Indigenous ideologies, agency, and autonomy in the face of language shift in Sápmi: resilience without resignation

Like other colonized communities, the Sámi have been subjected to assimilationist policies denying the value, utility, knowledge and beauty of their languages. As a result, all Sámi languages are endangered to varying degrees, but language revitalization processes are in progress. Taking action in this way often is described as resilience, which most scholars find to be a positive sign for the linguistic community. However, this positive evaluation of resilience has been challenged recently. At question is whether those communities running language revitalization programs have acquiesced to a neoliberal and nationalistic positioning of themselves as unable to act for themselves and make choices that truly resist the ideological and governance structures allied with neoliberalism and colonialism. Examination of the statements of graduates of a one-year long, intensive language and culture revitalization program in either Inari or Skolt Sámi shows that they have agency and autonomy, and that Indigenous ideologies have been retained. The ideologies support the learners' activities and senses of self and are supported in turn by the agency and autonomy the learners demonstrate to other community members. The Sámi case suggests that some examples of linguistic and cultural revitalization truly are decolonizing activities demonstrating resilience of a positive kind.