1. The Sámi People: Today’s Issues

2. Land and water rights ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent States, which Norway (the only Nordic country to do so) ratified in 1990, guarantees land & water rights. 96% of Finnmark (Northern Norway) is now state-owned and now the Sámi are asking for the rights to this land.

3. Will they get their rights? But public opinion on this issue is running over 80% against the Sámi, as we see in this poll: “Should the Sámi get the right to the land and water through the new Finnmark law?”

4. Visibility in local press

5. Invitation to join Sámi electorate Mailed to all Norwegians 3/2005 Criteria: A) Speak Sámi, or B) Have parents/grandparents/ great-grandparents who speak Sámi, or C) Be the child of someone in the electorate

6. Status of Sámi electorate in Norway Currently 11,000 registered voters Estimated 80,000 to 90,000 potential voters Registered voters can vote in Sámi parliamentary elections

7. The Sámi and the EU Some Sámi are for joining the EU because they hope for better protections for minorities, but many share Norwegian fears about losing fisheries

8. Iver Jåks “Silently The Thought Turns” in wood, reindeer antlers and reindeer leather natural weathering and decay

9. But what happens when…? A culture that is accustomed to using natural materials is introduced to technological artifacts? –Traditional Sámi artifacts were simply discarded in nature when they could no longer be used –One can’t do the same thing with snowmobiles –No cultural context for dealing with modern trash

10. Challenges to Sámi Environmental degradation Climate change Lack of traditional employment Health/mental health issues Endangerment of language Struggle for identity

11. Environmental degradation 1986 Chernobyl –30,000 contaminated reindeer slaughtered, grazing areas still contaminated –similar future disasters are a great concern –Arctic environment is very vulnerable and slow to recover Mining, oil & gas exploration, represent similar threats Building of roads, cottages, etc.

12. Climate change Very minor climate change will disrupt fishing and reindeer environments and destroy those traditional undertakings Climate change on this magnitude is predicted to take place within a century, and some changes are already apparent

13. Lack of traditional employment Reindeer herding is popular, all boys want to do it, but there is not enough for all of them Men are less likely to finish school because they want to pursue herding Women are more likely to work at paid jobs High unemployment in Sámi areas

14. Health/mental health issues Unemployment and stigmatization contribute to mental health problems Suicide rate is high Teenage pregnancy rate is high Special social services are available for Sámi at UiTromsø

15. Endangerment of language Not all North Sámi agree about this, but some think that the Sámi themselves are too complacent Too much exposure to Norwegian: TV plays a major role –Even in Sámi-speaking areas, where there are Sámi schools, virtually all of TV (and thus everything “cool”) is in Norwegian Teenage mothers are immature and do not care enough about language preservation Lack of well-trained teachers with native command of Sámi and lots of turnover

16. Struggle for identity Even siblings within a family will differ in identifying themselves as Sámi or Norwegian Sámi who move out of traditional Sámi areas are often stigmatized Sometimes people who grew up as Norwegian realize later that they are Sámi