Research project Ageing in an indigenous society is a process that is different from the surrounding context. The Sami of northern Sweden have historically been assumed to more often reach old ages compared to the rest of Sweden. The current project will study life expectancy in Sápmi during the era of colonization 1750-1920, by using the Northern Population Data Base at DDB.
Age specific mortality rates applied to specific cohorts is the key variable that is analyzed in relation to factors such as family situation, living conditions, and nourishes. The interpretation will use colonization theory and the cultural perspective in order to understand the mechanisms of ageing in the indigenous context of the Sami. Of great importance is the epidemiologic transition, which we know has shifted the Sami from a negative position with high mortality to a present-day health situation equivalent to the rest of Sweden. A major challenge to the project is to reveal the process of declining mortality in relation to social, political, administrative, and economic changes in the area, and furthermore to understand the position and condition of elderly in a native context. The idea is that the result will have a general value for the understanding of ageing, in indigenous societies that yet not have experienced a similar progress in life-expectancy.
Finansår , 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
huvudman: CBS (CeSam), finansiar: Vetenskapsrådet, y2007: 320, y2008: 340, y2009: 360, y2010: 140, y2011: 150,
