The meaning of words and the power of silence

Abstract

This chapter calls for a dialogue on Saami history with a higher degree of cooperation between archaeologists and historians than what has been the case up to now, which is necessary if we are to trying to understand the gaps in time. Today there is a gap between Saami history produced according to written sources and Saami history based on archaeological material. This only increases the already asymmetric relations for the Saami and keeps teachers, politicians and other people in the majority societies in the dark when it comes to the long lines of Saami history on the Scandinavian Peninsula, what I call a power of silence. This silence makes or contributes to keeping old myths about Saami history from the end of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries alive in themajority society today.The aim of this chapter is to look across national borders to provide a brief summary of history based on what we (think we) know and have discussed as important for the understanding of the South Saami's prehistory from 4000 BC to 1000 AD. Another aim is to reflect on different strategies and interactions between Saami societies and agricultural communities.