‘We are no longer prepared to be silent’

The making of Sámi indigenous identity in an international context

Authors

• Irja Seurujärvi-Kari University of Helsinki

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30676/jfas.127513

Abstract

In April 2008, at the annual session of the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues in New York, indigenous peoples celebrated the adoption of the UN  Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). The approval of the UN Declaration was seen as a symbol of the beginning of the end of marginalization and an opportunity for indigenous peoples to govern issues related to their lives. However, the UN Declaration does not define who indigenous peoples are, instead providing them with the right to identify themselves as indigenous peoples according to their own traditions and customs  without it leading to discrimination, with the result that the concept has raised considerable debate in research. This article traces the history of the international indigenous movement and the emergence of indigenous identity as a valued status with material and spiritual significance, with a particular  focus on the Sámi, using as data the experiences of key indigenous players in the struggle for international recognition.

 

Keywords: indigenous identity, indigenous rights, international indigenous movement, Sámi