Lennard Sillanpää
Finnish North American Literature Association
Biographical Information
Born in Canada and a graduate of Laurentian University and Queen’s University,
Lennard Sillanpää, worked on issues related to sustainable development, land claims
negotiations and circumpolar affairs for the Canadian government before establishing
his own firm, Seeking Bridges and Associates. He defended his doctoral dissertation at
the University of Helsinki on the land title rights of the Nordic Sami. Dr. Sillanpää is a
Docent in political science at the University of Helsinki and a Visiting Senior Research
Scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
Publications
(a) Books:
2008: Awakening Siberia. From Marginalization to Self-Determination. The Small
Indigenous Nations of Northern Russia on the Eve of the Millennium. Acta Politica No.
33. Foreword by Jörn Donner. University of Helsinki: Department of Political Science.
Abstract of Awakening Siberia
Awakening Siberia is the analysis of a comprehensive survey conducted in the fall of
1999 on the traditional livelihood and land use of the small 24 different indigenous
peoples of northern Russia to determine their current socio-economic situation and the
status of their political rights. The survey was a joint effort by the University of Helsinki
and the Russian Academy of Sciences, funded by the Finnish Ministries for Foreign
Affairs and of the Environment. The data gained from these interviews are presented
along five general themes: : (i) economic situation in the region; (ii) traditional livelihood;
(iii) relationship with majority culture; (iv) knowledge of their indigenous language,
religion, skills and culture; and (v) opinions on socio-political issues affecting their lives.
The responses demonstrate the intransigence of these issues and are comparable to the
situation of indigenous peoples in other parts of the world.
1999: The Small Nations of Northern Russia. A Guide for Researchers //
Korennye molochislennye narody Severa i Sibiri (Russian transliteration). Edited by
Dmitriy A. Funk and Lennard Sillanpää. Vaasa, Finland: Åbo Akademi University,
Social Science Research Unit Publication No. 29. With maps.
1994: Political and Administrative Responses to Sami Self-Determination. A
Comparative Study of Public Administrations in Fennoscandia on the Issue of Sami
Land Title as an Aboriginal Right. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica (The Finnish
Society of Sciences and Letters). Commentationes Scientiarum Socialium 48(1994).
(b) Academic Journals:
2005: Entries on Sami Parliaments, Nordic Sami Institute, International Labour
Organization Convention 169 (“Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention”), and the
Arctic Research and Policy Act of the United States for the Encyclopedia of the Arctic.
Edited by Mark Nuttall. Reference work compiled by the Scott Polar Institute,
Cambridge University, UK.
2004: “Participating in the Canadian Victory. The Finnish Community in Canada
during World War II.” Siirtolaisuus- Migration 2/2004. Journal of the Institute of
Migration, Turku, Finland; 31st year; 3-14.
2002: “Government Responses to Saami Self-Determination,” in Ethnic Conflict
and Co-operation in the North. States and the Sami People. Edited by Johan Eriksson
and Kristiina Karppi. Umeå, Sweden: Norrlands Universitetsforlag AB Kulturens
frontlinjer 38; 83-112. Translated into Russian and published as: Vozrozhdenie
saamskogo naroda: reaktsia pravitel'stva na samoopredelenie saamov; in Sokolova Z.
P. and D.A. Funk (Eds.) Rasy i narody. Vyp. 28. Moscow: Nauka, 2002; 80-109.
2002: “Social Cleavages and the Search for Political Consensus. The Quest of
Kenneth McRae.” Review article for European Political Science; I:2; Spring 2002; 84-
90. Journal of the European Consortium on Political Research (ECPR).
2000: “Small Nations of the Russian North and their Rights as Indigenous Peoples:
Some Observations and Preliminary Hypotheses.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and
Unofficial Law, Issue 45; 77-89; The Foundation for the Journal of Legal Pluralism,
The Netherlands. Special Issue on proceedings of XI International Congress of the
Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism held in Moscow, 18-22 August 1997.
1997: “A Comparative Analysis of Indigenous Rights in Fennoscandia.”
Scandinavian Political Studies XX:3, 1997; 197-217; Copenhagen.
1997: “The Finnish Invasion of Canada. The Role of Nils Gustaf von Schoultz
within the Finnish Experience in North America.” Melting into Great Waters. Papers
from Finnforum V. Edited by Varpu Lindström, Oiva Saarinen and Börje Vähämäki.
Journal of Finnish Studies, Vol. I: 3, 1997; 192-202. Article on Nils Gustaf von
Schoultz and 1838 Battle of Windmill Point (Prescott, Ontario) in The Beaver
magazine (February-March 1990).
1985: Entries on Finns, Swedes and Danes; The Canadian Encyclopaedia.
Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1985; 1988. French-language translations of these entries
(Danois, Finlandais et Suédois) published in L'Encylopédie du Canada; Montréal:
Stanké, 1987. Revised for a CD-Rom version: The 1997 Canadian Encyclopedia Plus;
Toronto: McClelland and Stewart and for a single volume revised The Canadian
Encyclopedia 2000 by McClelland and Stewart, 2000.
1981: "The Voting Behaviour of Finns in the Sudbury Area" in Finnish Diaspora I.
Toronto: Multicultural History of Society of Ontario; 101-116. Presentation at
FinnForum II conference at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto; 1-
3.11.79.
1979: Articles on: "Finns," "Swedes," "Norwegians," "Icelanders," and "Danes" in
Canadian Family Tree. Canada's Peoples. Ottawa: Secretary of State, 1979. French-
language translations of these articles (Danois, Finlandais, Islandais, Norvégiens et
Suédois) published in Les rameaux de la famille canadienne. Histoire des peuples du
Canada; Ottawa: Secrétariat d'État du Canada, 1980.
(c) Reviews in Journals
1997: Review of Becoming Visible. Indigenous Politics and Self-Government.
Edited by Terje Brantenberg, Janne Hansen and Henry Minde. Centre for Sami
Studies. University of Tromsø, Norway. Arctic, 50(2). Journal of the Arctic Institute
of North America, University of Calgary.
1990: Review of Finns in North America. Proceedings of Finn Forum III, 5-8
September 1984, edited by Michael G. Karni, Olavi Koivukangas and Edward G.
Laine. Turku: Migration Studies C9, 1988; in Siirtolaisuus/Migration 1990:1. Research
Note in Siirtolaisuus/Migration 1990:2.
(d) Unpublished Academic:
1987: Finnish Swede Immigration to Canada: A Neglected Chapter of the Finnish
Canadian Experience. CREME Working Paper Series #14, Department of Sociology
and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa.
(e) Government Reports:
1999: The Small Indigenous Nations of Northern Russia on the Eve of the
Millennium. Photo Display on Occasion of Meeting of European Union Foreign
Ministers on the Northern Dimension. 12-13 November 1999 at Finlandia Hall,
Helsinki, Finland.
1999 Arkistot kertovat Pohjois-Venäjän alkuperäiskansojen vaiheista (Archives
on the Situation of the Aboriginal Peoples of Northern Russia), Ympäristö 3/99
(Periodical of Finnish Ministry of the Environment & Finnish Environment Institute).
1993: Räkna med att bra avtal tar tid. Invited by Sweden's Ombudsman against
Ethnic Discrimination to participate in a seminar on Sami rights in Kiruna, Sweden that
coincided with official inauguration of Sami assembly by King of Sweden.
Sameexistens I Samexitens ett DO-seminarium, 28-29 Augusti 1993. Stockholm:
Office of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination.
1992: Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: The First Twenty Years. Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada: Circumpolar and Scientific Affairs Directorate (CSAD)
Publication Series.
1991: Coordinated, as part of the Canada-USSR Arctic Cooperation Agreement,
the publication of a trilingual (English, French and Russian) booklet entitled: Building
International Relations in the Arctic: 25 Years of Canada-USSR Cooperation. Ottawa:
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
(g) Other Writing:
1998: “The Northern Dimension and the Indigenous Peoples of the North.”
ARSIS 1/99: Focus on the Northern Dimension. Quarterly of the Arts Council of
Finland. Special Issue on Finland’s Northern Dimension initiative within European
Union.
1996: Article: "A Canadian Saga: Nordic Immigrants on the Canadian Frontier," in
Heritage Canada III:3, January-February 1996. <Une histoire canadienne: les
immigrants nordiques établis á la frontière canadienne> Heritage Canada III:3 Janvier-
Février 1996.
1990: Article on Nils Gustaf von Schoultz and 1838 Battle of Windmill Point
(Prescott, Ontario) in The Beaver magazine (February-March 1990).
LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS & CONFERENCES
2003: “EU Enlargement and Political Marginalization. The Impact of Economic
Development on the Traditional Livelihood of the Indigenous Minorities of Northern
Russia.” First International Conference on The Future of Europe: The Challenges of
Enlargement and Globalization, sponsored by the Athens Institute for Education and
Research (ATINER), at Athens, Greece, 6-7/6/2003.
2001: “The Aboriginal Peoples of the Arctic: From Political Marginalization to
Partnership.” Lecture given at the Arctic Connection symposium sponsored by the
Hanasaari Cultural Centre and the Parliament of Finland; at Helsinki, 2/102001.
1999: “Canadian Partnership in Research by the Institute of Migration on the
Finnish Experience in North America.” Address at the 25th Anniversary of
Siirtolaisuusinstituutti (Institute of Migration) held in Turku, November 1999.
1999: “Indigenous Peoples in Russia and their Rights as Aboriginal Peoples. An
Analytical Strategy.” At an International Workshop on Key Problems of the Indigenous
Peoples of the Russian North. Organized by the Russian Association of Indigenous
Peoples of the North (RAIPON) and the International Arctic Science Committee.
Moscow, 17-18/9/99.
1999: “Indigenous Peoples in Russia and their Rights as Aboriginal Peoples. A
Conceptualization.” At the International Conference “Contemporary Problems of
Traditional Land Use of Indigenous Peoples of the North”. Organized by the Russian
Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON). Moscow, 17-19/5/99.
1999: The Situation of the Sami in Fennoscandia: A Political Overview.
Presentation at a Sami rights symposium held at Voksnåsen Cultural and Conference
Centre, Oslo; 13.3.99.
1998: The Small Nations of the Russian North and their Rights as Indigenous
People: Khanty-Mansi and Koryaks. Presented at Northern Development/Remote
Regions Sessions of the XXXVII Annual Meeting of the Western Regional Science
Association, Monterey, California, 18-22/2/98. Discussant for paper on Northern
Universities by Professor Geoffrey Weller, University of British Columbia.
1997: The Small Nations of the Russian North and their Rights as Indigenous
People: Some Preliminary Observations and Hypotheses. XI International Congress of
the Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism, 18-22/8/97; hosted by the Institute
of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
1996: Sustainable Development and the Role of Aboriginal Peoples. The Situation
in Canada. Presentation to the Working Group on Sustainable Development in the
Sami Region, Finnish Ministry of Environment, Helsinki; 7/10/96.
1995: The Adaptation of Finnish Universities to the New Europe. Ultimus Doctor
address at the X Convocation of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki;
26/5/95.
1993: As part of DIAND program for UN's International Year of the World's
Indigenous People, developed concept and coordinated production of an exhibit of
photos entitled Aboriginal Peoples of the Circumpolar North. Exhibit opened by
Associate Deputy Minister 20/5/93--World Day for Cultural Development-- and was
featured for Aboriginal Awareness Week at DIAND headquarters. Exhibit was later
featured at: Ontario Hydro headquarters in Toronto (6/93), Central Canada Exhibition
in Ottawa (8/93), and at the 44th Arctic Science Conference held in Whitehorse,
Yukon (9/93).
1990: The Need for Co-operation in Research between a University and the
Traditional Knowledge of Local Inhabitants. Presentation, by invitation of the Rector,
at a ceremony commemorating 350th anniversary of the University of Helsinki, at its
research station at Kilpisjärvi, in northern Finland, 7/7/90.
Born in Canada and a graduate of Laurentian University and Queen’s University,
Lennard Sillanpää, worked on issues related to sustainable development, land claims
negotiations and circumpolar affairs for the Canadian government before establishing
his own firm, Seeking Bridges and Associates. He defended his doctoral dissertation at
the University of Helsinki on the land title rights of the Nordic Sami. Dr. Sillanpää is a
Docent in political science at the University of Helsinki and a Visiting Senior Research
Scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
Publications
(a) Books:
2008: Awakening Siberia. From Marginalization to Self-Determination. The Small
Indigenous Nations of Northern Russia on the Eve of the Millennium. Acta Politica No.
33. Foreword by Jörn Donner. University of Helsinki: Department of Political Science.
Abstract of Awakening Siberia
Awakening Siberia is the analysis of a comprehensive survey conducted in the fall of
1999 on the traditional livelihood and land use of the small 24 different indigenous
peoples of northern Russia to determine their current socio-economic situation and the
status of their political rights. The survey was a joint effort by the University of Helsinki
and the Russian Academy of Sciences, funded by the Finnish Ministries for Foreign
Affairs and of the Environment. The data gained from these interviews are presented
along five general themes: : (i) economic situation in the region; (ii) traditional livelihood;
(iii) relationship with majority culture; (iv) knowledge of their indigenous language,
religion, skills and culture; and (v) opinions on socio-political issues affecting their lives.
The responses demonstrate the intransigence of these issues and are comparable to the
situation of indigenous peoples in other parts of the world.
1999: The Small Nations of Northern Russia. A Guide for Researchers //
Korennye molochislennye narody Severa i Sibiri (Russian transliteration). Edited by
Dmitriy A. Funk and Lennard Sillanpää. Vaasa, Finland: Åbo Akademi University,
Social Science Research Unit Publication No. 29. With maps.
1994: Political and Administrative Responses to Sami Self-Determination. A
Comparative Study of Public Administrations in Fennoscandia on the Issue of Sami
Land Title as an Aboriginal Right. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica (The Finnish
Society of Sciences and Letters). Commentationes Scientiarum Socialium 48(1994).
(b) Academic Journals:
2005: Entries on Sami Parliaments, Nordic Sami Institute, International Labour
Organization Convention 169 (“Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention”), and the
Arctic Research and Policy Act of the United States for the Encyclopedia of the Arctic.
Edited by Mark Nuttall. Reference work compiled by the Scott Polar Institute,
Cambridge University, UK.
2004: “Participating in the Canadian Victory. The Finnish Community in Canada
during World War II.” Siirtolaisuus- Migration 2/2004. Journal of the Institute of
Migration, Turku, Finland; 31st year; 3-14.
2002: “Government Responses to Saami Self-Determination,” in Ethnic Conflict
and Co-operation in the North. States and the Sami People. Edited by Johan Eriksson
and Kristiina Karppi. Umeå, Sweden: Norrlands Universitetsforlag AB Kulturens
frontlinjer 38; 83-112. Translated into Russian and published as: Vozrozhdenie
saamskogo naroda: reaktsia pravitel'stva na samoopredelenie saamov; in Sokolova Z.
P. and D.A. Funk (Eds.) Rasy i narody. Vyp. 28. Moscow: Nauka, 2002; 80-109.
2002: “Social Cleavages and the Search for Political Consensus. The Quest of
Kenneth McRae.” Review article for European Political Science; I:2; Spring 2002; 84-
90. Journal of the European Consortium on Political Research (ECPR).
2000: “Small Nations of the Russian North and their Rights as Indigenous Peoples:
Some Observations and Preliminary Hypotheses.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and
Unofficial Law, Issue 45; 77-89; The Foundation for the Journal of Legal Pluralism,
The Netherlands. Special Issue on proceedings of XI International Congress of the
Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism held in Moscow, 18-22 August 1997.
1997: “A Comparative Analysis of Indigenous Rights in Fennoscandia.”
Scandinavian Political Studies XX:3, 1997; 197-217; Copenhagen.
1997: “The Finnish Invasion of Canada. The Role of Nils Gustaf von Schoultz
within the Finnish Experience in North America.” Melting into Great Waters. Papers
from Finnforum V. Edited by Varpu Lindström, Oiva Saarinen and Börje Vähämäki.
Journal of Finnish Studies, Vol. I: 3, 1997; 192-202. Article on Nils Gustaf von
Schoultz and 1838 Battle of Windmill Point (Prescott, Ontario) in The Beaver
magazine (February-March 1990).
1985: Entries on Finns, Swedes and Danes; The Canadian Encyclopaedia.
Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1985; 1988. French-language translations of these entries
(Danois, Finlandais et Suédois) published in L'Encylopédie du Canada; Montréal:
Stanké, 1987. Revised for a CD-Rom version: The 1997 Canadian Encyclopedia Plus;
Toronto: McClelland and Stewart and for a single volume revised The Canadian
Encyclopedia 2000 by McClelland and Stewart, 2000.
1981: "The Voting Behaviour of Finns in the Sudbury Area" in Finnish Diaspora I.
Toronto: Multicultural History of Society of Ontario; 101-116. Presentation at
FinnForum II conference at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto; 1-
3.11.79.
1979: Articles on: "Finns," "Swedes," "Norwegians," "Icelanders," and "Danes" in
Canadian Family Tree. Canada's Peoples. Ottawa: Secretary of State, 1979. French-
language translations of these articles (Danois, Finlandais, Islandais, Norvégiens et
Suédois) published in Les rameaux de la famille canadienne. Histoire des peuples du
Canada; Ottawa: Secrétariat d'État du Canada, 1980.
(c) Reviews in Journals
1997: Review of Becoming Visible. Indigenous Politics and Self-Government.
Edited by Terje Brantenberg, Janne Hansen and Henry Minde. Centre for Sami
Studies. University of Tromsø, Norway. Arctic, 50(2). Journal of the Arctic Institute
of North America, University of Calgary.
1990: Review of Finns in North America. Proceedings of Finn Forum III, 5-8
September 1984, edited by Michael G. Karni, Olavi Koivukangas and Edward G.
Laine. Turku: Migration Studies C9, 1988; in Siirtolaisuus/Migration 1990:1. Research
Note in Siirtolaisuus/Migration 1990:2.
(d) Unpublished Academic:
1987: Finnish Swede Immigration to Canada: A Neglected Chapter of the Finnish
Canadian Experience. CREME Working Paper Series #14, Department of Sociology
and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa.
(e) Government Reports:
1999: The Small Indigenous Nations of Northern Russia on the Eve of the
Millennium. Photo Display on Occasion of Meeting of European Union Foreign
Ministers on the Northern Dimension. 12-13 November 1999 at Finlandia Hall,
Helsinki, Finland.
1999 Arkistot kertovat Pohjois-Venäjän alkuperäiskansojen vaiheista (Archives
on the Situation of the Aboriginal Peoples of Northern Russia), Ympäristö 3/99
(Periodical of Finnish Ministry of the Environment & Finnish Environment Institute).
1993: Räkna med att bra avtal tar tid. Invited by Sweden's Ombudsman against
Ethnic Discrimination to participate in a seminar on Sami rights in Kiruna, Sweden that
coincided with official inauguration of Sami assembly by King of Sweden.
Sameexistens I Samexitens ett DO-seminarium, 28-29 Augusti 1993. Stockholm:
Office of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination.
1992: Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: The First Twenty Years. Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada: Circumpolar and Scientific Affairs Directorate (CSAD)
Publication Series.
1991: Coordinated, as part of the Canada-USSR Arctic Cooperation Agreement,
the publication of a trilingual (English, French and Russian) booklet entitled: Building
International Relations in the Arctic: 25 Years of Canada-USSR Cooperation. Ottawa:
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
(g) Other Writing:
1998: “The Northern Dimension and the Indigenous Peoples of the North.”
ARSIS 1/99: Focus on the Northern Dimension. Quarterly of the Arts Council of
Finland. Special Issue on Finland’s Northern Dimension initiative within European
Union.
1996: Article: "A Canadian Saga: Nordic Immigrants on the Canadian Frontier," in
Heritage Canada III:3, January-February 1996. <Une histoire canadienne: les
immigrants nordiques établis á la frontière canadienne> Heritage Canada III:3 Janvier-
Février 1996.
1990: Article on Nils Gustaf von Schoultz and 1838 Battle of Windmill Point
(Prescott, Ontario) in The Beaver magazine (February-March 1990).
LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS & CONFERENCES
2003: “EU Enlargement and Political Marginalization. The Impact of Economic
Development on the Traditional Livelihood of the Indigenous Minorities of Northern
Russia.” First International Conference on The Future of Europe: The Challenges of
Enlargement and Globalization, sponsored by the Athens Institute for Education and
Research (ATINER), at Athens, Greece, 6-7/6/2003.
2001: “The Aboriginal Peoples of the Arctic: From Political Marginalization to
Partnership.” Lecture given at the Arctic Connection symposium sponsored by the
Hanasaari Cultural Centre and the Parliament of Finland; at Helsinki, 2/102001.
1999: “Canadian Partnership in Research by the Institute of Migration on the
Finnish Experience in North America.” Address at the 25th Anniversary of
Siirtolaisuusinstituutti (Institute of Migration) held in Turku, November 1999.
1999: “Indigenous Peoples in Russia and their Rights as Aboriginal Peoples. An
Analytical Strategy.” At an International Workshop on Key Problems of the Indigenous
Peoples of the Russian North. Organized by the Russian Association of Indigenous
Peoples of the North (RAIPON) and the International Arctic Science Committee.
Moscow, 17-18/9/99.
1999: “Indigenous Peoples in Russia and their Rights as Aboriginal Peoples. A
Conceptualization.” At the International Conference “Contemporary Problems of
Traditional Land Use of Indigenous Peoples of the North”. Organized by the Russian
Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON). Moscow, 17-19/5/99.
1999: The Situation of the Sami in Fennoscandia: A Political Overview.
Presentation at a Sami rights symposium held at Voksnåsen Cultural and Conference
Centre, Oslo; 13.3.99.
1998: The Small Nations of the Russian North and their Rights as Indigenous
People: Khanty-Mansi and Koryaks. Presented at Northern Development/Remote
Regions Sessions of the XXXVII Annual Meeting of the Western Regional Science
Association, Monterey, California, 18-22/2/98. Discussant for paper on Northern
Universities by Professor Geoffrey Weller, University of British Columbia.
1997: The Small Nations of the Russian North and their Rights as Indigenous
People: Some Preliminary Observations and Hypotheses. XI International Congress of
the Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism, 18-22/8/97; hosted by the Institute
of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
1996: Sustainable Development and the Role of Aboriginal Peoples. The Situation
in Canada. Presentation to the Working Group on Sustainable Development in the
Sami Region, Finnish Ministry of Environment, Helsinki; 7/10/96.
1995: The Adaptation of Finnish Universities to the New Europe. Ultimus Doctor
address at the X Convocation of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki;
26/5/95.
1993: As part of DIAND program for UN's International Year of the World's
Indigenous People, developed concept and coordinated production of an exhibit of
photos entitled Aboriginal Peoples of the Circumpolar North. Exhibit opened by
Associate Deputy Minister 20/5/93--World Day for Cultural Development-- and was
featured for Aboriginal Awareness Week at DIAND headquarters. Exhibit was later
featured at: Ontario Hydro headquarters in Toronto (6/93), Central Canada Exhibition
in Ottawa (8/93), and at the 44th Arctic Science Conference held in Whitehorse,
Yukon (9/93).
1990: The Need for Co-operation in Research between a University and the
Traditional Knowledge of Local Inhabitants. Presentation, by invitation of the Rector,
at a ceremony commemorating 350th anniversary of the University of Helsinki, at its
research station at Kilpisjärvi, in northern Finland, 7/7/90.
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