| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 352.1 | The Sami and their relationships to Swedes | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Wed Aug 09 1989 11:32 | 86 |
| Group soc.culture.nordic
article 824
From: [email protected] (Anders Andersson)
Subject: Re: The Sami language and people
Organization: Uppsala University, Sweden
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Jerzy Pawlowski) writes:
> I thought the Lapps are related to the eskimos. Is this true?
Probably not more than they are related to the Cree indians, the Mayas
or any of the other original inhabitants of the American continents who
migrated from Asia, if I've got my prehistory right.
> Once I read that the Scandinavian/Germanic people are originaly
> from the 'continent'. They moved to Scandinavia after the last
> ice age, around 10 thousand years ago. The previous inhabitants
> were pushed northward. Where exactly then are the 'real' Swedes,
> Danes etc from? Can any of the netters add more or correct me
> if I'm mistaken. I am fascinated by the prehistory of Europe,
> but usually I find more self serving myth than fact.
You seem to sit on more details than I do... If the Germanic tribes
came directly after the last ice age, how come there were any previous
"real Swedes" to push northward? I have the impression that ice age
conditions in Scandinavia were far worse than those in Greenland today,
preventing any kind of human settlement. Am I wrong? If you can
remember where you have read about this, please tell us.
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Sven-Ove Westberg) writes:
>In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Anders Andersson) writes:
>|The term "Lapp" may be taken as derogatory, as this is the name originally
>|used by us invaders from the south (not too different in mood from "red-skin"
>|I'm afraid). They refer to themselves as Sami.
>
>I don't agree with you that the northern parts of Sweden was all
>inveded from the south if you don't mean for over 6000 years ago.
>The resently found a stoneage village just out side Voullerim that is
>6000 years old. This is one of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, village
>found in Sweden.
After discussing this with Sven-Ove, I should point out that he is
correct in that the Swedes didn't wait until modern times to invade
Lappland, they were there "from the very beginning" (it's my private
guess that they and the Samis arrived at about the same time). I was
only referring to the sort of alienation that I believe developed
between "civilized" exploiters from Stockholm (= south) and the
"primitive" people of the north, during the period when the rich mines
in Malmfalten and Kiruna were first opened. I don't think the
businessmen of that time paid much attention to 6,000-year old stoneage
villages, even less knew about them, just as Livingstone was quite
unaware of the discoveries to be made by Dr. Leakey (sp?) on Early East
African Man some century later. "White man's burden", you know...
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Antti Leino) writes:
>In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Anders Andersson) writes:
>>The term "Lapp" may be taken as derogatory, as this is the name originally
>>used by us invaders from the south (not too different in mood from "red-skin"
>>I'm afraid). They refer to themselves as Sami.
>
>Really? As far as I know the terms "Lapp" and "Saami"/"Saame"/"Sami"
>(with some accent above the a in the last case) are interchangable. The
>latter is their name in their own language, and it is becoming more
>common. It is a modern tendency to use local names instead of foreign
>ones for the Fenno-Ugric languages and peoples.
Oh well, I may be exaggerating. Perhaps I should point out that I think
we do have pretty good relations (in an international perspective)
between the few ethnical groups that have lived here for long. I've
heard this discreet rejection of the term "Lapp" only a couple of
times, and maybe never with any hard feelings behind. Our main
difference of opinion seems to be about how to define a wolf: A cute
dog threatened by extinction, or a persistent reindeer killer (but the
wolverine -- "j{rv" -- is probably worse on them).
The Samis actually have a flag of their own. I think it has vertical
fields coloured blue-yellow-red, with the proportions 2-1-1, or
something like it. No, they don't have a separatist movement, not that
I've heard of at least. The only time I've seen that flag on display
was when they had a national football match with Aland.
--
Anders Andersson, Dept. of Computer Systems, Uppsala University
Paper Mail: P.O. Box 520, S-751 20 UPPSALA, Sweden
Phone: +46 18 183170 EMail: [email protected]
|
| 352.2 | Clobber some myths | OSL09::MAURITZ | Bus Cons; ph 47-2-160290; @NWO | Tue Aug 29 1989 06:00 | 48 |
| I don't know if this stuff from (to me) a new and unknown network
is only one-way or not, but at times I feel called upon to comment
the contents anyway. Even if it doesn't get back to the originators
(one of the purposes of NOTES), comments could correct possible
misconceptions caused in this particular conference, in the very
least.
To wit: In Norway, at least, "Lapp" is definitely derogatory. It
means the same as "patch" (as in patches on worn clothes); I do
not know for sure, however, whether this was the origin of the term.
In the sagas, the Sami were referred to as "Finns", so the term
"lapp" does not go back to the Viking age.
Also for the record: The largest Sami population is in Norway (about
35.000); in Sw & Fi the numbers are below 10.000 (each). Numbers
in the USSR are not known as exactly, but are presumed to be no
higher than Sw/Fi, probably lower.
Further comment on pre-history. all archeological evidence points
to the two cultures in Scandinavia being concurrent, none being
older than the other. Also the term "Germanic" is inaccurate when
depicting prehistoric Scandinavians. "Germanic" denotes a linguistic
family, part of Indo-European languages. It has meaning as an
ethnic/cultural designation only in historic times. History is full
of non-matches between linguistic and ethnic groups (re the Sami:
Finno-Ugric language, but probably no ethnic connection to Hungarians).
Current prehistory thinking in Norway is that the Indo European
language came here (very roughly from memory) about 5-4.000 BC;
i.e., at least 5.000 years after earlist stone-age cultures. There
are at least 3 different "peoples" that are identified at the time.
The current thinking is that the indo-european language arrived
with the "battle ax" people, who had a pastoral culture; thus the
"Germanic" original Norse probably spread along with pastoral
agriculture. At the time there were already 2 cultures---a
hunter/gatherer culture AND an agricultural one. No one knows how
they spoke. The Hunter/gatherer one was the "original" of the two,
the agricultural one a (possibly hostile) "invader". They did not
mix and lived in their own areas for over a thousand years. (For
the record, this was in the South. The Sami cuture is different
again, and is designated as "Komsa" here in Norway, from archeological
finds).
The point of all the last is that we are not "ethnically Germanic",
but probably a rather mixed lot, like modern Americans (though the
melting pot lies in the early stone age).
Mauritz
|
| 352.3 | Your thoughful reply helps here | 16BITS::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Tue Aug 29 1989 11:08 | 12 |
| Re: .2:
Thank you Mauritz for your commentary. Such is indeed encouraged in
this conference. I believe the Digital employee community who can
access this conference is well served by having such active, and
considerate participation.
As for the USENET newgroup conference, soc.culture.nordic, two-way
participation is also technically possible. I, for example, have a
USENET News server (HIATUS) that allows postings and what is called
"followup." I haven't tried out these services, so far I have only
used reading and browsing commands.
|
| 352.4 | A culture in conflict - WARNING: file over 300 lines | CHARLT::SAVAGE | | Fri Oct 12 1990 15:28 | 377 |
| From: [email protected] (Teemu Leisti)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: ALTA AND THE SAMI CULTURE: a speech
Date: 12 Oct 90 00:07:16 GMT
Distribution: soc
Organization: Department Of Computer Science, University Of Copenhagen
The following is the text of a speech given by a native Sami (Lappish)
in a peace conference in Kiruna, northern Sweden. I thought it might
interest some people in this newsgroup to know that there seems to be a
darker side to our wonderful egalitarian Nordic culture also, thought
not much is said about it in public. I, for one, have never heard much
about the Sami people or culture, and know very little about it.
Though the speaker discussed mostly the situation in Norway, I'm sure
that the situation in Sweden, Finland and especially Soviet Union is
not that terribly much better. Norway is the only country in the
region with even a nominal Sami parliament (discussed in the text), as
far as I know. Are there any Sami on the net? It would be most
interesting to hear your views on these subjects.
Compare the Alta case with the recently-current conflict between Native
Canadians and the Canadian government over the sacred Oka burial ground
and the plans for a golf course there.
The speech was given in Sami and translated into English.
Teemu Leisti
Copenhagen U
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIAL DEFENSE
PEACE CONGRESS IN KIRUNA 4--7 October 1990
ALTA AND THE SAMI CULTURE
by Niillas A. Somby
The hydro power dam making of the Alaheaju/Guovdageainnu river is only
one of the violent actions that the Norwegian colony-governments have
done in Samiland. The specific about this action was that this time it
was not done without resistance and demonstrations against it, as it
was for all the other actions. The making of the dam, the resistance
against it, and the results are well known for most people. If we
shortly sum up the history of the Alaheaju/Guovdageinnu river dam
making, this story comes up: The Norwegian government had plans to
make a hydro power dam, it would put Maze, a Sami village, under water.
Fortunately, these plans were stopped, among others, by the heroic
struggle by the people of Maze. By comparing the Maze mega project
with the revised damming plan, the Government could describe the final
project as a small case that would make no damages to anyone or have
any negative consequences.
Lots of people thought that the canyon which the dam was to be put in
was so valuable and precious that it was in no way a suitable place to
hide under water. We, the Samis, pointed at our rights as indigenous
people, and how precious the canyon was to us, being a holy place, and
having our forefathers buried down there. Still, the main argument
against the making of the dam was that there was no actual need for the
power the dam would bring.
But the authorities stood tight. They did not want to listen to
anybody but their own prophets, who supported them. You can not stop
progress. When we realised that no sensible arguments would bring us
anywhere, we were forced to change tactics. This made us go to Oslo,
the capital of Norway, to expose ourselves in a different way. We put
up a lavvo, a Sami teepee, outside the Norwegian parliament, and we
started a hungerstrike, it was autumn 1979. The results came soon.
The authorities promised to stop the road construction and the
construction of the dam, until the government had reconsidered the
case. They promised to establish a committee to examine the rights of
the Sami nation. The committee's work has resulted in the establishing
of the Sami parliament, which in these days has been functioning for a
year.
The government's new resolution was to continue the building of the
dam. We, who demonstrated, experienced that Norway, in peace, sent a
cruiser full of policemen, and military trucks, to arrest peaceful
demonstrators and subsequently giving them heavy fines. Alaheadju
became a playground for the police and the Norwegian judges. To please
the highest authorities they fined the people who tried to stop the
misdeed which the Norwegian government was about to do.
Today, ten years later, it is proved how meaningless the building of
the hydro power dam was. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the prime minister at
that time, and the executor of the dam making, has in public admitted
that the authorities were dead wrong by damming the river. You can
also very clearly see what mission the Norwegian judges have, today ten
years after we tried to stop the misdeed, we are still threatened with
prison unless we pay the fines that were given us then.
Those who are really guilty in this case, the government and the
politicians, can continue with their arrogant and self-confident walk,
and govern the country.
I have mentioned previously that the Alaheadju case is only one of many
misdeeds. Since the day the colonists came to Samiland, which today is
divided within four countries, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Soviet
Union, they have mistreated and discriminated the people of Samiland.
The biggest colonial crime against the Sami people is the destruction
of indiginous religion. They replaced our religion with their own.
Many people do not want to discuss religion, but it is a fact that each
nation's morals and norms come from its religion. That is why the
colonisers wanted to kill our religion and thereby colonize our minds.
Samiland has been under colonisers for over 500 years.
The systematic colonising started during the time of Gustav Vasa. In
1550, he appointed a representative over Samiland. Both the Birkal's
and the King's representatives required taxes from the Samis, and the
income was brought to the Swedish crown. In the beginning of the
seventeenth century, at the time of Christian IV, the traditional Sami
religion was prohibited. Practicing the religion was punished with
death. Many Samis were killed because they lived the way the
traditional religion required. The coloniser called it witchcraft, and
sentenced them to death. The last Sami who was killed that way was
Anders Paulsen from Varjjat. In 1692 the judge in Vadso/ sentenced him
to death, accusing him of practicing the old religion. Still, he was
not killed legally. While the judges were waiting for a letter from
Copenhagen, to answer an application for pardon, he was killed by the
jailer.
Also the traditional Sami singing, juoigan, was prohibited. This
prohibition had great consequences to Samiland. Even today, the
Christians say that juoigan is a serious and great sin. Until
recently juoigan has been prohibited at schools, and still today the
traditional Sami singing is forbidden at the school in Guovdageaidnu,
which by many is considered the capital of Samiland.
The colonizers used many tools in depriving Samis of their land. Until
recently, a Norwegian law stated that nobody could own in Finnmark {the
northernmost part of Norway} unless they spoke Norwegian. This way,
they tried to keep the Samis as landless people.
After the Kalmar war, which lasted from 1611 to 1613, the
Danish/Norwegian king, Christian IV, and the Swedish king, Carl IX,
disagreed about who should be allowed to terrorize the different parts
of Samiland.
Carl IX had to leave the throne during the war. The war ended when the
Norwegian farmer boys realized that they were not fighting fro their
own land, but rather settling the dispute of where the border should be
way up north, in Samiland. So the Norwegians ran off home. Still, the
Samis became victims of this war. The war resulted in hard taxation,
the reindeer herds as well as the herds of wild animals decreased. The
war ended with a compromise. The coastal land was given to
Norway/Denmark and the midland was split up and occupied by different
countries. Due to the decrease of the wild reindeer herds, the Samis
had to change their way of living. The hunting of the reindeer almost
ended and the domestication of the herds started. This was also the
beginning of the herding that we know today.
The main reason for the decrease of wild reindeer was the hard taxation
of the Sami people. Our forefathers had to pay taxes to Sweden, to
Norway/ Denmark, and to the Russians. And the tax was to be paid
mostly with hides of reindeers and other animals. As far as we know,
the first domesticated flocks of reindeer appeared in southern
Samiland, on the Swedish side of the new borders. Later, Samis in the
north were forced to choose the same solution.
In late 1500s the missionaring among the Sami people was systemised.
Now both the spiritual and economic pressure was put on us. The
missionaries are even today practicing in Samiland, and there is still
an organisation called Samemisjonen, the Missionaries of the Samiland.
In 1340, the Swedish king Magnus Eriksson decided that only Christians
and those converted to Christianity could own land in Samiland.
The Sami society was based on Siidas. The Siidas had never the desire
to own the land. They used the land collectively and the different
Siidas made agreements on how to use the land. The traditional
religion states that the nature is sacred and is to be used with
respect and honour. To my knowledge, this conflicts with the Christian
way of thinking, as the Bible states that man is superior to the land
and animals.
By the appearance of the colonisers, the Siida system was destroyed.
The new rulers forced their own ways on us and are still today
terrorising our people, but of course in a more sophisticated and
hidden manner. The structural oppression today is just as damaging as
if my people were killed.
The Scandinavian countries started to distribute alcohol, and it became
an important trade article, and a useful weapon to rob the Sami people.
The Samis, though, had tasted the mjo/d and beer of the Vikings
earlier. Alcohol is no part of the natural Sami culture, and there were
no rules and norms for drinking in the early Sami culture.
History has shown us that Indians and other indigenous peoples, who
were without an alcohol culture, have suffered and become weaker
because of the sudden appearance of alcohol in their culture.
According to traditional Sami culture, alcohol is poison to the body
and the soul.
Both the alcohol and Christianity are accepted in the Sami communities
of today. Some people say that Christianity is a part of the Sami
culture. The Sami politicians drink alcohol in public, often while they
are discussing the Sami culture and Sami politics.
The first big nature destruction began in the Swedish part of Samiland
when the Swedes founded the mines in Nasa. They found both silver and
iron ores in the montains. The Swedes used Samis as labour in the
mines and forced them to use their reindeers in bringing the silver and
iron to the coast.
The work agreements were based on force and punishment. If a Sami
refused to be a miner or to participate in bringing the iron to the
coast, the procedure to convince a Sami was to take the person to a
lake, make some holes in the ice, and drag the person under the ice
between these holes, until an agreement was achieved.
Since those days, many other mines have been started in Samiland,
though with other work agreements. Many Samis who had the indigenous
religion at heart were terrified by the way the strangers treated the
nature. Some places the mines are on sacred ground.
Well known mines are A/S Sydvaranger in Varjjat, LKAB here in Giirun
(Kiruna), Elkem in Alta, Biddjovagge, the nickel mines in Kola and
many, many others.
In the Russian part of Samiland, in the Kola peninsula, the nature is
exteremely polluted. There is the industrial pollution and there is
the nuclear waste which is threatening the northern part of Europe.
Logging has also caused big damages to our people. In 1885 the North
of Europe Land Company was allowed to clear cut the big forests in
Nordland, in Norway. This English company was able to destroy the
Samiland forest on the basis of an agreement made with the Norwegian
government. This clearcutting made big damages to the reindeer keeping
and to the hunting, and all the animals and birds.
If the colonisers had not destroyed our religion in which nature was
sacred and precious, they would never have been able to take the
natural resources from us. I find that the religion is the base of
each culture. The religion brings the moral rules, later they become
laws and norms in the society. The colonisers knew this and had to
destroy our religion in order to occupy our lands and minds. They know
very well that it is the religion that keeps the culture of the nation
together.
The aboriginal people may lose its cultural elements such as language,
food and clothing culture, but those are just fragments on the outside
of the culture. But if the base of the culture, the moral and the
religion is lost, the foundation of the culture is lost. And when it
is lost, there are no longer any basic rules in the nation that makes
the culture and way of living survive.
Today many Samis go to schools and get well educated in the "white
man's way". This knowledge is, of course, supposed to be advantageous
to the Sami society. But in all schools and universities the education
is based on the standards of the Christian, Western world. Today, we
have schools in which the education is given in the Sami language. But
still, it is the colonisers' culture our children and youth are taught.
I have to use the wise words of George Manuel to explain what I mean.
George Manuel was a powerful Chief for teh Shuuswap Indian nation in
Canada and was one of the founders of WCIP, the World Council of
Indigenous Peoples. "Education is important and good, but educated
people need to be reeducated after they have learned the ways of the
white man. Only this way the new knowledge can be adapted to the
indigenous knowledge and culture."
THE SITUATION TODAY
Today, ten years after the Alta case, we have a Sami parliament in
Norway. The Sami parliament has 39 representatives, chosen by the Sami
people in Norway. Some of these representatives did not approve
themselves as Samis before the Alta case. Some of them were also
working for the powerdam contructors and supported the dam project.
Others accepted the situation quietly. Often the word democracy is
used in political connections in Samiland and also among the ruling,
colonial politicians. The representatives of the Sami parliament often
point at the importance of the parliamentary way of political work.
But the truth is the the Sami parliament is not a result of
parliamentary work, but a direct result of the civil disobedience of
our people during the resistance against the building of the
Alta/Kautokeino (Alaheadju/ Guovdageainnu) dam project. This fact is
also admitted by the authorities. The first report from the Sami Rights
Committee, which at that time was led by professor Carsten Smith,
states that the Sami Rights Committee was established due top the
non-parliamentary actions of the Sami people during the
Alta/Kautokeino struggle. This is also stated in the official document
which was the basis for the Norwegian parliament's handling of the
case.
During the hunger strike outside the Norwegian parliament in 1979, one
of the Sami demands was the establishing of the Sami parliament.
On the 9th of October 1989, the king of Norway officially opened the
Sami parliament. Many important people were invited for this
historical event. The representatives of the Sami parliament, civil
servants, the leaders of different Sami and Norwegian organisations and
other important people were invited. Many of them gave big speeches,
and wished the Sami parliament the very best future. Nobody mentioned
the Alta/Kautokeino case or the hunger strikes. Only during the
cultural event the true story came out.
Mari Boine Persen, a brave Sami woman and artist had the courage to
tell the truth to this important assembly. She told them that she
dedicated her song (luohti) to the seven hunger strikers who striked
outside the Norwegian parliament. That was the only time the assembly
was reminded of the true background for the Sami parliament.
I am not criticising the Sami parliament, in fact I have great
expectations of the parliament. But yet, the power of the Sami
parliament is limited by the good will of the Norwegian government.
So, the colonisers' governmental power over the Samis will remain in
the near future. My greatest hope is that the colonisers' behaviour
against the indigenous peoples will change to the better.
How much of our culture have we lost on the way? Will the Sami
parliament be an institution with people dressed in Sami clothes, who
eat Sami food, and most of them using the Sami language, but still not
be guided by the traditional Sami morals and way of thinking? If that
is how it will be, I am afraid that the colonisers have succeeded with
the work they started so many generations ago.
The Alta/Kautokeino case left many bad feelings among my people because
the Norwegian government with force and police power succeeded in
building the hydroelectric dam in the heart of Samiland. Lots of
people who protested against the dam making became as leaves in the
wind, because the sacred places of our forefathers and their graves
were buried in the man-made dam.
The fines which they got then have followed them to this day. It is
strange, therefore, to hear the words of the ex-prime minister of
Norway, who now ten years later admits that the authorities might have
been wrong to dam the river. This admission would, according to usual
terms of law and moral, make those responsible who forced the dam on us
and punish the politicians for the misdeed. The politicians should at
least admit their wrongdoing and pardon the ones who were fined. But
instead they keep demanding the fines for an unjust cause.
We lost the Alta/Kautokeino case, as many others in our struggle for
freedom and justice, but we will not give up our fight. The
Alta/Kautokeino case brought the protection of nature and environment
on the political agenda. It also made people in general aware of the
threats from those who violate the rules of the Creator. The political
awareness of my people grew, a greater numer of my people approved
themselves as Samis as a direct result of the case. The
Alta/Kautokeino case also became a cultural and political awakening of
my people.
Even if it is far to the shore, and we sail against the wind and the
stream, still we, the Sami people are rowing ahead.
Many people also discovered how the Norwegian court system functioned.
Many people do not even think about whose system the court system is,
who made the lawss and who protects them. Maybe the sentencing would
have turned out differently if there had been a Sami court system, with
Sami laws and morals. Often Sami organisations and people say that they
will take this and that case to court. I find it totally wrong to
solve political issues in the colonisers' court systems. Something
that encourages us especially is that the people of the majority
societies today have a growing political understanding of our situation
and are willing to support us on our own conditions.
If the world is ever to be a peaceful and good place for people, the
first condition is that we all accept that we have different
lifestyles, cultures and religions. We must never force our own
religions, morals, political systems and laws on other peoples of the
world.
All the indigenous people have one interest. It is the earth, the
globe, which has the same importance to all of us. We all live on it.
We can not destory it with pollution. Each nation should find its way
of protecting the nature, their lifestyles, their moral standards and
ethics. Then, and only then, the people of the earth have a future.
Our future is not tomorrow.
It is here and now.
Thanks for listening to me.
|
| 352.5 | Help identify music | TALLIS::DARCY | | Thu Nov 08 1990 16:11 | 9 |
| I watched a Nature show on Sweden broadcast on public television
in the US a few weeks ago. The title music was traditionally Sami
songs from a group called "Ingor Ante Alu Group" (spelling may be
wrong).
The music was very pleasing. Does anyone know more about this music
group and have I spelled their name correctly?
-George
|
| 352.6 | Finland's Wilderness Act | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Sep 12 1991 11:16 | 136 |
| From: [email protected] (Matti Pellinen)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Wilderness and Sami people, Human rights
Date: 9 Sep 91 20:15:56 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Usenet pseudouser id)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Finland's Human Rights Policies to the Test: Wilderness Question
Unresolved
The 1991 Wilderness Act has not resolved the struggle over the
wilderness forests. In addition to the legislation, the fate of these
areas are governed also by international human rights agreements.
Finland is bound by these agreements which have become a part of
national legislation and which regulate the treatment of the
wilderness areas and the execution of the Wilderness Act. The plans
for the use of the resources in these areas have to comply with the
regulations that require the state to ensure that the cultural base of
the Sami people is not weakened. The human rights agreements on the
treatment of minorities state that Finland may not weaken the
opportunities of the Sami people to engage in their traditional
livelihoods. Thus, extending logging detrimental to raindeer
husbandry to the still untouched areas of the wilderness forests would
be a breach of the international agreements binding Finland. In order
to comply with the regulations, it would be necessary to refrain
totally from logging in the areas that are crucial for raindeer
husbandry by the Sami people.
Our country has been active in promoting human rights, particularly
through the United Nations. Finland has ratified most of the United
Nations human rights agreements, including the two agreements
relevant to the wilderness question: the Uniten Nations agreement on
national and political rights and the United Nations agreement on the
abolishment of racism. The agreements bind Finland as a part of the
national legislation and as a member of the international community.
Article 27 of the agreement on national and political rights states
that " in those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic
minorities exist, persons belonging to these minorities shall not be
denied their right, in community with other members of their group, to
enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or
use their own language." The agreement stipulates further that the
state has to take all necessary measures to ensure that national
legislation is in accordance with the agreement. Paragraph 2 of
article 2 of the agreement on the abolishment of racism states, that
signatory states should, when the situation so requires, take active
and concrete measures, both economic and others, to ensure sufficient
development and protection to certain ethnic groups or their
individual members.
Disruption of traditional means of livelihood prohibited. The goal -
cultural autonomy of the Sami people
In the agreements the protection of minority cultures is defined as
protection of both the traditional spiritual culture as well as
material or economic culture. This principal has been applied during
legislative processes in the Nordic countries as well as in the
practice of The UN Comission on Human Rights.
In its decision on Sweden's Kitok the commission stated that the Sami
people are a national minority which fall under the protection of the
agreement on national and political rights. The commission stated,
furthermore, that since raindeer husbandry is a crucial part of the
Sami culture, raindeer husbandry is also protected by the agreement.
It considered the state of Sweden in breach of the agreement, in so far
as it violated the protection of the Sami culture. Therefore, the
protection must be seen to extend means of livelihood and other
economic circumstances to the extent that they are crucial to the
survival and development of the Sami culture: fishing, reindeer
herding, hunting. Therefore, the restriction of these traditional
means of livelihood, even in specific cases, is against the above
mentioned agreements.
In 1978 the constitutional committee of Finland stated in its
discussion on fishing rights that the requirements of the agreement on
the abolishment of racism have to be taken into consideration in the
legislation. Since fishing has been a part of the Sami traditional
means of livelihood, it cannot be unduly restricted. Therefore the
committee decided, that the bill in question should ensure the
ancestral and other legal fishing rights of the Sami people.
Undoubtedly the same principal applies to other Sami traditional means
of livelihood.
The Wilderness Act allows, however, such extensive logging in parts
of the Sami areas that some of the winter pastures for raindeer will
be destroyed and the loggings would also be otherwise detrimental to
raindeer husbandry. Extending industrial forestry to new, untouched
areas would undoubtedly weaken raindeer husbandry in the area.
The international agreements stipulate also that legislation may not
restrict the rights of the Sami people to their areas or their use of
those areas. Similarly, the legislation should not restrict the
rights of ownership and use of the areas by the Saami people in the
future. Yet the legislation defines the areas as government property,
which is distinctly contradictory to the above mentioned principal.
The Wilderness Act might comply with the human rights agreements, if
it prohibited extending logging to new areas. Also allowing only such
logging which would pose no threat to raindeer husbandry might be
considered within the bounds of the agreements. In practice, however,
devising such plans and executing them would be extremely difficult,
if not impossible.
Finland's International Reputation Endangered
The mechanism for policing the adherence to international agreements is
weak at best. Most states have not been willing to give an
international court the power to judge or punish in cases of breaches
of agreement. Compliance with international agreements is based mainly
on the desire of states to maintain a certain reputation within the
international community. Since Finland has been active in promoting
human rights issues. It would be detrimental to Finland's reputation,
if Finland were to appear to have difficulties in complying with the
international human rights agreements. It would be unfortunate, if
Finland's own negligence undermined the policies that our foreign
policy leadership aim to further in the international arena.
Furthermore, the Sami people can take the issue to The UN Commission on
Human Rights. A similar case was brought to the commission in 1990,
when Canada allowed forestry and oil companies to utilize natural
resources in the traditional hunting grounds of a Native American
group. The commission stated that the government of Canada had acted
against the agreement.
The fate of the wilderness areas have repeatedly aroused interest and
amazemant in the foreign press. While the Wilderness Act was being
discussed, the Ministry of Environment received hundreds of appeals for
the protection of the wilderness areas. If the treatment of the
wilderness forests continues on the path that the National Board of
Forestry has taken at Kessi, bypassing the rights of the Sami people,
destroying the wilderness forests and weakening the means of
livelihood of the Sami people, Finland may suffer a considerable blow
to its human rights reputation.
Eramaaliike - Wilderness movement
|
| 352.7 | Not as bad as treatment of Native American peoples | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Sep 13 1991 13:09 | 69 |
| From: [email protected] (raymond thomas pierrehumbert)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Politics (was Re: swedish socialism)
Date: 13 Sep 91 06:11:14 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (NewsMistress)
Organization: University of Chicago
> (thread on treatment of Sami)
I have spent a lot of time in both Finnish and Swedish Lappland, and
would say the situation concerning the deliberate displacement of Same
is rather less extreme and violent than was the case for Native
Americans. Of course, the initial cultural contact between white
ethnics and the Same is much farther removed in time; sometimes I think
maybe some things in the Kaleva echo a vast confrontation in the dim
past, and I wonder also how Sodankyla got its name. I'd be happy to
here hard facts on this matter, though.
Presently, I'd say that, while there is an unemployment problem in the
far North, and perhaps a somewhat greater drinking problem among Same
than the norm, the greatest problem is that cultural assimilation to
the Finnish and Swedish pan-european industrial culture is very easy
and attractive, and makes it hard to keep the traditional Same
lifestyle going. All this notwithstanding, I'd say the North still
"belongs to" and is used by the Same , and that they are able to
maintain their lifestyle, in a much more real sense than the Native
Americans can do on their reservations. Snowmobiles have replaced
reindeer sleds, for the most part, but there are still plenty of
reindeer men, and chains of their cabins all over the North. Also lots
of fisher Same, and all seem to co-exist well with the tourist culture
(And many thanks to them for that! I've gotten boat lifts in the
backwoods of Sarek from them I wouldn't have wanted to do without).
There have been problems and cultural insensitivities, though. I
believe development of hydropower in Northern Norway has been
insensitive to the needs of Same fishery (no first hand experience with
this, just quoting the opinion of a trusted Finnish friend). Also, up
to twenty or so years ago, Sweden pursued an agressive assimilationist
policy with regard to most of their Lapps. I have a friend who is a
South Lapp, who teaches in the Sameskolan in Tarnaby, and the policy of
the last generation was basically to outlaw the speaking of Lappish (or
whatever the proper name is) in school. As a result, the language
practically died out, and there are now only about six speakers of
South Lapp sufficiently qualified to count as teachers (Sagka, the
teacher I know, had to take her oral competency exam from her father,
because there was nobody else the university at Umea could locate who
had oral competence in the language.) The present government is
working hard to redress the problem, and to keep Same culture alive.
The kids at the Sameskolan board at the school during the week, but are
flown out by float plane on the weekends to be at camp with their
parents, who are pursuing still nomadic existences. They also get
training in traditional Same skills.
There have also been tussles between various Same villages over land,
which have been treated rather insensitively by governments. Some
Norwegian Lapps moved into a region near Tarnaby, owing to famine on
their own land, and the local headman allowed them in. The visitors
prospered and became numerous, and later displaced the original village
on their own ancestral land. Last I heard, the case was still tied up
in the Swedish courts. Who knows what the right answer is, but there
is enmity all round.
Anyway, my outsiders impression is that as a Swede or a Finn, I could
have a much clearer conscience about the Same than I have as an
American vis a vis Native Americans. The thing that would most improve
Same life (to say nothing of my own!) would be to allow export of
reindeer products (steak, roast, sausage) to the U.S., which would
increase the market. Beats beef any day, besides!
|
| 352.8 | A North Cape story | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Dec 26 1991 12:14 | 44 |
| From: [email protected] (Thomas Carr)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: "Pathfinder"
Date: 20 Dec 91 00:09:52 GMT
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
>|> ..., who were the "Tchudes?"
My Swedish-American fiancee, who reads this newsgroup devotedly from my
account, couldn't let this one go unanswered. She posts:
This is from a book called "The North Cape: Famous voyages from the
time of the Vikings to 1800" by Kjersti Skavhaug and published in
Honningsvag, Norway, in 1990:
"During the 14th century, the Tsjudes, A Russian people, ravaged
Finnmark. According to Sami and Norwegian cultural tradition, there
are numerous legends which tell of plundering and murder wherever these
people went. The Oscar-nominated Sami film "The Pathfinder" is based
on a well-known Tsjudi legend.
"At this time, two brothers of considerable strength were living in
Tunes, a fishing village on Mageroya island, west of the North Cape.
One day when they were out fishing, a terrible storm blew up. In their
distress, the brothers prayed to God and promised to give a halibut
made of silver to the Tunes Church if they were saved. This halibut
was to match the size of the catch that they already had in their boat.
The storm eventually calmed down, the two brothers were saved, and the
silver halibut was hung from the ceiling of the church.
"The Tsjudes also came to Tunes to plunder. One time the two Tunes
brothers chased away a band of 50 Tsjudes; the brothers overpowered
their enemies by attacking them with boat masts so that 22 Tsjudes were
killed and the rest fled.
"But one Christmas Eve, the Tunes brothers themselves were attacked and
killed. The Tsjudes brought the silver halibut to Russia, and
according to legend, it is suspended from a church ceiling in Moscow."
This story may have been a legend but the Tsjudes, anyway, seem to have
been real.
Lisa Werner c/o Tom Carr
God jul!
|
| 352.10 | More on Sami language groups | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jan 04 1993 10:51 | 36 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Trond Knudsen)
Subject: The Samii languages
Sender: [email protected] (Trond Knudsen)
Organization: Univ. of Calif., Irvine, Info. & Computer Sci. Dept.
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 20:21:06 GMT
Some information on the Samii language in Norway: North Samii is now an
official language of parts of the country, and is compulsory in schools
in these parts. North Samii is also possible to choose in the primary
school system of Oslo and some other main cities. The area of use of
North Samii is the departments of Finnmark, Troms and Nordland, but it
is the local communities that choose to be Samii and make Samii a
official language. A little less than half of the communities in
Finnmark and some in Troms (and Nordland?) has chosen to declare
themselves as Samii communities, and thereby obtain governemental
financial support for adult teaching programs in written Samii,
translation services etc..
North Samii is the most used Samii language (used by I think 20 - 30
000 in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia). However there are other
substantially different Samii languages. South Samii is used in the
south sentral part of Norway and Sweden, south of Trondheim and
Ostersund. Lule Samii is used mainly in Northern Sweden and a little in
Norway. Skolte Samii is used in the very eastern part of Finnmark in
Norway, North Finland and nortwest Russia, but has a hard time in
surviving. In addition there is the problem of influence of the
national languages in the different Samii languages, which creates
national different dialects in the same Samii language. Speaking of
literature, North Samii is richest (quantitavely speaking of course),
but there are quite a few books published in South and Lule Samii as
well. Skolte Samii has difficulties in both having a accepted written
standard and having literature printed.
-- Trond Knudsen
|
| 352.11 | Sami parliaments and hunting rights | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Aug 31 1993 17:02 | 105 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (mats dahlgren)
Subject: Sami (Was Re: Sweden in National Geographic Aug 93)
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 1993 14:28:15 GMT
About the _National_Geographic_ article on Sweden.
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Tor Slettnes) writes:
> +------ [email protected] (Tony Matti Juhani Paso):
> +------
> | Some of the info is bound to be a little embarassing for Sweden. Read the
> | bits of the Sami and Swedish law.
> +------
Yes, we are embarassed over what has been done to the Sami of Sweden.
We are also embarassed over what is being done to them these days. The
Swedish government wants to let anybody hunt for some animals in the
Sami region, which the Sami are not happy about. I have not followed
the details in this issue, but it seems to me like the government is
more concerned about future votes from hunters than caring about the
Sami.
According to the latest issue of _V�rldspolitikens_Dagsfr�gor_(1)
("World Issues of Today"), which is about indigenous people, there
officially are 17000 Sami in Sweden and 35000 in Norway. The figure
for Norway is likely to higher. There are approximately 2500 Sami
working in the Reindeer business in Sweden.
The Swedish Sami Parlament is formally a government authority
("myndighet").
mats d.
(1) _V�rldspolitikens_Dagsfr�gor_, number 8 1993, "Jordens
urbefolkningar i kamp f�r sina r�ttigheter" ("The Struggle of the
Indigenous People of the World for Their Rigts"), by Bj�rn Kumm,
ISBN 91-7182-874-5. Can be ordered from The Swedish Institute of
International Affairs, P.O. Box 1253, S-111 82 Stockholm, Sweden,
Fax +46-8-20 10 49, at a cost of SEK 35 (+ postage, I think).
mats dahlgren * "..skillnaden var bara den, att hennes *
Lab. for Chemical Surface Science * kunskaper var nyttiga och oordnade, *
The Royal Institute of Technology * medan professorns var onyttiga och *
S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden * ordnade." - Karin Boye i _Kris_ *
<[email protected]> Ph: +46 8 790 8595 Fx: +46 8 790 8207
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Frode Milch Pedersen)
Subject: Re: Sami (Was Re: Sweden in National Geographic Aug 93)
Sender: [email protected] (NetNews Administrator)
Organization: NTH -- Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 93 20:01:28 GMT
The Norwegian Sami Parliament is highly official, even though its power
may be limited. It is elected in free elections, just like the National
parliament (Stortinget), but only people of Sami origin may vote. The
definition of who should be eligible to vote has been subject to some
discussion - currently it's based on your parents and grandparents
preferred language and if you feel as a Sami yourself.
The Sami parliament is funded by the Norwegian government, although
their funds are limited and mostly related to cultural affairs, I
think. Currently, the Sami parliament probably plays its most important
role as a symbol of Sami unity. Also, it has a certain authority as an
official representation of the Sami people, and Sami demands through
their parliament are thus put more weight to.
The foundation of a Sami parliament is a direct result of the Norwegian
policy towards the Sami throughout the last couple of decades. The
principle is, it's never too late to do right what has been done wrong
previously. I'd say the Sami float a bit on the bad conscience of the
Norwegians for the way we have treated Sami culture throughout history.
Sami culture is now especially protected through an ammendment to our
1814 constitution, making sure history can not repeat itself.
A major goal for the Sami people is to be accepted as a "nation without
borders". They live in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, but they
feel like the same group. Maybe a future extension of the Sami
parliament would be to include the three other countries as well in the
elections?
-- Frode M. Pedersen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Ahrvid Engholm)
Subject: Re: Sami (Was Re: Sweden in National Geographic Aug 93)
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Stacken Computer Club, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 1993 22:41:45 GMT
I think the question rather is: what shall the Sami have in
compensation for it? The benefit of the many is more important than the
benefit of the few - but the few should get compensation. Unless there
are issues concerning the protection of endangered spieces, it seems
for me right to allow any part of the population to hunt. The Samis are
17 000, but the whole population in the north is something like
1 000 000. Shall the rights to hunt be for only 1,7% of the population?
It seems unfair. But as I said: give the Sami compensation for it.
|
| 352.12 | Sami autonomy | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Sep 07 1993 15:47 | 89 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Frode Milch Pedersen)
Subject: Re: Autonomous Saamiland
Sender: [email protected] (NetNews Administrator)
Organization: NTH -- Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 93 16:08:24 GMT
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Tero . Tommila)
writes:
...
> Yes, they are a minority and yes, minority rule is not very democratic.
> But to preserve their culture they probably need a wide autonomy and the
> Norwegians, Swedes and Finns should understand that. And that autonomy
> to work properly the Saami will need some rule over the non-Saami.
Actually in Sami majority areas there is a similar practice already.
For instance, in Karasjok, one of the main Sami villages, there are
special residential areas reserved for Sami, where us Daza's (non-Sami)
cannot build houses. I don't know if this preserves Sami culture, but
it sure reminds of ethnic ghettos as known in other parts of the world
that we usually are not too proud to compare ourselves with.
> One way to decide over a "native" could be that they practice the Saami
> reindeer (or like that) culture and speak the language fluently. Also,
> if it can be shown that their ancestors were Saami.
By this definition, I guess only about 5-10% of the present Sami
population would qualify as Sami. Besides, this definition is purely
based on our prejudices towards the Sami and our ignorance of how the
Sami look upon themselves as a group.
Very few Sami still have reindeer. Reindeer herding is usually done by
families, and only a few (if large) families are involved. Modern
technology has enabled fewer people to herd more reindeer, and the
number of reindeer in western Finnmark is now at an unsustainably high
level. Even more reindeer owners may be forced out of business when the
number of animals has to be reduced to restore balance in nature.
Although known to most people that the majority of Sami do not herd
reindeer, it's not that well known that Sami in many areas never lived
from reindeer at all. Sami living at the coast (Sea Sami) lived from
fishing and farming, and many of them still do. Sea Sami were looked
down upon both by Norwegians and Mountain Sami (the ones herding
reindeer), and probably felt the strongest pressure to give up their
cultural identity. (For details, read R. Nielsen: "Folk Uten Fortid")
At the Norwegian Sami parliament elections, you are eligible to vote if
you FEEL as a Sami AND
- your native tongue is Sami, or
- one of your parents' native tongue is Sami, or
- one of your grandparents' native tounge is Sami.
Thus defined purely from language, similar to the way it was defined in
Norwegian censuses up to 1970. This definition will include most Sea
Sami Norwegianized in this century, but it also creates split families
where the parents may vote, their children may not.
> Anyhow, I know that this is all "daydreaming". Never has any people any-
> where in this world given voluntarily up something they have got - either
> by force, treachery, thieving or a honest way. At least when a much bigger
> people has arrived, with a much higher technological level - like the
> Scandinavians over the Saami. There is no such notion built in the minds
> of people like "every folk and culture is invaluable and if smaller than we,
> we must carefully preserve it".
Actually, exactly because of that reason, the Norwegian constitution
has been changed so that it now says the Norwegian state has a
particular responsibility for the Sami folk and culture.
> Big is beautiful on this earth.
> Alta is one example. Lokka is another. Then Murmansk. Mines of Kiiruna etc.
> The Saami don't get much profit out of these...
I have no detailed knowledge of the other examples you mention, but for
the case of the Alta power plant built in the early 80's: The power
plant generates not only power for much of Finnmark county, but also
badly needed tax income for Alta municipal government, where many Sami
live. The collected tax money benefits of course both the Norwegian and
Sami inhabitants. The power plant is owned by a public insitution on a
county level, thus the income is plowed back into Finnmark county, home
of most of Norway's Sami population.
I guess a more topical question is, who decided that the power plant
should be built in the first place? The Sami protested, but were not
heard by the Norwegian authorities. This is a more relevant topic of
discussion than economic exploitation of the Sami.
--- Frode M. Pedersen
|
| 352.13 | "daza" | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Sep 10 1993 12:00 | 29 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Frode Milch Pedersen)
Subject: Re: Autonomous Saamiland
Sender: [email protected] (NetNews Administrator)
Organization: NTH -- Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 93 13:37:18 GMT
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
(Bertil Jonell) writes:
> >Daza's (non-Sami)
>
> Now I'm curious. Could you provide a *literal* translation of 'daza' and
> of possible components parts of it and comment on what value judgements are
> inherent in it?
As far as I know, "daza" is the name Sami use for people of non-Sami
origin. Among Norwegian Sami, that term particularily refers to
Norwegians.
Unfortunately I do not speak Sami myself, so I don't know how the word
is used in practice in the Sami language. Maybe some Sami speaking
readers could fill me in on this?
I have seen the word used in typically "distinguishing" contexts, like
place names, for instance "Dazavounjavvre" ( = "the lake by the fjord
where Norwegians live").
-- Frode M. Pedersen
|
| 352.14 | Predicts more loss of Sami land in Sweden | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed Oct 13 1993 11:39 | 27 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Norbert Strade)
Subject: Re: Sweden
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Humanistisk fakultet, Aarhus Universitet
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1993 16:28:55 GMT
These people prefer to be called Saami, Lapp being a pejorative. Saami
Land (S�mieana) was colonized by Sweden/Finland and Denmark/Norway
since the Middle Ages.
The situation in modern Sweden (opposite of Finland and especially
Norway) is still, that the Saami are deprived of any formal land
rights or rights to decide about their own interests. They have got an
elected parliament with only an advisory function. The swedish
metropolitan state and the swedish land owners are still exploiting
Saami Land.
Just now, there is an absurd land rights case going on at the law court
in Sveg, H�rjedalen, were the land owners (farmers, logging
corporations) try to get the Saami people and their reindeers off
their own land, which once in the 18th century was sold by the state
(that never had posessed it). This case will truly be lost by the
Saami, and the South Saami culture, being dependent on their form of
land use, will be lost.
Norbert
|
| 352.9 | Nordic FAQ: Sami | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Jul 15 1994 10:52 | 414 |
|
From: Nordic FAQ (Kari Yli-Kuha)
Subject: The Sami (Lapp) minority of Sweden/Finland/Norway
###
The Sami (Lapp) minority of Sweden/Finland/Norway (by Kari Yli-Kuha)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHO ARE SAMI PEOPLE?
The Sami people are one of the aboriginal people of the Fenno-Scandian area,
(meaning here: Scandinavia, Finland, eastern Karelia and Kola peninsula)
and for long they lived more or less disconnected from the European
civilization.
They are often referred to as Lapps but they themselves prefer to be called
Sami (Saamelaiset/Samerna) because they use this name. I use the terms
Lapp/Sami interchangeably without any intention to hurt the Sami's feelings.
Anthropologically the Sami people form an internally heterogeneous group
which differs from other European populations.
The Sami languages (there are several of them) are Fenno-Ugric languages
and the closest relatives to the Baltic-Finnic languages (Finnish, Estonian).
Sami people live nowadays in an area which spreads from Ja"mtlands La"n
in Sweden through northern Norway and Finland to the Kola Peninsula
in Russia.
HISTORY
The origins of Sami people have been researched for long but no certain
answer has yet been found. Anthropologically there are two types of Sami
people, the eastern which resembles northern Asian cultures, and the western
which is closer to European people. Blood survey, especially in this century,
indicates western rather than eastern heritage. The long isolation from
other cultures may explain that some rare features in genetic inheritance
have accumulated and that Sami are very original people, not only compared
to other cultures but also internally.
It is believed that the original Sami people came to current Finland
and eastern Karelia during and after the ice age following herds of deers,
as the Sami supposedly were hunters. Prehistoric (some 4000 years old) ski
findings by the Arctic Sea show that there was some sort of Sami culture
there at that time. Some 1500 rock paintings are found everywhere where
they lived, e.g. by lake Onega and in Kola peninsula, the easternmost
of them are 3000 years old.
Some archeologists have linked the oldest known Scandinavian stone age
culture, so-called Komsa culture by the Arctic Sea, to the ancestors of
the Sami.
In any case, it is known that the Sami people are original people in
the Fenno-Scandia area. Many names even in southern Finland and central
Sweden are of Sami origin. There was Sami population in those areas as
late as in the sixteenth century. The Sami have always been known as
"peaceful retreaters" adapting to changing living conditions, whether
they were caused by nature or by other people. The Sami are known to have
fished and hunted seals in the west coast of Gulf of Bothnia but in late
Middle Ages the Swedish agricultural population "invaded" the coastal area
pushing the Sami further north. The same thing happened in Finland so
that now the original Sami people can only be found north of Polar Circle.
SAMI CULTURES
Sami people have always been sparsely populated in a large area, making
their living mostly hunting and fishing, families having large hunting
areas around them. Connections to other people were rare although they
had/have a strong sense of community thinking when it comes to dividing
hunting/fishing areas between families, and, of course, the marriages
were made between people in nearby regions. This seems to be the major
reason why there is no one Sami culture and language, but instead many
Sami cultures and languages. The cultures are affected both by different
living conditions and other cultures, in Sweden and Norway the Germanic
culture, in Finland the Finnish culture and in Kola peninsula the Russian
and Karelian cultures.
FOREST SAMI
Sami people living in coniferous forests lived mainly fishing, but also
hunting was very important. Most of Finnish and Swedish Sami people
belong to this category. Families formed Lapland villages (_siida_)
normally by some prominent river. The size of the siida varied from just
a few and up to 20 or 30 families totaling some hundred individuals.
Watersheds were natural borders between these villages. It was also usual
to have some reindeers for transportation and for the skin, which was an
important material for clothing.
A special group of forest Sami are the Sami north of lake Inari because
their language differs from the rest of forest Sami - it's the westernmost
dialect of eastern Sami languages.
FJELD SAMI
(About the word "fjeld": The ice age has shaped the Scandinavian mountains,
especially in Lapland, so that the top of them is round, and mostly bare.
In some Nordic languages there is a special word for them (fjell/fja"ll/
tunturi) to separate them from other mountains. There is also a rarely
used english word "fjeld" for the same purpose. The word "fjeld" means here
_a [treeless] mountain in Lapland_)
The fjeld Sami are also known as "reindeer Sami" because reindeer is
by far the most important part of their economic life. They live on the
fjelds between Sweden and Norway and on the highlands north of it
tending their herds. This kind of nomad culture is something unique
in Europe and as such it has raised a lot of interest. It has been
seen as a typical phenomenon in Sami cultures although as such it's only
a few hundred years old. It's not nearly as common as the half-nomad forest
Sami culture. The fjeld Sami do also some fishing and willow grouse
(am. willow ptarmigan) trapping. The importance of reindeer in the Sami
culture can be seen in the fact that in Sami languages there are about
400 names for reindeer according to gender, age, color, shape etc.
One special group are the River Sami living around river Tana (Tenojoki)
and its tributaries. They live mainly fishing salmon but they also have
some agriculture and more stable settlements than the fjeld Sami.
SEA SAMI
The first written remark of the sea Sami living in northern Norway by
the Arctic Sea was made in year 892 by a Norwegian tribal chief Ottar.
The remark described that "up in the north there are people who hunt in
the winter and fish on the sea in the summer". This half-nomad culture
is strongly affected by both Norwegian and Finnish inhabitants. They live
in two different areas, The Norwegians call the northern people
"sjo/finner" and the southern "bufinner".
KOLA PENINSULA SAMI
The Lapps living in Kola peninsula are the original population in that area.
The number of Lapps there has remained pretty much the same throughout the
years, somewhat below 2000 people. They live mostly fishing and reindeering.
RELIGION
Living near and from the nature has formed the original religious views
among Lapps; the religion was very animistic by nature, with shamanistic
features. They thought that all objects in the nature had a soul. Therefore
everybody was supposed to move quietly in the wilderness, shouting and
making disturbance was not allowed. Such a beautiful concept is still
prevailing among Lapps.
The Lapps thought that alongside with the material world there was a
spiritual world, _saivo_, where everything was more whole than here and
where the dead continued their life. Important places had their divinities.
Every force of nature had its god and sources of livelihood were guarded
by beings in spiritual world which could be persuaded to be more favourable.
Not all beings in spritual world were benevolent; the most famous malicious
gnome known in all Sami cultures was _stallu_ (taalo in Finnish) who was
hostile to a Sami. Stallu was a large and strong but simple humanlike being
living in the forest, always traveling with a dog, _ra"hk'ka"_, and he
could sometimes rob a young Sami girl for his wife.
The Sami had no priests but the head of the family was responsible for the
contact to gods with a "magic drum". A skilled drummer could be regarded as
a _noaide_ (shaman). Noaide was capable of visiting the saivo and people
from far away could come to him/her for advice.
In the forest you could find trees which resembled human body, or you could
make one. These were called _sieidde_ (in Finnish _seita_) and they were
worshipped. Also a strange shaped stone or rock could be a sieidde.
Christian missionaries and priests normally didn't understand the
religious concepts of the Lapps, partly because of language problems.
Sami people were converted into christianity by force and shamanism was
forbidden. In addition, the disintegration of the hunter/gatherer culture
and the transition to other forms of occupation meant that the old religion
had less meaning for the Sami. The "Sami apostle", Norwegian Thomas von
Westen (1682-1727) started public education among the Sea Sami in Sami
language. From 1773 on Sami language teaching was forbidden and all teaching
had to be in Danish until nineteenth century.
Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861) has had the strongest religious influence
on Sami people and his thoughts spread all over Sami region although there
is evidence that elements of the original religion of the Sami was practised
as late as the 1940's. Characteristic to Laestadius' ideas is the central
significance of parish. This has helped in preserving Sami culture.
LANGUAGE
As there are several Sami cultures there are also several Sami languages
and dialects. It is not known what kind of language the Sami originally
spoke, before any Fenno-Ugric contacts. Now the common theory is that
the Sami languages developed through language exchange with early basic
Finnish so that there was some sort of basic Sami language somewhere
1000 BC - 700 AD which then developed to various languages and dialects
as we know them now. Now Sami languages are regarded as Fenno-Ugric
languages and the closest relatives to the Baltic-Finnic languages
(Finnish, Estonian).
It's hard to define whether two different spoken forms can be said to
be different languages or different dialects of the same language,
especially when there are transition areas between them. Commonly
the Sami languages are divided into nine main dialectal areas.
The numbers in brackets represent the approximate number of speakers
of the language according to _Geographical distribution of the Uralic
languages_ made by Fenno-Ugrian Society in 1993.
1. South Sami - in central Scandinavia [500]
2. Ume language [very few]
3. Pite language [very few]
4. Lule language [2 000]
5. Northern languages (Norwegian Sami, fjeld language) [30 000]
6. Inari language - north of lake Inari [400]
7. Skolt language - in Pechenga [500]
8. Kildin language - in central Kola peninsula [1 000]
9. Ter (Turja) language - in eastern Kola peninsula [500]
As there are several languages, there are also several grammars and
orthographies for them. The areas 2 - 5 have more or less the same
literary language but several orthographies. Language 6 has its own
orthography whereas areas 7 - 9 use mainly Kildin language in publications.
The next description about the history of written Sami concerns mainly
the languages spoken in Sweden.
The history of written Sami language is similar to the history of written
Finnish language. The first Sami books were made for religious purposes
to convert the Sami people into christianity during Gustav II Adolf
in the 17th century. The first books (ABC book and mass book) were
made by priest Nicolaus Andreae in Piteaa 1619, but they were very clumsy.
The first written grammar was again made in Sweden by priest Petrus
Fiellstro"m in Lycksele 1738.
For long time the written texts in Sami languages were solely for religious
purposes. Poetry and other such literature in Sami languages is rather new.
In 1906 a Sami teacher Isak Saba (1875-1921) published a poem _Same soga
lavla_ (the Song of Sami Family) which is known as the national anthem of
the Lapps. Four years later Johan Turi's (1854-1936) _Muittalus samid birra_
(A Story about Lapps) was published in Sweden. This is probably the most
famous volume made in Sami language. Just as an example what Sami language
looks like here's the first verse of _Same soga lavla_ in the orthographic
form proposed by Sami Language Board in 1978 (a' and c' denote a and c with
apostrophe):
Sa'mi soga la'vlla Song of Sami Family
Guhkkin davvin Da'vgga'id vuolde Far in the north under the Plough
sabma' suolggai Sa'mieatnan: looms quietly the land of Lapps:
duottar laebba' duoddar duohkin, a fjeld lies behind a fjeld,
ja'vri seabba' ja'vrri lahka, a lake spreads near a lake,
c'ohkat c'ilggiin, c'orut c'earuin peaks on ridges, tops on bare fjelds
alla'naddet almmi vuosta'; rise against the sky;
s'a'vvet jogat, s'uvvet vuovddit, rushing rivers, wuthering forests,
ca'hket ceakko sta'llinja'rggat steep steel capes stick
ma'raideaddji mearaide. into roaring seas
SAMI PEOPLE AS CITIZENS
Before 1600s the Lapps lived their own life more or less undisturbed.
They were gradually pushed further north by new inhabitants but all that
happened peacefully. It is believed that the Lapps were mainly following
deers and other wild animals which were also retreating further north.
In the 1600s, and later, there were some "colonialistic" features in the
policy of states; that was very common in Europe at that time. It was
"natural" to subjucate cultures that were regarded as "undeveloped" and
"uncultural". At that time the government of Sweden-Finland had a political
goal to have permanent agricultural settlements in the Swedish Lapland
instead of sparse nomad inhabitation. They thought it would be easier to
keep the area within the state that way. This is why many Finns were also
encouraged to move there. Although the same basic European colonialistic
thinking was also common in Scandinavia, it has to be noted that
the attitude towards the original people has never been as inhuman as it
was in many colonies elsewhere in the world.
As a general observation it can be said that as the Nordic countries divided
the Sami territories between states they failed to take into account the
Sami colonies and to let them develop naturally. Instead the Sami people
were forced to adapt to the cultural system of each country.
The Swedish king Gustav Vasa declared that "all permanently uninhabited
land belongs to God, Us and the Swedish crown". This declaration concerned
also the territories where Lapps lived. Because of their nomad way of living
they were not seen as "permanent inhabitants". Later the Sami's right for
land was stabilized as certain "family areas". In 1867 in Sweden a new
administrational "cultivation border" was formed. It goes several tens of
kilometers from the Norwegian border all the way from Karesuando to
Ja"mtlands La"n. All land in the Swedish territory was given to the Sami
and only Sami people were allowed to live there without a separate
permission. All activities that are done there need a permission and the
money goes to "Lapland fund". The money of this fund is used for reindeering,
building bridges, etc. in that area. All this is done by the state and
the Sami people have very little to say about how the money is to be used.
There have been discussions about the Sami's right for the natural
resources in their areas between the Nordic Council and the Nordic Sami
Council but there has been no progress in this issue.
There have been several agreements between the Nordic countries and
the Sami people but they are beyond the scope of this document.
All in all, the Nordic countries have not been indifferent about Sami
but due to lack of ethnosociological knowledge the Sami have been treated
as "children who don't know what's best for them".
Because arctic occupations favour individual mind, and the Sami population
is sparse, their own activities as Nordic citizens have developed very
slowly. Also belonging to four different countries doesn't make it easier
- on the other hand crossing borders between the Nordic countries has never
been a problem. This belonging to different countries has been one factor
which has increased the common sense of ethnicity among the Sami people
during this century. Only a few decades ago it was not desirable that Lapp
children spoke Sami with each other in school whereas now, in principle,
it's possible to perform the higher school examination in Sami language.
How many Sami are there, then? Well, that depends on who is counted as a
Sami, who is not, as there has been much assimilation and mixture. Some
figures were presented in the chapter concerning Sami languages. Another
often presented statistic tells that there are 25000 Sami in Norway,
17000 in Sweden, 4000 in Finland and 2000 in Russia.
Yet another statistic which only counts people who speak Sami languages as
their mother tongue says: 10000 in Norway, 5000 in Sweden, 3000 in Finland
and 1000 in Russia.
SAMI PEOPLE TODAY
For centuries the majority population has had a patronizing attitude
towards the Sami, which has affected cultural policy and politics. This
policy was abandoned after World War II. This phase was signalled in 1948
in Norway by the official "Proposals for Sami School and Educational Affairs"
from the Coordinating Commission for the School System. A definitive change
did not come before 1963, however, when the Norwegian parliament discussed
the recommendations of the Sami Committee of 1956. The official policy then
adapted is expressed in the Parliamentary Records for 1962-1963 as follows:
"The policy of the national state must be to give the Sami-speaking
population the opportunity to preserve its language and other cultural
customs on terms that accord with the expressed wishes of the Sami
themselves."
Later in 1980 the Government appointed two new commissions with very
extensive mandates: the Sami Rights Committee and the Sami Cultural
Committee. At the moment demands for clarification and legalization
of local rights in areas traditionally used by the Sami are under
consideration by the Sami Rights Committee. Since much of this area
has diversified use by different Sami and non-Sami groups, it has been
difficult to arrive at a just and nationwide solution.
The Nordic Sami Council was established in 1956 to promote cooperation
among the Sami in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Council has 12 members,
4 from each country. Both state authorities and the Nordic Council have
recognized the Sami Council as a legitimate spokesman for the Sami and
have met many of its demands.
The Cultural Heritage Act, passed in 1978 in Norway, states that everything
which is more than 100 years old and related to the cultural heritage of
the Sami, is automatically protected by law - this is to protect historic
sites and monuments.
Sami as an elective language is taught in primary schools in several places
in Lapland. Special Sami high schools are located in Kautokeino and Karasjok.
Sami language and culture courses are taught at several universities in the
Nordic countries.
Modern Sami applied art has largely extended the development of traditional
Sami handicrafts such as horn- and wood-carving, basketry, leather work, etc.
Sami art appears at present to be undergoing an important period of
creativity - this applies as well to music. The traditional Sami folk music
song, the joik, has won growing recognition and interest. Singer Mari Boine
Persen has held concerts of Sami-inspired music in both Norway and abroad.
There are five Sami newspapers, or newspapers intended for Sami readers, in
the three Nordic countries but the circulation figures for them are small.
The newspapers and magazines are dependent on state funds for their existence.
Radio programs are broadcast in all three countries, in Karasjok (Norway),
Kiruna (Sweden) and Inari (Finland). Plans exist for the establishment of
a Nordic-Sami production center for radio and television programs, but the
extent and form of cooperation have not yet been agreed upon.
Because of growing Sami cultural consciousness and sympathetic official
minority policies, there is good cause for believing that the Sami will
survive as a viable ethnic and cultural group in Scandinavia. The meaning
of "Sami" will change as the way of life itself changes. The Sami's own
actions and self-conception will be decisive in forming the future meaning
of the term.
References:
Karl Nickul: _Saamelaiset kansana ja kansalaisina_, 1970
Mikko Korhonen: _Johdatus lapin kielen historiaan_, 1981 ISBN 951-717-248-6
Bjo/rn Aarseth: _The Sami Past and Present_, Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo 1993
ISBN 82-90036-32-9
SANA - THE SAMI ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA (from: Ruth M Sylte)
SANA was formed on 10 April 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
The purpose of SANA is to create a strong Sami presence and an
understanding of the Sami people and Sami culture in North America.
Membership includes a subscription to _Baiki, the North American Sami
Journal_, which will continue to function as the official organ of
communication for the group.
SANA encompasses both the United States and Canada. It has recently
been given permanent observer status at the Sami Governing Council.
For more information, contact:
Susan Gunness Myers, SANA USA
10010 Monticello Lane North
Maple Grove, MN 55369 USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Faith Fjeld, Editor
BAIKI
3548 14th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407 USA
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