A couple of weeks ago, we travelled north from Stockholm to Guovdageaidnu, or Kautokeino, situated in Finnmark, the northern part of Sápmi. Our route spanned thousands of kilometers on rail and road, running across Sámi territory, adjacent to rivers swollen by an unexpectedly heavy and concentrated spring flood.

In May, known as Miessemánnu in North Sámi, the reindeer calves are born, marking the start of a new year. A four-day-old calf warmly greeted us in the courtyard of our hotel, symbolizing the beginning of this new cycle. 

For millennia, this land has been the realm of reindeer and other species adapted to the Arctic environment. To many, it appears unpopulated, foreign and distant. Yet, for those who have journeyed, lived and nurtured these lands across generations, it signifies home, familiarity and deep connections between land, life, families and livelihoods. These lands continue to serve as nurseries for reindeer but are increasingly tasked with fulfilling broader national and economic demands.

As we ventured north, we observed a landscape fragmented by these competing demands: forestry, wind power parks, hydropower, mining, tourism, rails and roads all vying for land and resources. Even in the heart of reindeer herding areas on the tundra, surrounded by snow-covered mountains with reindeer fences scaling the slopes, mining companies are scouting to establish, or re-establish, their presence. In Biedjovággi we met a herder transporting housing materials over the remnants of spring snow, pointing us towards a site earmarked by a Swedish company for copper and gold mining.

Our gaze determines how we see the land – as a traditional Sámi cultural area or a potential mineral deposit. Our relationships with each other and with the more-than-human world determine what we value. This understanding of land and landscape relationships from various perspectives is what brought us to Guovdageaidnu and the Sámi allaskuvla, the Sámi University of Applied Sciences.

There, we met with social anthropologist and Sámi scholar Solveig Joks. We shared our research on forest fires on Sámi lands, and through her rich experience and teachings, Solveig illuminated the complex relationships between fire, land, reindeer and people. She introduced us to “meahcci,” a Sámi concept that connects land, practice, responsibility and temporal rhythms.

If we engage with the land as a relational entity rather than merely a geographical one, it will lead us to ask very different questions, reassess the meanings of disturbance and impact in novel ways, and could guide us toward developing an ethics of reciprocity and responsibility. We look forward to enriching our Read-Fire research project with these perspectives and exploring the exciting new research collaborations that emerged from this trip!