Puheenjohtaja Tuomas Aslak Juuso ja Pääministeri Sanna Marin lehdistötilaisuudessa

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concerning the Sámi People to begin its work in Finland

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In its session on 28 October, the Government appointed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concerning the Sámi People. The work to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has continued in line with the Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government.

The matter has been prepared in close cooperation with representatives of the Finnish state, the Sámi Parliament and the Skolt Sámi Siida Council. The aim of the commission is to collect Sámi people’s experiences of the actions of the Finnish state and its various authorities and to make this information visible to the public. 

Puheenjohtaja Tuomas Aslak Juuso ja Pääministeri Sanna Marin lehdistötilaisuudessa
The President of Sámi Parliament Tuomas Aslak Juuso and Prime Minister Sanna Marin in the press conference 28 October 2021. Photo: Laura Kotila | Prime Minister’s Office

“I wish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the best of success in its important work. Our common goal is for the commission’s work to increase dialogue and trust between the Sámi and the state. Only by understanding what the Sámi have experienced can we truly find solutions for the future,” says Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

“Today marks the start of an important undertaking to investigate the discrimination experienced by the Sámi and the consequences of state assimilation policy. There are still barriers to the recognition and implementation of the rights of the Sámi as an indigenous people in Finland. I hope that this difficult process will result in concrete measures that genuinely advance the status of the Sámi in Finnish society,” says Tuomas Aslak Juuso, President of the Sámi Parliament.

“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concerning the Sámi people will do important and also very difficult work. The start of the commission’s work follows several years of careful preparations aiming to increase understanding and trust between the Sámi and the state. We hope that the commission will be successful in its work and will have sufficient resources to ensure that success,” says Skolt Sámi Elder Veikko Feodoroff.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an impartial and independent body. It consists of five Commissioners, two of whom are appointed based on a proposal from the Government, two based on a proposal from the Sámi Parliament and one based on a proposal from the Skolt Sámi Siida Council.

The Commission’s members are: 

  • Heikki J. Hyvärinen, Doctoral Researcher, Master of Laws
  • Irja Jefremoff, Master of Administrative Sciences
  • Kari Mäkinen, Archbishop Emeritus, Doctor of Theology
  • Hannele Pokka, Professor of Practice, Doctor of Laws
  • Miina Seurujärvi, Master of Arts 

The purpose of the truth and reconciliation process is:

  • to identify and assess historical and current discrimination, including state assimilation policy, and violations of rights,
  • to find out how these injustices affect the Sámi people and their communities today,
  • to propose ways to promote links between the Sámi and the state of Finland and among the Sámi people, and
  • to raise awareness about the Sámi as the indigenous people of Finland.  

A further aim is to ensure that, as a result of the truth and reconciliation process, the state of Finland will bear responsibility for its actions and, together with the Sámi Parliament, the Skolt Sámi Siida Council and other Sámi operators, will work to strengthen the realisation of the rights of the Sámi people in Finland. Psychosocial support is an integral part of the implementation of the truth and reconciliation process.

The commission will draw up a report on its work that includes proposals for measures. The report will be submitted to the Government, the Sámi Parliament and the Skolt Sámi Siida Council by 30 November 2023. 

In Finland, the status of the Sámi as an indigenous people is guaranteed by the Constitution. By virtue of section 17, subsection 3 of the Constitution, the Sámi, as an indigenous people, have the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture.

International role models

The international institution of truth and reconciliation commissions emerged in the 1970s. Internationally, truth commissions or truth and reconciliation commissions refer to processes that examine collective injustices in history. Truth and reconciliation commissions have been established in about 40 countries.

Inquiries:

Nina Brander, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 160 347, Maiju Ranta, Coordinator, tel. +358 29 160 272, Prime Minister’s Office

Tuomas Aslak Juuso, President of the Sámi Parliament, tel. +358 40 687 3394

Veikko Feodoroff, Skolt Sámi Elder, tel. +358 50 396 1297

Sámi Tourism Project Aims at Building a Responsible and Ethically Sustainable Sámi Tourism Collaboration Network

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The project aims at creating responsible and ethically sustainable collaboration and marketing network for Sámi tourism together with Sámi community. Sámi Parliament in Finland has received funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland for a new Sámi tourism project which is implemented in 2022–2024.

In general, visitors have limited knowledge on Sámi culture. This, in turn, makes it more difficult to recognise authentic Sámi tourism products. The new project aims at highlighting responsible and ethically sustainable Sámi tourism products, so the visitor has an opportunity to choose one that supports the Sámi community.

– Sámi tourism and what is understood as an authentic and ethically sustainable Sámi tourism product or service have given rise to much discussion both within Sámi community as well as the majority population. The project aims at finding answers to this question in order to make it easier for Sámi entrepreneurs and other actors to consider tourism as livelihood and source of side-income also in the future. In the field of Sámi tourism, I hope there will be extensive collaboration, which is based on multilateral mutual understanding and respect, says Tuomas Aslak Juuso, the President of Sámi Parliament in Finland.

In 2018, Sámi Parliament in Finland adopted ethical guidelines for Sámi tourism. In the new project, a certificate will be determined in order to ensure supportive environment for competitiveness of responsible and ethically sustainable Sámi products. In addition, the project improves the knowledge base for Sámi tourism through pooling of responsible Sámi entrepreneurs and other actors in tourism field.

Supporting the message of the ethical guidelines for Sámi tourism are the illustrations made by the comic artist Sunna Kitti.

– There are Sámi actors in tourism sector who have expertise for productisation of Sámi tourism. The aim is to sit down together and think about good practices and criteria for responsible and ethically sustainable utilisation of Sámi culture. In addition, Sámi community and interest groups are consulted on commercial utilisation of the culture, says project Sámi tourism project co-ordinator Kirsi Suomi.

Sámi Parliament in Finland received 200 000 € fund from the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland to implement the new Sámi tourism -project in the years of 2022-2024. The aim is to have a complete collaboration network in 2025, when the first European Indigenous Tourism Conference is held in Inari. The conference is organised by WINTA (World Indigenous Tourism Alliance), Sámi Parliament in Finland and University of Lapland.

More information:

Tuomas Aslak Juuso
President of Sámi Parliament in Finland
+358 40 687 3394
tuomas.juuso(at)samediggi.fi

Kirsi Suomi
Co-ordinator
+358 40 594 5492
kirsi.suomi(at)samediggi.fi

Welcome to the Conference on protection of Nordic Indigenous traditional knowledge and intellectual property on 11 November 2021

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Invitation

Conference program

The Conference on the protection of traditional knowledge and Intellectual Property of Nordic Indigenous peoples, namely the Sámi and the Inuit of Greenland, is organized as part of the Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2021. The protection of traditional knowledge includes i.a. traditional cultural expressions, such as handicrafts, oral expressions, names and symbols. The goal of the conference is to discuss these topics from the point of view of the indigenous peoples and to increase Nordic cooperation and capacity on these matters in both short and long term. The cooperation focuses especially on how the existing IP system protects traditional knowledge (TK) and on ways to address gaps. Regional measures are expected to positively influence the international negotiations in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Time: Thursday 11 November 2021 at 9 am – 5 pm CET

Place: Sajos, Inari, Sámi homeland Sápmi, Northern Finland

Languages: The languages of the Conference are English and North Sami. Interpretation will be available in Northern Sami, English, Scandinavian and Finnish. Please find more information on the Dialogue Portal.

Note: Due to Covid-19 restrictions and recommendations, the conference will be in hybrid form. Compliance with guidelines on good hygiene and safe distances are ensured at the venue.

Number of available seats are restricted. Please register your participation here by Wednesday 21 October here. Welcome!

Side events

Photo: Outi Pieski, Cuolmmadit. EMMA 12.9.2018 – 6.1.2019. Photo: Ari Karttunen / EMMA