The virtue of extraction and decolonial recollection in Gállok, Sápmi
de Leeuw, Georgia LU
(2023)
p.68-88
- 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... (More)
- 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. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/96808456-ef59-4f5c-ad9a-ba07c5724a2d
- author
- de Leeuw, Georgia
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-03-22
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- extractivism, mining, Sweden, Sápmi, extractive industry, coloniality, decoloniality
- host publication
- Coloniality and Decolonisation in the Nordic Region
- editor
- Groglopo, Adrián and Suárez-Krabbe, Julia
- edition
- 1st Edition
- pages
- 20 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85149558818
- ISBN
- 9781003293323
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003293323-5
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 96808456-ef59-4f5c-ad9a-ba07c5724a2d
- date added to LUP
- 2023-02-08 09:55:01
- date last changed
- 2024-06-13 13:51:09
@inbook{96808456-ef59-4f5c-ad9a-ba07c5724a2d,
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.}},
author = {{de Leeuw, Georgia}},
booktitle = {{Coloniality and Decolonisation in the Nordic Region}},
editor = {{Groglopo, Adrián and Suárez-Krabbe, Julia}},
isbn = {{9781003293323}},
keywords = {{extractivism; mining; Sweden; Sápmi; extractive industry; coloniality; decoloniality}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
pages = {{68--88}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
title = {{The virtue of extraction and decolonial recollection in Gállok, Sápmi}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003293323-5}},
doi = {{10.4324/9781003293323-5}},
year = {{2023}},
}