Citizenship identity among Norwegian Sami in core Sami areas

Abstract

This analysis of citizenship identity among Sami living in core Sami areas in Norway clearly shows that the Sami population feel more closely connected to their local communities than is the case for non-Sami living in the same areas and for the Norwegian populace as a whole. Some significant differences also emerge as regards citizenship identity between Sami who have chosen to be registered in the Sami electoral roster and those who are not registered – in terms of identification with different identity groups, affiliation with different territorially defined areas and the intensity of their Sami identity. However, none of our findings suggest that the total Norwegian citizenry is an unimportant identity group for the Sami population, or that the Sami do not feel affiliated with Norway as a whole. The fact that the perceived content of Norwegian-ness does not seem to include elements that are incompatible with the perceived content of Sami-ness also indicates that it may not be particularly difficult for individuals to combine Sami and Norwegian identity.

Keywords::

• citizenship
• identity
• population
• territory
• indigenous peoples

Notes

^1. The franchise was originally restricted by gender and property. In 1879, the percentage of the male rural population over the age of 25 and with voting rights was significantly higher in Finnmark (59%), where most of the Sami lived, than in the southerly eastern parts of Norway (22–30%) (Pryser 1985, p. 283).

^2. The Kvens are descendants of early immigrants from what is today Finland to areas that are today part of Norway. The Kvens were long officially classified as ‘immigrants’, but obtained status as a ‘national minority’ in 1999, when Norway ratified the European Framework Convention on National Minorities.

^3. Official translation by the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The content of the paragraph is intended to reflect the content of Article 27 in the 1966 UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

^4. The first of these municipalities is located in Troms county; the remainder are located in Finnmark county. In all these municipalities, both the Norwegian and Sami languages have official status.

^5. Registered Sami constitute 45% of the total adult population in this area, while a total of 47% of those who filled in and returned the questionnaire reported that they had registered in the electoral roster for elections to the Sami Parliament. Those who answered ‘Do not know’ or who did not answer the questions about eligibility or actual registration in the electoral roster have been omitted from the analysis. As is not uncommon in survey research, reported voter turnout in the national elections in 2005 was significantly higher among the respondents (85%) than actual average turnout in this area (68%). The sample may thus consist of persons whose ‘score’ on various aspects of citizenship is higher than the average in the area. Even so, this does not imply that the observed similarities and differences between the subgroups are biased.

^6. The proportions vary from 70% (Kautokeino) to 20% (Kåfjord). See Pettersen (2011, p. 70).

^7. See Semb (2010, pp. 84–88) for a more detailed discussion of the data from the Citizen Role Survey and Selle and Strømsnes (2010, p. 72) concerning the Citizenship Survey.

^8. We are not aware of studies based on survey data that allow direct comparisons, however.

^9. See Lantto (2010) for an account of the history of borders and citizenship in this area.

^10. In contrast to the results presented in Table 2, Table 3 shows that the entire resident population of the sample area expressed a higher degree of affiliation to local and regional territorial units than to Norway as a whole. This discrepancy may be explained by the different contexts of the two surveys, with the Citizenship Survey's stronger national focus and the Citizenship Role Survey's more pronounced local and regional focus.

^11. The last census in Norway that recorded ethnic affiliation was the 1970 census (Aubert 1978).