Centre of Excellence for
Multibeing Justice in Indigenous Societies
MultiBEING examines how humanity, human responsibility, and justice are understood and lived in Indigenous societies.
What is MultiBEING?
MultiBEING tutkii, miten alkuperäiskansojen ajattelu, tieto ja oikeudelliset sekä poliittiset järjestykset voivat laajentaa ymmärrystä oikeudenmukaisuudesta. Huippuyksikön lähtökohtana on ajatus, että ihmiset eivät elä erillään ympäristöstään, vaan rakentavat yhteistä maailmaa suhteessa muihin olentoihin. Tämän vuoksi oikeudenmukaisuutta ei tarkastella vain ihmisten välisenä kysymyksenä, vaan laajempana suhteiden, vastuun ja rinnakkaiselon kokonaisuutena.
What do we study?
Coexistence and temporality
Coexistence and temporality
Governance and institutions
Governance and institutions
Law and justice
Law and justice
Multimodality
Multimodality
Human obligations and international law
Human obligations and international law
Aims and objectives
The core objective of MultiBEING is to explore how humanity and human responsibility are understood and lived in Indigenous societies, and how these principles can advance multibeing justice as planetary coexistence and in legal and political frameworks.
In Indigenous thought, as well as political and legal orders, humans and their social worlds are indivisible from the environment: humans co-construct shared societies with other beings. Our CoE examines humans’ ultimate responsibility for ensuring a good and just life for all life forms.
Multibeing justice
We develop the concept and theory of multibeing justice to encapsulate both Indigenous understandings of justice, which are rooted in relational ontologies, and the potential of this perspective to radically rethink Western legal frameworks.
Our transdisciplinary research draws on Indigenous knowledge practices and conceptual frameworks, which are brought into dialogue with the fields of humanities, social sciences, legal studies, and natural sciences.
Main research themes
WP2
Indigenous multibeing co-existence and its temporal dimensions
Leaders: Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen, Áile Aikio and Victoria Soyan Peemot
WP3
Multibeing justice in Indigenous governance and institutions
Leaders: Anne-Maria Magga and Saara Alakorva
WP4
Rethinking law and justice via Indigenous peoples’ rights and Earth jurisprudence
Leader: Leena Hansen (ex. Heinämäki)
WP5
Multimodality and enhancing qualities of being human in Indigenous views
Leaders: Outi Laiti and Jelena Porsanger
WP6
Rooting human obligations, novel humanism and Inter-National law
Leaders: Sanna Valkonen, Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen, Lotta Viikari, core WP researchers
Our collaborators
Scientific Advisory Board
Professor Sven D. Haakanson, University of Washington, US
Professor Jacinta Ruru, University of Otago, New Zealand
Collaborators
Professor Camilla Brattland, UiT–The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Associate Professor Dorothée Cambou, University of Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Sophie Chao, University of Sydney, Australia
Professor Marisol de la Cadena, University of California Davis, US
Professor Sidney Facundes, Federal University of Pará, Brazil
Dr. Álvaro Fernandes-Llamazares, University Autónoma Barcelona, Spain
Academy Professor Sarah Green, University of Helsinki, Finland
Professor Thora Herrmann, University of Oulu, Finland
Professor Heather Igloliorte, University of Victoria, Canada
Professor Emeritus Tim Ingold, University of Aberdeen, UK
Professor Emeritus Veli-Pekka Lehtola, University of Oulu, Finland
Dr. Karoliina Lummaa, BIOS Research Unit, University of Turku, Finland
Senior Ministerial Adviser Lotta Manninen, Ministry of Environment, Finland
Assistant Professor Matthew Magnani, University of Maine, US
Professor Carl Mika, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, Professor Alexandra Xanthaki, Brunel Law School, UK
Sámediggi, Sámi Parliament of Finland
Funding
The CoE is funded by the Research Council of Finland for the programme period 2026–2033.
Funding decision numbers:
University of Lapland, Faculty of Social Sciences, 374225
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Humanities, 374226
University of Lapland, Faculty of Law, 374227
