The invisible herd: an analysis of the field of reindeer pastoralism in

West-Finnmark

Ph.D-Project: Ari Laakso

This project is part of the larger multidisciplinary project Ecosystem Finnmark (EF), which has as its main goal to better understand the geographical variations in reindeer numbers found among different reindeer herding districts in Finnmark , Norway . A maximizing strategy of the reindeer number can be found as a common practice among the herders, but an understanding of this strategy and the supporting structures have been missing from the literature. The goal of this sub-project is to better understand how the social and cultural dimensions of reindeer herding influences how the herders perceives and sets their individual reindeer numbers.

The study will be based upon the sociological theories of Pierre Bourdieu and the “open concepts” of field, capital and habitus. The intension is to structure the field of reindeer pastoralism and to analyze the different practices of herders through the notion of habitus and the struggle for different forms of capital that legitimizes power inside the field. An analysis of the siida division is also facilitated to better understand the importance of the smaller sub-fields and possible conflicts inside the districts, when analysing variations in reindeer numbers among districts.

The study utilizes qualitative research methods and is carried out through interviewing reindeer herders and attending daily herding work for implementing the method of participatory observation. The main focus area for the study are a few reindeer herding districts in West-Finnmark, but also neighbouring Saami reindeer herding districts in northern Finland will be studied, to facilitate the possibility for comparison.