Reclaiming Indigeneity: Sámi-American Identity, Spirituality, and the Role of Western Goddess Practices in Cultural Continuity

I propose that Western Goddess Spirituality provides a blueprint for Sámi-Americans who wish to reclaim and rebuild pre-colonial spiritual practices. The blending of multiple traditions – comparable to how Western Goddess Spiritual traditions operate - presents a path forward for Sámi-Americans who don’t know where or how to start. This is not without its potential difficulties, however, as the blending and co-opting of multiple traditions runs the risk of appropriation and exploitation leading to the commodification and decontextualization of sacred practices. The benefit in this method, however, is the ability to create a Sámi-American specific approach that respects both cultural continuity and acknowledges the difficulties in recreating a distinctive Sámi spirituality in North America.