The Politics of Arctic Resources: Change and Continuity in the Old North of Northern Europe by E Keskitalo

Author:E Keskitalo [Keskitalo, E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367730482
Google: xrX5zQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 55835024
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

Relations between natural resources and ethnicity since 1950

In the mid-20th century the Swedish state aimed to strengthen control of the northern region’s natural resources: incorporating responsibility for forestry in the state administration, constructing hydropower stations and increasing mining activities. In addition, state-appointed Lapp bailiffs supervised Sami reindeer husbandry. This arrangement continued until 1971 and preserved the official opinion that a Sami was a reindeer herder and vice versa (Lantto 2012). The Ministry of Agriculture became the central government agency responsible for reindeer husbandry issues. Reindeer husbandry was still officially portrayed as being highly important, but its maintenance was now regarded as essential for the survival of other manifestations of Sami culture, such as language and handicrafts (Samernas Sedvanemarker 2006; Green 2009).

Apart from reindeer herding, state categorization of Sami ethnicity has gradually been excluded from registers and records since the 1960s. The Sami never asked for such invisibility; on the contrary, Nordic Sami council meetings in the 1950s and 1960s emphasized a desire for recognition in official statistics and censuses in Norway, Sweden and Finland (Axelsson 2016).

In 1977 the Sami were acknowledged as an indigenous people by the Swedish government. This was further emphasized in the Swedish Constitution in 2011 and in 1993 a Sami Parliament (Sámediggi) was established in Sweden. Both Finland (1973) and Norway (1989) already had Sami parliaments by then.1 For eligibility to vote in the Swedish Sámediggi, a person must be registered in the Sami electoral roll. The rules for inclusion included one subjective criterion (identification as Sami) and one objective criterion (demonstration that you, your parents or grandparents speak or have spoken one of the Sami languages). Alternatively, you are entitled to vote if your parents have already registered in the electoral roll.

As already shown, throughout the 20th century the state came to view Sami people solely as reindeer herders and the state-run Sami administration (Lappväsendet) focused mainly on reindeer herding (Lantto 2012). However, establishment of the Sámediggi raised the visibility of Sami groups who did not define themselves through reindeer herding, via formation of political parties such as the “Jakt och fiskesamerna” (Hunting and Fishing Sami) and “Vouvdega” (Forest Sami). This also demonstrates the complexity of Sami society and their broad use of natural resources.

Work leading to the Sámediggi occurred in parallel with the rise of a global framework for indigenous peoples. Sami representatives were among pioneers in efforts that eventually led to establishment of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Minde 2008; Coates 2004). There is no definitive, generally accepted definition of “indigenous peoples”, but historical continuity, experience of colonization and attachment to land are important elements of existing definitions and terminology (Axelsson & Sköld 2011). The ILO 169 Convention also holds that indigenous and tribal peoples have rights to traditional lands and waters. Norway ratified this convention in 1989, but Sweden has yet to do so, partly because of the Swedish state’s division of Sami peoples into reindeer herders and others via the Samebyar system dating back to 1886. Thus, as

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