Event: Panel Discussion on Saami Rights, Truth and Reconciliation – What Next? 20 March 2026
The MARCEN research project at the University of Turku, Sámi Árvvut and Galggojávrri sámi siida-searvvit are jointly organising a panel discussion on Saami rights. This event is part of the Hetta Marianpäivä Festival.
Time: Friday, 20 March at 14:00–17:30
Venue: Auditorium of the Fell Lapland Visitor Center (Peuratie 15, 99400 Enontekiö, Finland).
Norway, Sweden and Finland have in recent years established Truth and Reconciliation Commissions to address past and ongoing oppression of the Saami people. The Norwegian and Finnish Commissions have delivered their final reports, raising the question of how the shortcomings and recommendations they identify will be addressed within state administration, and what role Saami communities will have after the reconciliation process.
One of the most significant shortcomings concerns land and territorial rights, particularly in light of climate change and the increasing pressures on Saami lands. In Finland, legislation does not protect traditional livelihoods as integral parts of Saami culture. Furthermore, rights related to land and livelihood appear to fall outside the scope of the truth and reconciliation processes. At the same time, recent legal victories by Saami communities, such as the Girjás and Fosen cases (in Sweden and Norway respectively), have recognised Saami rights to livelihood and land, but have also intensified resistance to Indigenous rights.
The Girjás judgment in Sweden recognised the Saami as having a historical and exclusive right to regulate hunting and fishing in their territory, based on their traditional, long-standing and uninterrupted land use. The significance of the Girjás ruling is also highlighted in the opening sessions of the panel day. In this context, rights based on Saami traditional land use may supersede the claims of the nation states. The Girjas proceedings also demonstrate that historical and ethnographic evidence can be decisive for legal decision-making.
The programme includes short presentations and a panel discussion.
The speakers of the panel are Saami traditional knowledge holder Petra Magga-Vars, legal scholar Oula-Antti Labba, Associate Professor Daniela Alaattinoğlu, lawyer and historian Nils-Johan Päiviö, and lawyer Susanne Buljo Eira. The event will be chaired by Senior Researcher Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi.
The panel will consider, among other things, the following questions:
- What kinds of opportunities and risks does strategic litigation present for Saami communities, with the Girjás judgment as an example?
- What might just recognition and redress look like in Saami land?
- Which questions have been addressed in the truth and reconciliation processes, and which have been left outside their scope?
The event is open to all. The panel languages are Finnish and Northern Saami, and interpretation between both languages will be provided. For interpretation, we kindly ask you to bring your own headphones and a smartphone.
Welcome!
Registration:
Coffee will be served at the event. Please register and inform us of any dietary requirements by 16 March 2026 by emailing klemetti.nakkalajarvi@utu.fi.
Inquiries:
Senior Researcher Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi, klemetti.nakkalajarvi(at)utu.fi, 040 537 1584
Photo: Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi