Contextual sites of acknowledgement? Kven heritage and contemporary identity articulation processes. (2nd January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Øyen, Gyrid; Kvidal-Røvik, Trine
• Is Part Of: Acta borealia. Volume 40:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 18
• Publication Date: 2023-01-02
• Subjects: Kven heritage -- national minority -- Norwegianization -- contextual sites -- identity articulation processes; Norway -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Norway -- History -- Periodicals; Arctic regions -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Arctic regions -- History -- Periodicals; 936.3
• DOI: 10.1080/08003831.2023.2196499
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0800-3831

Abstract

ABSTRACT: It is more than 20 years since Kvens were recognized as a national minority in Norway, yet there is still a need for acknowledgement of Kven culture and heritage. This article discusses contemporary processes of identity articulation related to Kven heritage. Based on interviews with people who relate to a key Kven place in Varanger, we discuss people's identity articulation processes in different contexts. Specifically, three contextual sites for identity articulation processes are discussed in detail: family, public institutions and discourse, and multicultural society. We maintain that the family site has a pivotal role when it comes to heritage and identity articulation processes, but it can also be a source of pain and struggle. Public discourse and institutions such as media, museums and schools can provide authoritative acknowledgement of identity, but they come with a risk of reducing nuances in identity articulation processes. Within multicultural sites it can be a struggle to find room for people's ethnic complexities. Across contextual sites, finding support for identity articulation processes is key to acknowledgement of Kven heritage.