ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an attempt to substantiate the claim that a heritage-style shaman formation has come into being. It aims to examine some of the features and functions of this formation, thereby to shed light on developments in Sapmi and possibly beyond, among peoples with similar experiences of colonial oppression, and contemporary projects of returns and becomings. Heritage is “intrinsically mediated” in the sense of being framed by authorizing media and formats, and by memory-making institutions tasked with the representation of correct versions of the past. The shift to widespread presence and usage came after the turn of the century, and then through different forms, formats, and media, across fine art and popular culture and in political domains. The heritagization of shamanism coincided with the indigenisation of the Sámi from the late 1970s onwards, and these processes, to some extent, overlapped with regard to institutions, personnel, and dynamics.
