Arctic Peoples

By Clive Tesar

Saami in Sweden are demanding that the Swedish government improve protection for traditional Saami reindeer herding territories. The Saami are making the demand in the face of increasing pressures on traditional Saami lands for mining and wind-power developments.

We are at a crisis point in Saami areas whereby the last unexploited Saami areas are being claimed by a mining and wind-power boom,

says Malin Brännström, lawyer for the Swedish Saami Association.

The state has a responsibility to ensure that Saami rights are protected. But the state is currently making it easier and easier for resource projects to go ahead, with no consideration being given to the impacts on traditional Saami livelihoods, such as reindeer herding.

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Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat in collaboration with Elonmerkki and the Saami Council are proud to announce that the documentary “Last Yoik in Saami Forests?” now is available on DVD and for download. The DVDs will be distributed to interested Universities in the Arctic Region and/or with a special interest in Arctic Indigenous Issues.

To get a copy for use at your University, contact us at ips@arcticpeoples.org, and specify the format (NTSC for North America, PAL for Europe/Russia). For individual requests for a copy of the DVD we ask you to contact the producer at www.elonmerkki.net.

If you just want to see it online, and maybe download a compressed copy of it for your iPod, continue reading…

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by Clive Tesar
An influential audience of Arctic diplomats, Indigenous Leaders, and NGOs was treated to a viewing of the new Saami film “Last Yoik in Saami Forests?”. The film was screened at a meeting of the Arctic Council in Narvik, Norway, in Saami traditional territory. It chronicles clashes between Saami reindeer herders, determined to preserve their traditional economy and culture, and the forestry company that threatens them.

The activities of the Finnish state forestry company in the Inari region of Finland have reached the point where centuries-old Saami reindeer herding activities are at the point of collapse. The logging company operating in the region, supported by the Finnish government, has been cutting down old growth forests that provide critical habitat and forage for reindeer. This is despite an ongoing process to settle Saami land rights in the region.
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RAIPON Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga">This is anRAIPON Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga"> edited version of an interview with Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( RAIPON ) Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga. The original interview by Alexandra Beluza first appeared in the Russian Newspaper “Tribuna”.

Pavel Vasilyevich, recently the [Russian Federation] legislaRAIPON Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga">tors rejectedRAIPON Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga">RAIPON Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga" height="432" style="width: 316px; height: 432px" title=" RAIPON Vice-President Pavel Sulyandziga" /> a bill on ethnological appraisal initiated by RAIPON .

Yes, we did propose that the state should include an ethnological study to find out how a particular business project impacts a traditional life style of an aboriginal community. I can give you an example of such influence from the life of my own people. Until the 1970s, eight ethnic groups of the Udege people existed, while today only half of them are left because the Ussury taiga forest was cut down on the territories where four of them used to live, which deprived them of their hunting grounds and in effect removed the economic basis of their livelihoods from their under their feet.

In my opinion, it is here that the gravest danger lies: depriving the indigenous peoples of opportunities to practice their traditional pursuits on which their culture, language, traditions and customs are based. Many negative developments took place in Soviet times, yet then the authorities supported the traditional economies of Indigenous Peoples. Today the government has practically abandoned any policy regarding the small Indigenous Peoples.

The Law on Guarantees of Small Peoples’ Rights has been so badly mutilated over the past few years that there are practically no rights left. The Law on Territories of Traditional Natural Resources Use of the Small Indigenous Nations of the Russian North, Siberia and the Far East has been in effect since 2001, yet not a single such territory has since been created. Read the rest of this entry »

by Clive Tesar

New Swedish legislation gives back to the Saami more control over their traditional occupation of reindeer herding. The law, which came into effect at the beginning of the year, hands over authority for a variety of reindeer herding activities to the Saami Parliament of Sweden. The new authorities include setting of local borders, and some subsidy and compensation programs affecting reindeer herders.

Mattias Åhrén, head of the Human Rights Section of the Saami Council says,

“This is certainly a step in the right direction, increasing Saami self-determination. Still, the issues handed over are not the most critical ones. Swedish authorities still retain control over the issues most pressing to reindeer husbandry.”

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by Clive Tesar

A United Nations declaration affirming the rights of the world’s Indigenous Peoples has been set aside for further consultation. The declaration, which has been in negotiation for more than 20 years, was delayed after a resolution put forward by Namibia was backed by other African countries. Of the Arctic states, Canada and Russia voted in favour of Namibia’s resolution, while the United States abstained. Finland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, spoke against it, calling the move a “groundless delay”. Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden all joined Finland in voting against the delay.

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At the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in [GP:Salekhard], Russia, Indigenous Leaders from the circumpolar Arctic region delivered strong messages to the Arctic Council .

Watch the statements here in their original languages. Russian/English transcripts will be added later.

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NEWS RELEASE 26/10/2006

Leaders of Indigenous Peoples from around the Arctic wrapped up their meeting with the Arctic Council in [GP:Salekhard] today. The end of the meeting marks the end of Russia’s two-year chairing of the eight-nation Council. It was attended by Foreign Ministers from several countries, as well as the Indigenous Leaders. While the Indigenous Leaders praised the achievements of the Council over the past two years, they also took the opportunity to point out to the Ministers that many pressing issues in the Arctic remain. The Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( RAIPON ) told Ministers that development pressures, particularly in areas such as the Amur River watershed are facing development pressures and pollution that are threatening reindeer pastures, hunting and fishing activities, and sacred sites.

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Interview with Chief Gary Harrison, International Chair of the Arctic Athabaskan Council , on Yamal regional TV during the ongoing Arctic Council SAO-meeting in [GP:Salekhard], Russia.

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While in some parts of the Arctic, Indigenous Peoples push for self-government, they have a different solution in the Yamal Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Russia. Indigenous Peoples here number just over 34,000 out of a total of more than 500,000 people, but they have managed to secure an impressive amount of control by working within the system. There is a quota system that sets aside positions in the Government of the Okrug for Indigenous Peoples. Sergey Kharuchi is President of the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( RAIPON ). He is also speaker of the Parliament for the Okrug, a powerful position. Kharuchi says the Yamal Nenets Government has passed legislation that supports the position of Indigenous Peoples in their dealings with resource companies.

“We have our own system,” says Kharuchi. “We are not separated, but integrated into the system. We think it is more effective.”

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