The growing call for countering climate change along with increasing demands for so called “environmentally friendly” – “renewable” – energy production modes continues and increases the dispossession of Indigenous (including Sámi) peoples from our traditional lands and waters.
What is commonly referred to as “environmental friendly” technoscientific language and imagery continue to shape and reflect racist power relations which favor the colonial nation states and dis-favor/abuses/displaces Indigenous rights and peoples. While challenging this rhetoric is important, another important task is to enter into the very technologies and propose solutions regarding design and development.
I will elaborate on the potentials and possibilities of Sámi land based knowledge as a basis for innovative designs of energy production technologies, in collaboration with the field of fluid mechanics.
Current “renewable” energy productions modes are in fact actually major environmental destructors and are outdated designs: Nuclear power plants are but steam engines, a billion times more environmentally hazardous systems. Design of the current windpower plants gigantic windmills, demanding immense natural resources for their construction while claiming massive areas to be erected and cause the death of whales, insects, bats and birds. Current designs of hydropower kill fish and destroy entire bio systems.
Departing from Sámi /Indigenous Feminist Technoscience, this paper engages with the socio-material, innovative thoughts within fluid mechanics and discusses Sámi perspectives and proposals for sustainable and non-colonial non-racist energy production and consumption – for a good life for all, humans and non-humans and forms part of a research proposal to the Swedish research council.

May-Britt Öhman, Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Racism, CEMFOR, Uppsala University, and Unit of History, Luleå University of Technology, PhD History of Technology, 2007, Lule/Forest Sámi from Lule River/Julevädno, and Tornedalian background. Active in Sámi associations; the Sámi association in Stockholm, board member of Silbonah Sámesijdda since 2011, board member of the Swedish National Saami Association (SSR) 2011-2015, deputy member of the Sámi Parliament 2013-2017.
Öhman is co-founder of UPPSAM –network for Sámi related research in Uppsala, founder of Káfastallat – a Sámi/Indigenous research network, board member of Swedish Association for Gender Research. Research focus on large technical systems, hydropower, water resources, energy, mines, environment, risk and safety, decolonisation and healing from colonial traumas, Feminist Technoscience and Indigenous Methodologies. Having research and personal experience from West, East and North Africa, her current main geographical focus is on the Arctic with comparative studies with Indigenous territories around the world.

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Also fits into stream 5.