European Central: Sweden and Finland Investigate Treatment Of Sami
Finland and Sweden do not have a history of colonization of territories outside of Europe like other European nations, but the two are coming to term with how they have treated the Sami. Sami are considered the only indigenous group of people to Europe and 80,000-100,000 live in modern-day Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The exact number is not clear due to a lack of census data. Of the four countries, Finland and Russia have started to investigate how they have treated the Sami.
In Sweden, it was announced in June of 2020 that a commission would be launched and now the commission will finally begin its work now in the fall of 2021. Five people will serve on this independent commission and are expected to conclude their work in two years. On October 28th, the Finnish Government appointed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in order to investigate treatment of the Sami as well.
While it may be interesting what else the investigations reveal, mistreatment of the Sami has already been documented. In modern day there is frequent concern about the potential of harming their ability to herd reindeer due to infrastructure or energy projects. There was a proposed railway project proposed to extend from Norway to Finland that was vetoed by the Sami over concerns it would disrupt their natural environment. The Sami parliaments in Norway, Sweden, and Finland spoke up for years over concerns of the railway.
In Sweden, racism towards the Sami is sometimes taken out on reindeer which are the most important animals to the indigenous group. Reindeer are sometimes found shot or run over as a way to signal disapproval of the Sami. Records from outsiders observing the Sami use reindeer for food and clothing can be seen as far back as 98 A.D. from records written by the Roman historian Tacitus. Now only 10 percent of Sami currently own reindeer and work as reindeer herders.
A current challenge for reindeer herders in the community is the level of radiation present in the reindeer after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Despite the incident having occurred in 1986, the reindeer the sami herd and consume continue to have a level of radiation higher than considered safe by the European Union. The level of radiation acceptable for consumption in food was increased so the Sami could continue to eat Reindeer meat but this does nothing go make it safe for this indigenous group. Spiked radiation levels in reindeer can still occur depending on the food the reindeer eat, such as mushrooms, lichen, and moss.
In all four countries, the Sami were forbidden from wearing their traditional attire, known as gákti. This was due to these countries trying to force the group to assimilate. People are aware of the holocaust and the atrocities aimed at the Jewish communities throughout Europe during World War II, but this was a difficult period for the Sami as well. During World War II, entire villages were destroyed and this caused some Sami to panic and flee to cities in order to assimilate and protect the future of their children. They feared discrimination would continue and their children would face worse problems.
Conditions only started to improve for the Sami in the 1990s as they were eventually allowed freely express their cultural identity. An example of this is the Riddu Riddu festival, an annual gathering of Sami to celebrate the culture. This however has not been without challenges as can be seen by a traffic sign full of bullet holes used to mark the festival's location. The vandalized sign has not been replaced in order to demonstrate the challenges the group has faced in the nordics, an area of the world seen as progressive and where people enjoy a high quality of life. The festival has proved to be an important place for Sami activists to help promote the native language and connect the younger generation with resources in order to learn the language. In the age of smart phones this includes apps that can be downloaded. Besides the younger Sami, elders benefit as well as the festival promoted the written language which was only created 40 years ago. Language is an important aspect of culture and can help keep people in contact with their culture. People often discuss how many words the Eskimos in Alaska have for snow, but the Sami have over 400 ways to describe snow. A spotlight was shined on the Sami language when Disney announced that Frozen 2 would be translated in North Sami, the most spoken dialect of the language.
In three of the four countries have Sami parliaments; Norway, Finland, and Sweden. The purpose of these parliaments are not to self govern as the Sami all live under the national governments of one of the three countries depending on where they live. Instead, the purpose of these parliaments is to have a voice to express the opinion of the Sami on matters that involve them. Russia currently does not have a parliament but does have representation in the Sami Council, which is an NGO and represents Sami organizations in all four countries.
If conditions continue to improve, the stereotype of a good quality of life may become a reality for the Sami living in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. It will be interesting to see what the investigations add to the conversation surrounding the Sami in Finland and Sweden and how they will be used to promote the rights of the group. Fortunately both Sweden and Finland appear motivated to try to rectify their pasts.
