ABSTRACT
This chapter explores two main paths of discussion, the one regarding the State-enforced interaction of Sámi reindeer herders in Sweden concerning the wolf, the other hypothesizing a parallel pattern of domestication of humans by humans in the colonization of the Sámi by the Swedish State. In the former case, it is argued that the mere attempted imposition of hands-off protective control constitutes a form of domestication that can lead to essential changes in the genetic makeup of an organism. The course of such changes is not confined to the intentionality of the so-called domesticator, and the agency of multiple players can vary simultaneously. Concretely, the protective measures legislated by the State to protect the wolf in its wild state are—opposite to the State’s intended purpose—a form of domestication.
Although their contexts are quite different, there are patterns that appear to repeat themselves in what one might term the domestication of a people. These include, for example, the fractionating categorization of unified entities and the imposition of discriminatory rights among the factions, as with the wolf, justified as protective measures, that are used to camouflage the exercise of raw power politics.
