I identify myself as an Area and Cultural Studies scholar with special expertise on North America and Indigenous Studies. As a North American Studies scholar, I am interested in a broad range of topics relating to the history, cultures and peoples of the area known today as the United States and Canada. My interests, however, are not restricted to the past only, I am actively working on topics relating to environmental issues and contemporary politics as well. 

Expertise

My field of expertise within North American Studies is Native American/First Nations cultures and history. My starting point has always been the native perspective/s. By seeking an understanding of their worldviews, cultures, religions, and languages, I have approached American Indian nations not as passive onlookers, but active actors in the past and present.

Within Native American Studies, I have focused mostly on the Plains Indian cultures especially the Lakota. I have recently published a new monograph on the Lakota Ghost Dance religion of 1890, and I am currently working on a new history of the Lakota people (see publications). 

Broad approach

Sometimes scholars specializing in Indigenous studies are accused of being very narrow in their focus. However, at its best, it requires a very broad approach to the countless fields, like politics, law, religious studies, anthropology, literature, geography, environmental studies, or area and cultural studies, to name a few, that constitute Indigenous studies as a field. While I have worked to become an expert in one “sub-field,” of North American Studies, I have at the same time made great efforts to understand North America in transnational and global contexts and have employed cross-disciplinary approaches in all my research and teaching.  

Recently, I have focused on environmental history as exemplified by North American national parks systems. Here too, I have brought native voices to the foreground through their perspectives on nature, environment, and nature protection. This has led me to develop a new project that investigates nature protected areas and Indigenous people around the world through the conflicting worldviews of Indigenous people and those promoting the “Western,” mostly Euro-American based, conservation narrative. By looking at Indigenous worldviews and concepts of nature this project speaks directly to the broader debate that is ongoing in indigeneity, human rights, the environment, and sustainability as well as the effects of climate change. 

Modern technology and human past

One of my interests is to investigate how dynamic computer modeling and “big data” can be utilized to study the human past. In 2018 the Kone Foundation awarded me a three year research grant to lead a project that aims at developing this new, innovative methodology.

For the past 14 years, I have been teaching at the University of Helsinki Area and Cultural Studie s/North American Studies programs. I do not shy away from using new teaching methods or materials in my teaching and I am constantly looking for new ideas. To me teaching and research go hand in hand, both are equally exciting and important parts of my job. I believe that the teaching should reflect equally high standards pedagogically while utilizing the results of high quality research.