The virtue of extraction and decolonial recollection in Gállok, Sápmi

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Abstract

Swedish mining is often envisioned as virtuous, as coinciding harmoniously with quests for sustainability and the cultural survival of indigenous Sami peoples. This chapter posits that Sweden’s sense of exceptionalism in mining is embedded in a colonial/extractive system of knowledge that fails to mention non-capitalist, anticolonial relationalities to nature and ways of life. The normalised status of such colonial forgetfulness helps to justify extractive impulses in what are perceived as remote land areas, and for a comfortable dwelling in colonial innocence. Contributing to exceptionalism and decolonial literature, this chapter brings forth the concept of decolonial recollection to help grasp the subversive power that lies in disruptions of exceptional imaginaries. It refers to a tapping on the shoulder of stubborn forgetfulness, a disruption of that which safeguards imagined virtue in an attempt to remind the exceptional extractive self that beyond its gaze and linear storytelling lie perspectives of the neglected. The conceptual tool is instructive for analysing what are rather mundane, widespread claims to exceptionalism in mining in Sweden and elsewhere. Empirically, the disruptive power of decolonial recollection is illustrated through the conflict surrounding the planned mining project in Gállok/Kallak. As the longest and one of the most controversial processes in Swedish permitting history, it makes for a rich context for the dyad of colonial forgetfulness and decolonial recollection. Competing epistemic structures are read through their narrative iterations by pro- and anti-mining actors, respectively. The data consists of publicly available website and social media content, speeches, presentation material, photographs, art, and videos.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationColoniality and Decolonisation in the Nordic Region
EditorsAdrián Groglopo, Julia Suárez-Krabbe
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter4
Pages68-88
Number of pages20
Edition1st Edition
ISBN (Electronic)9781003293323
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023 Mar 22

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Other Social Sciences

Free keywords

  • extractivism
  • mining
  • Sweden
  • Sápmi
  • extractive industry
  • coloniality
  • decoloniality

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