"Our future is our history" : A qualitative interview study with Sami crafts people, analysing the tradition of craft making in a contemporary society

Abstract: This essay is a qualitative interview study with Sami craftspeople. The purpose of the study is to outline and analyse how my informants, being active Sami crafts people, relate to tradition, and tradition in a contemporary society. The analysis is carried out by examining the empirical material against the theoretical concept tradition, constructed by Michael L. Satlow. The methodological understanding of the material builds on discourse analysis; therefore, the analysed material is subsequently interpreted using the theoretical term articulation or articulative practices following discourse analysis by Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau. The analysis concludes that Sami craft making is a religious tradition, and further shows that certain traditional narratives are articulated in order to assert the stability of the tradition, in a contemporary and digital society.