At global indigenous studies meet, we presented the Adivasi view from India – for the first time

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For a little over a month starting in June, the sun does not set in the small town of Bodø in Norway. This is a result of the tilt of the earth’s axis towards the sun in the summer months, which gives the polar regions the phenomenon known as the midnight sun.

During these days, Bodø is bathed in sunshine for 24 hours, and residents and visitors often extend their days late into the night, hiking and spending time outdoors.

It was in such an atmosphere that between June 6 and June 8 this year, hundreds of visitors graced Bodø, wearing clothing the small arctic town had never seen before. Some wore headgear made of bird feathers, others wore colourful woven dresses bearing symbols of the natural world, like fruits and flowers, and still others wore red and blue woollen coats with embroidered belts.

They had all flown down to attend the 13th annual conference of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, or NAISA, an...

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