Can Arctic Sámi Parliaments Defend Their Way of Life from Green Developments | Foreign Correspondent

In Scandinavia, the indigenous Sámi have their own parliaments. But a new wave of green development is putting pressure on Sámi lands, testing the power of their voice. Subscribe: ab.co/3yqPOZ5
The Sámi people are indigenous to Europe, their traditional lands crossing from Russia’s Kola Peninsula to the north of Scandinavia and into the Arctic Circle.
Surviving decades of assimilation and discrimination, the Sámi have fought to keep their culture alive.
They’ve also fought for elected representative bodies to be their voice to governments - known as Sámi Parliaments - models that could inspire our own ‘Voice to Parliament’.
‘We know what is good for us and we can speak for ourselves’, says Stefan Mikaelsson, the former President of Sweden’s Sámi Parliament. ‘And we don't want…Swedish state officials to talk on our behalf.’
As Australia debates the merits and model of its own indigenous ‘Voice to Parliament’, reporter Lauren Day travels to Scandinavia to learn about the Samis’ experience.
In this stunningly beautiful film, the Foreign Correspondent crew travels for hours across the Arctic tundra to capture the Sámi’s traditional way of life, filming the autumn reindeer corral ahead of the winter migration.
And the crew heads out on Norway’s spectacular fjords with the Sea Sámi who traditionally rely on fish for their livelihood.
In Norway and Sweden, Day hears of the immense pressures on Sámi lands and waters from a new wave of ‘green’ development sweeping across the Arctic.
The Sámi Parliaments are fighting windfarms and major mine proposals to extract resources crucial for the green energy transition.
They’re fearful the projects could disrupt reindeer migration and that tailings from a large-scale copper mine could contaminate the waters of a significant fjord.
‘One of the strongest weapons in the struggle is the Sámi Parliament’, say Sea Sámi fisherman Torulf Olsen.
While there are limits to these Parliaments’ powers - they don’t have the right of veto or the power to make law - many feel they’re a powerful weapon in the Sámis’ fight to survive.
‘If it should happen that the Sámi Parliament stopped existing, then I think it should be much worse for the Sámi people again’, says reindeer herder, Nils Mathis Sara.
And Sara has some strong words for Australia:
‘If there is someone feeling like they are not being heard then…you should aim for a system that can speak up for you, your group, such as we have here. This would be my advice.’
Read more here: ab.co/3saHlFi
About Foreign Correspondent:
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[@tumbleweed6658]

It's so tough these days to pick a side but after watching this my hart is torn in many places. I was born and grew up in South Dakota and worked on my sister and her husband's cattle ranch in the summer break after school, we had 360+ head of cattle the days were long and hard but I would not changed those days for anything it was a way of life for me in the summer. When I had to head back to my small city town of Aberdeen I always felt empty inside I missed being with the cattle and taking care of them, feeding them, giving medication and helping the heifers give birth to the calf's and running from the Bulls when I got to close, I have had friends that lived on the Indian reservation and have seen first hand what happens when progress feels it had a right to take first nations occupations/way of life because of a green policy or progress. The Sami are the best care takers of the land it's not just the land it's there life for the rain deer.The Sami are woven together too separate the Sami and the reindeer from the land is like separating the sick person from the Doctor.

[@diane9247]

An excellent comment, tumbleweed. (Visited my grandpa's cattle ranch in SD many times in my childhood. That life definitely gets under your skin.)

[@user-kq6ro9so5d]

Glad to read what you wrote. Many Cheyenne, crow and Sioux don't want what's happening in California and Oregon Washington to happen in Montana, SD ND everyone knows that the windmills are a hoax and don't work as the designer says it will lots of wildlife dies of because of the noise and nature is displaced

[@nickstaresinic9933]

A very informative doc. Very well presented with engaging cinematography & soundtrack.

[@eerytunic3839]

i am impressed at your norwegian proficiency, its literally perfect

[@ObelixMagnetFishing]

In the video of a Dutch woman driving through Alaska on her motorcycle (Itchi Boots) there was a mine with a very high copper content, why don't they mine copper in the Klondike. It will not surprise me if Sweden/Norway, like the Netherlands, sells the minerals in their own country to abroad, as the Gas in the Netherlands and the population pay for the costs, by buying expensive Gas elsewhere and presenting it to the people who to bear the costs

[@P1MPST1K]

This is why we need nuclear. And if we still lived like them we wouldn’t need factory farming which is what actually causes the fraction of emissions agriculture produces.

[@nancycunningham4225]

Truly, Norway already produces more electricity than it uses, which it sells to other countries. This is pure greed.

[@wallybingbang4350]

@@nancycunningham4225 France sells electricity to the UK. If excess is produced why not sell ?

[@P1MPST1K]

Also I think the Sami need their own sovereign country. I guarantee the environment will do fine. Or at least better than it would if people go screwing with it.

[@ahkkariq7406]

In this case I agree with @geirarnehelland. I am Norwegian Sea Sami, and he is right about the numbers of reindeer being to high. It is also a point that within Sami society there are major differences of opinion. Many Sami are willing to sacrifice Sami culture and livelihood for profit. You could see that, among other things, with the mayor who welcomed the mining company to dump mining waste in the fjord. I am from the same area, and many who are born into Sea Sami families will not even acknowledge that they are Sami. They have no interest in the Sami heritage. The Norwegianization policy was extremely successful. I believe that the part of the Sami population that wants to preserve as much as possible of the Sami language, culture and industry benefits greatly from the part of the Norwegian people that wants to preserve Sami as an essential part of the Norwegian cultural heritage. The fight against wind power is a fight where Norwegians and Sámi stand together agains the government. During the Alta case, the awakening of the Norwegian people regarding the violation of Sami rights was a very important part of Norwegian politicians' turnaround from a policy of Norwegianization to the preservation of the Sami language, culture and industry. I currently live in the south of the country, and find that there is great support for the Sami cause among Norwegians.

[@andypav2978]

The cosing statement of the farmer hoarding reindeer need to be heard loud and strong. Stand up Australia..

[@adrianjakobsen6344]

Name of song in end? Namn på sangen på slutten?

[@hrngms1020]

Isak maze

[@adrianjakobsen6344]

@@hrngms1020 dæven finj han ikke på verken sportyfy eller youtube

[@DiscoDashco]

@11:03 Wait, didn’t Australians just elect that guy as PM or at least as an MP recently?!

[@frktzq1566]

What’s the song that plays at the start?

[@norsenomad]

Song title is "Máze", performed by the Norwegian Sámi group ISÁK.

[@adanderson8211]

From what i can make out, graphite is used for the anode in Lithium Ion batteries. Current developments indicate Li batteries will soon be replaced for the most part by Sodium based batteries, which do not need graphite of such purity if at all..... Then again, how many Sami (% of Sami people) live the traditional way, and how vital is that way to a strong Sami identity? Indigenous people must have a meaningful voice about land developments and a veto power about logging & mining operations needs to be an essential part of that when so little untouched land remains. We need to be exceptionally careful with that remnant.

[@PaulDanciu]

I m curious of music name at the end of video....This people must fight for the tradition and the parliament as well,if they have heart for the ancestors they have it and fight on that tradition from century.That is my concern....

[@nancycunningham4225]

I'm surprised Norway isn't better informed about how nasty mining waste is, especially waste from rare Earth minerals.

[@d.aletadrawdy7584]

Propect Sovereign nations, cultue. Language, and LIFE🌹‼️

[@singhsahab9874]

Wait for Australia , Pacific report of stocks and supply..what we find annual..

[@windrock]

Great story. And the green washing for sustainability is fraught with inconsistency. Complex. How do we go forward...

[@flufwix]

It’s a conundrum. The Sami protesting mining are using 4 wheelers that are made of steel and plastic and use petroleum products which in turn are mined elsewhere impacting other communities. In addition, unlike Australia and other countries formed through colonialism, other Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish people are also indigenous so the situation is somewhat different. These are challenges we need to tackle sensitively

[@Svenne-man-1880]

That is a missconception the "swedish" are not native to the land that the sami inhabits the swedes are settlers and exploiters just as they have always been.

[@rodneyschwartz8110]

How do you call it a green transition while mining up the earth

[@user-kq6ro9so5d]

Because it's a lie.

[@ahkkariq7406]

Because it is not at all about a green shift. It's about power and control, and the sooner people realize that, the better.

[@user-kq6ro9so5d]

@@ahkkariq7406 absolutely 100%

[@wallybingbang4350]

One wind turbine uses 20 tons of steel and 5 tons of precious metals - very green

[@singhsahab9874]

Additional source to Africa , Jharkhand and Orissa.. Orissa agriculture reports break after inform or want..

[@Ninjaguiden89]

As a Swede I want to first state how both Swedes and Sami are indigenous to Sweden, we just lived in different parts mostly for a long time. Now with that out of the way I fully support more power and independence to the Sami parliament and people in general. Wrongs have also been done historically and the current relationship is far from perfect. Something I thought off watching: those GPS trackers and other tech used by Sami in this video, are they ok with where those materials come from or the conditions they were made? Not at all excusing things, just pointing to how hard it is to live modern life with harm of some kind.

[@MarkMiller304]

Lot of similarities to what the English did with the Celtic people of England. Coexistence and mutual respect is the key.

[@darkwolf4434]

You don't live in northern Sweden and have no idea how things really are.

[@darkwolf4434]

@@MarcusSjolander No, as you mentioned you are from Västerbotten. I don't even know if there are that many samis there. But anyways, samis have too much power. They can basically get into any territorial conflict and get heard much more than others for being an oppressed minority. I'm glad that our goverment does care for samis but I would say that they've gone a little too far, samis can basically say "drive away from here, you are scaring our reindeers that are nearby" and send us out of our own territory. And it's especially samis who only works with reindeer from time to time. The samis that completely follow their culture simply says "don't drive to that area, there are reindeers there, keep watch. Some samis use their identity to gain political power and can as an example send people away from territory just because they can. That's where a lot of racism towards them comes from. The political ones also usually works in big companies like LKAB who they attack to get more political power.

[@Svenne-man-1880]

@@darkwolf4434 And I reckon that the sami have to little power to protect their lands from people who wish to exploit and ruin them and their land as has been done historically.

[@darkwolf4434]

@@Svenne-man-1880 It's the samis who mostly uses vehicles in those lands. Also 90% of samis also lose by the reindeer herders getting all that political power since it's only the reindeer herders that get the priviliges not the average sami. So why don't you take the average sami, finnish swedes and kväner who also faced oppression under the swedish goverment into consideration?

[@douglaskampfer2028]

The Sami people need to take their issues to the world Court.

[@singhsahab9874]

It's just for measurements ,not to be back or after ,man Crotia handle that..

[@singhsahab9874]

Egypt and Sudan stocks early to report, growth and supply..

[@FartSquirel]

the green transition is not that green is it?

[@user-kq6ro9so5d]

Not in the least bit.

[@d.aletadrawdy7584]

❤

[@DrSiB0T]

I'm here because a Norwegian Court has found against Australian computer scientist Dr Craig Wright. In the Granath Magnus Vs Dr Craig Wright case.

[@ron3839]

Talga's graphite anode emits emits 96% less greenhouse gases than EV battery anode produced in China (which currently makes 95% + of anodes of EV's in the world) .... just let that sink in. That's equivalent to a reduction of 2,900,000 tonnes of CO2 per million EVs produced. So what is it? Talga who is mining and already demonstrating rehabilitation of land or more global warming to the point the reindeers melt? Balanced reporting of Talga's side would be good...

[@nickstaresinic9933]

"Balanced reporting of Talga's side would be good..." I agree that more balance would be welcomed, but the purpose of this 30-min doc was, I believe, to provide an introduction to the issue with particular focus on the Sámi side -- of which few people outside of the region (including me) were aware. There was, of course, a short sit-down with Talga's COO; and I suspect that Talga has the resources to present their side in ways that the Sámi simply do not. In that regard, this doc *did* provide some welcomed balance by presenting the Sámi side of the story.

[@CampbellCornLab]

I don't understand why the Sami are treated like second-class citizens. It's not like they are from Syria or North Africa. My great-grandfather immigrated to the U.P. of Michigan from North of the Arctic of Norway before 1900. He looked Asian and didn't speak good Norwegian. I get why he was marginalized. Not that was good.

[@ahkkariq7406]

This can happen because the rest of the world does not hold the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish authorities responsible for the violations of the Sami's rights. Our countries, and Norway in particular, likes to travel around the world and point out injustices against other groups at the same time as they do shit in their own backyard.

[@quinnstanley5930]

Deeply unfortunate that the resources we need to survive in the modern world are below where the Sami live and that it cannot be extracted peacefully. I hope the Sami and their respective governments can come to a satisfying compromise. The Sami people are citizens of their respective nations, and had the right to vote. It was democratically decided that these mines were just for the nation. Excellent reporting from the ABC.

[@22221mm]

How telling an Australian colonizer is involved in the colonization of Sami land.

[@user-vj2hi5sh7i]

Christianity isn’t Europe’s baby Polytheism isn’t Europe’s baby (Arab Eutruskans) Animism is Europe’s baby.

[@snicklersnicklefritz]

So they want to ruin the forest for graphite and contaminate the water for copper..? How is this at all "green".. And all for electric cars. 😳 What happens when the batteries die.. you've ruined land and for what..?

[@-dannydorito-8405]

you can recycle the batteries down, by product becomes Fertilizer (by the way, world is low on this too). The Talga graphite can be used for more than just electric vehicles though, it is energy storage, medical devices, laptops, etc etc. I know that is still "consumer" to a degree, minus medical devices. Batteries in terms of the car cycles when they die also can just be moved onto farmers for storage (as already is the case). Now I am all for the green movement, I also aware we can't do it blindly. However, if we continue on the path, there will not be reindeer for husbandry either, so it is certainly a hard balancing act. What I also hate, is the fact that there will be groups who can recognize the importance of climate change, but also drop NOT IN MY BACKYARD! (the reindeer gps trackers are mined and made, do they have issues here) Well, this is just like a homeless issue too, people are all aware yet a lot say not in my backyard. Well eventually, whos then? The act of balancing will be hard, but we cannot make a new world without digging either, so it is tough. I hope the Sami people can see what this deposit does for the energy security for EU as well, I also hope parliament listen to what the Sami say. But to outright block this mine is also a threat to their own security as the Sami. Energy Independence is vital.

[@ahkkariq7406]

And no one asks how much CO2 must be emitted to produce the batteries. The green shift is a big lie. It's all about power and control and it's time people wake up. If the Norwegian authorities really wanted to improve the Norwegian climate accounting, they could include the Norwegian forest, as all other countries do. Ask yourself why they don't.

[@MemosaS]

Climate change affects the entire Earth and all human beings. To turn it around will require lifestyle changes and sacrifices from everyone. And yes, certain ways of life maybe be limited and others could become completely extinct. It’s the price we all have to pay for access the modern day advances we enjoy in our daily lives.

[@ahkkariq7406]

If the matter for Norway was actually to reduce emissions of CO2, they could very easily include the forest in the climate accounting, as everyone else does. It is not about emissions of the gas CO2, which is plant nutrition. It's about power and control, and the sooner people understand that, the better. Climate change is natural and has always existed.

[@brentlund2272]

FOR SHAME SWEDEN ! JUST SAYING

[@tinabell6583]

As usual First Nation people have no worth can't watch anymore too sad⚘️💜

[@verozety4040]

Well the Sámi are not what you would classify as First Nations like in America or Australia. The Sámi doesn’t predate the Norse people. We came to Scandinavia in about the same time frame. It just so happens that the Norse were closer to mainland Europe and so could take advantage of the technological advances that happen there easier, this lead to us Norse being the dominant people in Scandinavia. Now this doesn’t excuse our mistreatment of the Sámi people but is not correct to assert that they were in Scandinavia before us.

[@Svenne-man-1880]

@@verozety4040 they were in these regions of scandinavia before the exploiters came from the south.

[@tomasinacovell4293]

Non! The Sami have better than equal rights of anyone else, they just don't like that they're not being put on a pedestal higher than it already is!

[@asg2833]

Are you denying all the harms made in the past? That there are still second class citizens? Like indigenous people in North America?

[@tomasinacovell4293]

@@asg2833 Unless you're like 1%'ers, you're a 2nd-Class Citizen anyway.

[@ahkkariq7406]

I am Sami. Please tell me my rights, so I can go get them.

[@obie2013]

hunter gatherers gotta move on simple as

[@FartSquirel]

they have the right to live as they want... city boy.

[@obie2013]

@@FartSquirel why would anyone have a right to be a hunter gatherer

[@ahkkariq7406]

@@obie2013 Because it's the only way to make food from the land without destroying it. No one can eat copper or graphite.

[@vespasian266]

Seems like the Sami want to live in the modern world but don't want to contribute anything they have to it. let them have their reindeer and leave them to live like Eskimos. they'll soon change their attitudes.

[@ahkkariq7406]

The Sami have already given huge areas to the modern world.

[@fauconleger7067]

They are not indiginous