Youtubing Sápmi : Sámi multisemiotic repertoires, decolonial mobilization and interdiscursivity in the wired age

Abstract: This thesis explores the practice of “youtubing Sápmi”, which entails Sámi decolonial mobilization, multisemiotic and multilingual language use on YouTube. The aim is to understand how YouTube videos can function as a tool for discursive mobilization and as a complement or alternative to linguistic and cultural revitalization. In recent years, more interest has been directed towards Sámi music and media. While such research has explored acts of resistance, anti-colonial counter-narratives and negotiations of identity in Sámi music and media, few studies have investigated the discursive strategies used in Sámi performance in the Swedish context. In addressing this research gap, drawing from sociolinguistic research on interdiscursivity, indexicality and sociolinguistic scales, this thesis analyses how multisemiotic resources are used in discursive strategies of Sámi decolonial mobilization on YouTube. The analysis reveals that a variety of multisemiotic resources and discourses are used to construe type and token interdiscursivity that establish connectivity across time, space and scales that connect local issues to the national and the global. Furthermore, the deployment of different language repertoires – North Sámi, Swedish and English – point to the multi-scalar aspects of Sámi decolonial mobilization. These results indicate that the practice of youtubing Sápmi is a powerful tool for raising awareness, challenging coloniality and creating space for Sámi linguistic and cultural practices. In sum, the thesis provides insights into the potentials for agentive and creative use of interdiscursivity, as well as the affordances for creative multisemiotic language use on YouTube.