Commission in Sweden urges state to apologize to Sámi people — The Local Sweden

Sweden’s Sámi Truth Commission has called on the state to apologize to the Indigenous people for historical injustices, including assimilation policies, and to provide compensation and reparations. This was reported by The Local Sweden.

The commission, established in 2021 to investigate the state’s policies toward the Sámi and their implementation, has prepared 71 proposals for the government, authorities, museums and the Church of Sweden. They are intended to promote recognition of responsibility, compensation for the harm caused, and the search for a way forward based on equality and respect for Sámi rights.

Commission proposals

In a statement, the commission stressed that discrimination against the Sámi, racism, hatred and threats must end. In its assessment, state control and guardianship restricted Sámi self-determination, causing divisions and the loss of rights.

The commission noted that the state and the church controlled where and how the Sámi lived, the education of their children, the language they spoke, as well as their opportunities to practice their culture, religion and traditional livelihoods.

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Sámi testimonies

An important part of the commission’s work was collecting testimonies: it reviewed around 300 interviews and written accounts from Sámi people. In an academic anthology presented in March, researchers described, among other things, forced relocations and cases in which Sámi children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools. They also documented the destruction of Sámi culture and beliefs.

The commission was due to present its final report to the government at a ceremony in Östersund, which is called Staare in the South Sámi language. The Sámi live in the northern regions of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia’s Kola Peninsula; their population is estimated at 80,000–100,000 people.

Reindeer herding and Sámi land rights remain matters of dispute. Representatives of the people say their land rights in the north are threatened by industrial development, including mineral extraction, forestry, wind power and hydropower.