Self-determining the Self: Aspects of Saami Identity Management in Sweden

Abstract

The topic of this paper concerns the variable essentialist and constructivist perceptions of Saami identity as reflected in the criteria specified by the Swedish state on the one hand and the notions of those who self-identify as Saami on the other. Hence, it deals heavily in the comparison of state as opposed to Saami formal definitions of “Saami”, but it is the general principles and the dilemmas highlighted in these definitions that are under scrutiny here. Although this paper focuses predominantly on the taxonomies of various criteria of ethnicity, it does so in an effort to make these open to changeable, relational content. Just what characterizes Saami relational content or what different content might be emphasized by different Saami groups is not the primary focus here. This heuristic discussion is aimed not to consider the replacement of rights inherited through individual descent lines as per the original conception of immemorial right. Rather it is to chart a possible ‘‘phase-in’’ course by which cultural competency can come in time to warrant rights accorded to members of a collective ethnic ancestry.

Keywords:

• Saami
• Ethnicity
• Indigeneity
• Self-determination
• Saami Parliament

Notes

1. Although the strength of identity aspirations might vary with time, Olofsson's (2004) work addresses specifically the aspired identity switching that can occur during the lifelines of persons born of mixed Saami and non-Saami parentage.

2. With the new Reindeer Herding Act of 1971, the Swedish term “sameby” came to replace the earlier lappby designation. The term sameby refers to the territorial and social units recognized and confirmed in legislation for the reindeer-herding Saami; Sameby borders specify where these particular herders can herd their reindeer. Sameby lands are derived to a great extent from original Saami patterns of seasonal land use. Beneath these defined units and externally imposed constraints there still exist previous layers of individual and group associations to land and resources recognized by the Saami and extending well beyond mere herding society. These Samebys also form juridical entities and nowadays must also function as collective business firms for reindeer herding encompassing the private firms of its individual family herding entities.

3. Besides the mountain and forest Samebys, there is yet another category called the concession Samebys, currently eight in number, where those without Saami ancestry, but with land in the area under concession, can become Sameby members even if not responsible for the herding of the concession Samebys (which still requires one of Saami ancestry). Note here that although most of the articles in the Reindeer Act apply to all the Samebys, the concession group is unique in that herding in their territories is not maintained expressly for Saami interests, and, contrary to the norm, the dominance of the herding livelihood is therefore not encouraged. In fact, in the concession Samebys, non-Saami members (the great majority of concession Sameby members) are restricted to 30 head each.

4. According to the Reindeer Act, the active herding members of the (non-concession) Sameby can vote for the expulsion of so-called “hobby herders” (those for whom herding is not the main source of income). Of course, many Samebys refrain from implementing this legal right, as it pits family and friends against each other. However, when flexibility is diminished, for example when the Sameby's maximal herd size is reached, leaving no further room for herd expansion, pressures rise to expel hobby herders.

5. A description of immemorial right can be found in the 15th chapter of the old Swedish Code of Land Laws from 1734 (Jordabalken):

It is immemorial right, when one has had some real estate or right for such a long time in undisputed possession and drawn benefit and utilized it that no one remembers or can in truth know how his forefathers or he from whom the rights were acquired first came to get them. (Jordabalken: 15; Promulgation of the new Jordabalken, SFS, 1970: 995; cf. Undén, 1969: 142).

6. I do not mean to rank the recognition of immemorial right for the individual as superior in general principle to immemorial right recognized for a collective people. Each model has its pluses and minuses. The relative merit of the two models can only be judged in each particular context when integrated with other variables, such as demography, prior national law, and the protection available through international law. In this specific Swedish Saami case, the shift from an individual to a collective formulation of immemorial right further divorces a large number of individual (especially non-herding) Saami from their land rights (even possible land ownership) as confirmed by the Swedish Supreme Court. Those who previously could stake a claim for immemorial rights along individual family lines are now made to accept the claims of any and all Saami to the same lands.

7. In Norway the descent requirement was extended in 1997 to at least one great-grandparent.

8. Elsewhere, the significance of the inalienable quality of the Saami reindeer-herding right monopoly in Sweden as opposed to that of the reindeer herding practised by non-Saami so-called “contract reindeer owners” in Sweden's concession Samebys has been analysed (Jernsletten & Beach, 2006).

9. However, such rights are subject to dissolution if not maintained over a long period according to the passivity clause.