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Demokratiskolan
The Indigenous culture card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 120 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaPeople & belonging
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionRiksdagsvalet
People & belonging

Indigenous culture

Recognition of traditional culture & territory

The Sami are Sweden's indigenous people, recognised by the Riksdag and mentioned in the constitution. The Sami Parliament (Sametinget) is both an elected body and a government agency, a dual role with no equivalent in Swedish public administration. When a mine, wind farm or logging is planned on reindeer herding land, ancient rights are set against other interests, in processes governed by central government.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · plans & wind power decisions · approx 15 %
  • State · sami parliament, laws & permits · approx 80 %
  • EU · environmental rules & cross-border programmes · approx 5 %

Central government dominates: the Reindeer Husbandry Act, the Sami Parliament and the permit assessments are central government. Alongside the general election, eligible Sami voters elect the Sami Parliament every four years.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe land & the plans
The regionWithout a formal role
Central governmentThe Sami Parliament & the permits · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the building committee in the municipalities within the reindeer herding area.
No formal role in Sami policy or reindeer husbandry.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Sami Parliament, the County Administrative Boards and the land and environment courts.
What do they decide?
Comprehensive plans and detailed development plans that designate land use, and municipal approval for onshore wind power.
No formal role, but regions sometimes support Sami culture and health within their ordinary remit.
The Reindeer Husbandry Act, the minority act and the consultation order. Permits for mines, wind power and other things that take land.
Where are decisions made?
In the council and in plan consultations, where affected Sami villages (samebyar) are heard.
In the region's cultural plan, where Sami activities can be included.
In the Riksdag, at the Sami Parliament in Kiruna and in the permit processes.
Who pays?
The municipal tax: planning work and investigations.
The regional tax can part-fund cultural projects.
The central government budget: the Sami Parliament, compensation for reindeer husbandry and a Sami language centre.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Plan consultations are open to all. The municipal election shapes the view on development.
Regional election The regional election affects cultural support, not reindeer husbandry or land matters.
General election The general election shapes the laws. Eligible Sami voters also elect the Sami Parliament.
EUThe EU mainly has an indirect effect, through environmental rules and cross-border programmes in Sápmi. The European Parliament election affects the environmental requirements at development.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A Sami village's interests are weighed in a wind power case
  1. State

    The laws give reindeer herding a right to land

    The Reindeer Husbandry Act gives the Sami villages the right to use land and water for reindeer herding, a right based on immemorial usage. Since 2022 the state must also consult Sami representatives in matters concerning the Sami people.

    Point of influence

    The general election shapes the Reindeer Husbandry Act and the consultation order. The Sami Parliament election decides who represents the Sami.

  2. State

    The company must consult

    Before a permit application is filed, the Environmental Code requires consultation with those affected, including the Sami village whose migration routes and grazing land are affected. The views are to be reported in the application.

    Point of influence

    The consultation is open to those affected and the public. Written views become part of the case.

  3. State

    The County Administrative Board reviews the application

    The environmental review delegation at the County Administrative Board weighs the benefit of the wind power against the harm to reindeer herding, nature and other interests. The Sami village is a party to the case and can demand conditions or rejection.

  4. Municipality

    The municipality says yes or no

    Onshore wind power requires the municipal council to approve it, what is called the municipal veto. Without the municipality's yes there is no permit.

    Point of influence

    The municipal election shapes the veto. Opinion, petitions and the council's open meetings carry weight.

  5. State

    The court has the last word

    The decision can be appealed to the land and environment court by the Sami village, the company or others affected. The court can overturn the permit or tighten the conditions, for example if migration routes are cut off.

  6. Your everyday life

    The reindeer pass through in February

    The winter reindeer migration goes as it has for generations, or along a new route drawn by the permit conditions. Every turbine on the mountain is the end of a long chain of assessments, where the Sami village was a party from the first day.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What does it mean in practice that the Sami are an indigenous people and not just a minority?

  2. How should the need for mines and wind power be weighed against reindeer herding's right to land?

  3. What do you know about Sápmi and Sami history, and where did you get that knowledge?

  4. The Sami Parliament is both elected and an agency under the Government. What tensions does that dual role create?

  5. How would a fair review of a land case look, in your eyes?

Glossary

Urfolk
A people who lived in an area before the current state was formed, with special rights under international law.
Sameby
An economic and administrative association with the right to carry out reindeer herding in a certain area, not a village in the ordinary sense.
Urminnes hävd
A right that has grown out of very long use, the basis of the reindeer herding right.
Konsultationsordningen
The law requiring the state, and now municipalities and regions, to consult Sami representatives in matters concerning the Sami.
Kommunal tillstyrkan
The requirement that the municipal council say yes before onshore wind power can receive a permit.
Miljöprövningsdelegation
The part of the County Administrative Board that decides on environmental permits.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.