The Dream of Green Industry
Part 2
Lecture by Arne Müller, freelance journalist and author, Umeå. Respondent: Linda Wårell, Associate Professor in Economics, Luleå University of Technology.
The growing industries in northern Sweden have one thing in common: they all aim to contribute to a green transition built on sharply decreasing CO2 emissions. While the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is both urgent and necessary, there are issues with the approach currently being taken in the north. An immense amount of electricity and minerals will be needed. Wind farms, high-voltage transmission lines, and new extraction mines will thus take over much of the land. This in turn heightens already existing tensions around land usage, in particular for those engaging in reindeer herding. Is it even possible to extract the amount of electricity and minerals needed? Will the new industries really contribute to an effective decrease in CO2 emissions? Are there alternative approaches that reduce the need for electricity and finite natural resources?

Thursday, December 12, 17:00

How Is Reindeer Herding Affected by a Changing Climate?
Lecture by Gunhild Ninis Rosqvist, Professor in Geography at Stockholm University. Respondent: Matti Blind Berg, Chairman of the National Association of the Sámi People in Sweden.
A notable article published in the journal Nature last year showed that 85% of the surface area of the Cap of the North is being exploited for different kinds of economic activity. The competitive land use is currently hindering the adaptation of reindeer herding to increasingly complicated environmental conditions. Gunhild Rosqvist, who has spent much of her career studying the effects of climate change on the environment of northern Sweden, will be presenting her findings. She is currently working on a research project with the Swedish title “Att undvika den gröna omställningens dilemma: Behovet av klimatkonsekvensanalyser för områden med renskötsel i Sápmi,” (Avoiding the Dilemma of the Green Transition: The Need for Impact Assessments for Areas with Reindeer Husbandry in Sápmi).

Thursday, January 9, 17:00

How Is Reindeer Herding Affected by the Construction of Wind Farms?
Lecture by Per Sandström, Docent in Forest Resource Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Respondent: member of Gällivare Sámi Village.
New research has uncovered the effects of wind farming on reindeer. In Malå Sámi Village, where several wind farms have already been built and more are being planned, the migration patterns of reindeer have changed. The same goes for Gällivare Sámi Village, which will be affected when several large wind farms are built in its vicinity. In a DN debate article, several researchers have concluded that there is clearly a discrepancy between the planned expansion of land-based wind farming in northern Sweden on the one hand and reindeer herding on the other.
“Ska vindkraften byggas ut måste samerna köras över” – DN.se.

Thursday February 13, 17:00

Reindeer Herding and the Mines: Why Are the Discrepancies So Large?
Representative from Jåhkågasska Sámi Village: Nils Johanas Allas; along with respresentives from Talma Sámi Village: Lars Marcus Lilja Kuhmunen, Gabna Sámi Village. Respondent: Daniel Fjellborg, political science researcher at Luleå University of Technology.
There are many examples of mining projects that stand in conflict with reindeer herding in the north. The most drawn-out of these concerns Beowulf Minings’ planned iron ore mine in Gallok, which was recently given the green light to proceed with its operations. Outside Vittangi, Talga Resources intends to construct several graphite mines, which may cut off parts of the winter pastures of Talma Sámi Village. The Sámi villages Gabna and Sarivuoma would also be affected by this. Yet another example is LKAB’s plans for the Per Geijer deposit, which will cut off the last remaining passage for Gabna Sámi Village to Kiruna. Protests alongside other alternative acts of resistance are taking place everywhere, something investigated by Daniel Fjellborg in his recent thesis “Strategies and Actions in Swedish Mining Resistance.”

Thursday, March 6, 17:00

Where Are We Headed with the New Industries in the North?
Panel discussion with Hans Andersson, Regional Director of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise in Norrbotten County; Jan Anders Perdahl, Vänsterpartiet, Vice Chairman of the Regional Development Committee; Stefan Mikaelsson, Vice Chairman of the Sámi Parliament of Sweden; Hans Nilsson, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation in Kiruna.
The concluding panel discussion tackles major features of the ongoing developments. How will urban and rural areas be affected by the large industrial projects? How will we meet the increasing demand for electricity and minerals? Can developments continue without augmenting the already existing conflicts around reindeer herding and land use? How will Norrbotten Country look in ten, fifty, and one hundred years given the current trends? Are there any alternative routes for development?

Arne Müller is a journalist and author based in Umeå. He has previously worked as an editor for SVT local news in Västerbotten County, and in 2013 he made his debut as an author with the book Smutsiga miljarder: den svenska gruvboomens baksida, (Dirty Billions: The Pitfalls of the Swedish Mining Boom). The book investigates environmental issues within the Swedish mining industry. Since then, Müller has written six books, the latest of which explores the industrial developments in the north that are being planned in conjunction with the green transition (Norrsken: drömmen om den gröna industrin). In 2017, Müller resigned from SVT to focus full-time on the issues that he finds most pressing: the climate transition, natural resources, and regional discrepancies.

Rikard Eriksson is a professor of Economic Geography and a research manager at the Centre for Regional Science (CERUM) both at Umeå University. His research is primarily focused on the geography of work and what affects regional differences in terms of employment and welfare. He is currently managing a seven-year-long interdisciplinary programme financed by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, which analyses the social and economic consequences of the substantial “green” investments going into northern Sweden.

Linda Wårell is an Associate Professor in Economics at the Luleå University of Technology. Her research and publications are primarily focused on natural resources, energy and environmental economics, and the competitive and socioeconomic consequences within these fields. When it comes to natural resources, Wårell has been involved in several research projects analyzing the development of international markets for minerals and metals, as well as the socioeconomic effects and land use conflicts around the mining industry. One example is her participation in the EU project Minatura, which investigated the increasing competition around land use in Europe, with a focus on finding possible solutions for trade-offs between different interests. Wårell has also conducted research on energy markets, with the aim of finding solutions for a more sustainable approach. She has for example studied the role of district heating in the Swedish energy system, how biomass could be used in the future, and how households choose green transportation alternatives. Currently, Wårell is involved in a research project that analyses the potential of ports and their surrounding areas to scale up the use of liquid hydrogen within the energy system. In summary, her research is firmly rooted in the socioeconomic effects of industrial developments and the green transition that is currently underway in northern Sweden.

Gunhild Ninis Rosqvist is a Professor of Geography at Stockholm University, studying fell and Arctic regions. Her focus is on climate change and how it affects snow, ice, water, reindeer herding, and sustainable land use.

Per Sandström (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Forestry Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå. For the past 25 years, his research has been focused how different forms of land use affect reindeer, reindeer husbandry and Sami culture. Throughout his career, he has collaborated closely with Sami villages to jointly produce knowledge. Since 2009, he has been working with a series of projects that are focused on the effects of wind farms on reindeer husbandry.

Daniel Fjellborg is a Doctor of Political Science. He recently presented his thesis, “Strategies and Actions in Swedish Mining Resistance” at Luleå University of Technology. The study maps resistance against the mining industry in Sweden over the past fifteen years, and the motives behind the growing protest movement that can be witnessed from Kiruna in the north all the way down south to Österlen. The findings show that opposition to mining projects tend to be based on a desire to promote other societal developments, such as environmental protection, agriculture or Sámi commerce. He also explores how the other societal actors can affect the development of mining conflicts through law-making, politics, and the actions of mining companies. Through his research, and having grown up in the Kiruna villages, he has experienced both the positive and negative aspects that active mines and new developments can bring to the local community. His current research focuses on how company-led mediation can affect local acceptance for, or resistance against, the industrial transition in the north.