In Suomi, the complex situation surrounding the national minority, the Saami, who live in the Northern parts of the country, the Saami region, has grown more complicated. The positions of the Saami themselves and the Finns on the issue of property on land and industrial development in the region are growing apart, explained Finnish MP Satu Haapanen of the “Green” party to the FINUGOR Infocenter.

He says that it is impossible to look on the Finnish Saami as an isolated ethnic society occupying a consolidated position on the important socio-economic issues of modernity. The problem is that three centuries ago the Swedish authorities took a significant part of the territory from the reindeer herding Saami and settled Finnish peasants there, and today the Saami and Finns live together in Northern Suomi, with some Finns practicing reindeer herding just like the Saami. Other Finns who live in the north do not practice reindeer herding, but all the same own private property and do not allow reindeer belonging to others to pass through it. “This is why when the Saami parliament of Finland demands that the ability to herd reindeer is guaranteed, coming from the fact that all of the land has never belonged to the Saami, this desire goes against the interest of the Finnish landowners. In addition, the Saami have not considered that the local Finnish reindeer herders in the industry have similar interests, as they only consider themselves aboriginal to the region. But the Finnish reindeer herders can also protest against the industrial activity in the North, like the Saami,” explained S. Haapanen.

Another problem is the recognition of a concrete person’s Saami status. She explained that over the last century and decade, the Saami have experienced significant assimilation, for example, half of them don’t live in the Saami region of Finland, and many are the descendants of mixed marriages. “Only Saami can vote for the Saami parliament. There’s a special registry for this constituency from this group. And there is a conflict of interest between Saami who have proven their ethnic origin, and the descendants of mixed marriages who have not been able to receive status as members of the Saami people, as some have preferential treatment from the government and lobby for new concessions through the Saami parliament, while others are deprived of this as they were unable to prove that they are Saamis,” imparted the MP. According to her, the current government of Finland supports a policy of positive relations with the Saami. In the country’s parliament, people are preparing to ratify UN International Labor Organization Convention No. 169 on the rights of indigenous peoples, which will give additional benefits to the Saami.