The new 16(4)/2021 special issue of Nordicum-Mediterraneum , coordinated and edited by Sara Fusco from the University of Lapland, collects the conference papers from the webinar organized by the Permanent Seminar of International Studies (Italy) on 30th March 2021.
This issue reflects the works of Italian and foreign researchers, who have chosen to conduct their studies in the Arctic, in particular on indigenous issues. The collection offers different levels of analysis: from jurisprudence to social sciences, from educational sciences to anthropology.
In Il popolo Indigeno dei Sámi e la Conoscenza Ecologica Tradizionale: difficoltà e lezioni da imparare nel XXI secolo, Corinna Casi illustrates the Saami culture of Lapland and its relevance with regard to today’s climate crisis.
Federica Scarpa traces the history of the sale of sealskin products under the profile of European law. Her interesting article Blue Arctic (Seal) Hunting is entirely available on the site in English. Her contribution introduces her current research and it is subjected to further developments in the future.
In Co-creazione della ricerca e del sapere nel sistema dell’ecologia integrale, Margherita Paola Poto and Arianna Porrone explain their field research concerning the application of indigenous ecological knowledge, proposing an alternative figurative approach.
In Colonizzazione, decolonizzazione incompleta e la creazione dei popoli indigeni. I fondamenti dei loro diritti ‘speciali’, Rachael Lorna Johnstone investigates the effects of the imperfect decolonization of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic.
Finally, In Participation, Sharing, and Cooperation: The rights of indigenous peoples over natural resources in the Arctic, Sara Fusco presents the difficulties that indigenous peoples still struggle with, in order to gain access to full participation in decision-making processes concerning land rights.
The special issue 16(4)/2021 also presents two peculiarities: bilingualism (some articles are available in Italian and others in English) and the provisory division into 16(4a), issued in late December 2021, and 16(4b), available from January 2022.
Because of conflicting bureaucratic requirements, it was necessary to split the current special issue in two parts and anticipate by a few days the publication of the contribution by Prof Rachael Lorna Johnstone. All the other peer-reviewed articles belonging to issue 16(4) can be found here, instead.