This symposium aimed to examine how the relationships between forms of overseas colonial power and domination have affected the dynamics around the Baltic Sea, and the relative positions of various ethnic groups, including minorities and indigenous peoples, as well as the influence of such forms of administration and control on approaching the environment. What kind of language do we need to articulate and speak about such forms of influence and geographical interrelations? What could we gain from dialogues between different disciplines and perspectives of heritage practitioners? How does the natural environment and the ways of interacting with it affect understanding material culture and vice versa? What kinds of roles have art and visual culture carried in maintaining and resisting the hierarchies? The symposium we organized in collaboration with Camilla Larsson, Marta Grzechnik and Ieva Astahovska took place at the Södertörn University in Stockholm in 28-29 April 2025 with the network “Connecting Histories. Understanding the Baltic Sea Region through Art and Material Culture” supported of The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies. See the program here