Sámi Relational Ontologies and Political Thought on More-Than-Human Political Agency and Human Responsibility

Animals have a significant role in Sámi society. They have shaped Sámi social and political orders as well as relational ontologies, and humans maintain reciprocal relations with them through their livelihoods and subsistence economies. According to Sámi relational ontology, humans also bear responsibility for the wellbeing of other animals. This paper examines more‑than‑human political agency and Sámi political thought concerning reindeer and dogs, drawing on Sámi narrative material. What kinds of political roles and subjectivities do these animals hold within the Sámi multispecies political community and its governance? What ethical principles guide and constitute Sámi responsibilities toward these animals? In this paper, we demonstrate how Sámi political thought challenges Western political theory and its assumptions about the formation of political community, political agency, and justice. In Sámi society, as we argue, justice is enacted by more‑than‑human beings in multiple ways, and animals are powerful political beings animals therefore remain powerful political actors who shape and govern human collective life still today.