Archeologie in musea: een passend verleden voor de Sami?

A Sami past. The Sami are still struggling for general acceptance of their identity and cultural expression. They are the indigenous population of Fennoscandia, and although now mostly associated with reindeer herding, historically their subsistence was based mostly on fishing, hunting, agriculture, animal husbandry, and only small-scale reindeer herding. In this paper it is probed how contemporary majority and Sami museums convey information about the Sami and their past, with a special focus on the role of archaeology. This is important because museums have an active role in the creation of knowledge and identity. There are several discrepancies between what archaeology is and can present, and how the Sami see their culture and past. Archaeology works with linear time, and focuses on material culture that is, landscape-wise, taken out of context. By contrast, Sami culture emphasizes the importance of material culture within the landscape, feels affiliated with circular time and nature, and does not accept all material culture that archaeology classifies as Sami. In the case of the Sami, archaeology is a less-than-ideal way to communicate about their past and culture.