Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title

The Sami, who straddle three Nordic countries and the Russian Federation, are an Indigenous people who have lived on their lands since time immemorial. The legal framework that governs them must take into consideration that they are a semi-nomadic people, as some of their population live in settled...

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Main Author: Akhtar, Zia
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: eScholarship, University of California 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fg4j1tx
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spelling ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6fg4j1tx 2023-05-15T18:10:47+02:00 Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title Akhtar, Zia 2022-01-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fg4j1tx unknown eScholarship, University of California qt6fg4j1tx https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fg4j1tx public The Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance, vol 7, iss 1 article 2022 ftcdlib 2022-11-14T18:34:34Z The Sami, who straddle three Nordic countries and the Russian Federation, are an Indigenous people who have lived on their lands since time immemorial. The legal framework that governs them must take into consideration that they are a semi-nomadic people, as some of their population live in settled communities while some practice a nomadic lifestyle. Their land use bears similarities to those of the indigenous peoples of the United States, Canada and Australasia in terms of grazing and living in harmony with the environment. The Sami have been granted a dispensation that provides them partial sovereignty through the establishment of Parliamentary Assemblies in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The establishment of these new bodies has not dissipated their need to assert ownership over land and to resist industrial exploration owing to the grant of mineral licenses that have viscerated their rights. The issue is whether the Sami can achieve restitution by an assertion of full title to land in Norway, which has the highest percentage of Indigenous population in Scandinavia, and whether public-interest litigation based on self determination is available to them to achieve this goal. This Paper argues that the Sami can affirm their land claims in fee simple by legal processes in the courts and achieve this ownership as an indigenous right to land if that is recognized to be sui generis. Article in Journal/Newspaper sami University of California: eScholarship Canada Norway
institution Open Polar
collection University of California: eScholarship
op_collection_id ftcdlib
language unknown
description The Sami, who straddle three Nordic countries and the Russian Federation, are an Indigenous people who have lived on their lands since time immemorial. The legal framework that governs them must take into consideration that they are a semi-nomadic people, as some of their population live in settled communities while some practice a nomadic lifestyle. Their land use bears similarities to those of the indigenous peoples of the United States, Canada and Australasia in terms of grazing and living in harmony with the environment. The Sami have been granted a dispensation that provides them partial sovereignty through the establishment of Parliamentary Assemblies in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The establishment of these new bodies has not dissipated their need to assert ownership over land and to resist industrial exploration owing to the grant of mineral licenses that have viscerated their rights. The issue is whether the Sami can achieve restitution by an assertion of full title to land in Norway, which has the highest percentage of Indigenous population in Scandinavia, and whether public-interest litigation based on self determination is available to them to achieve this goal. This Paper argues that the Sami can affirm their land claims in fee simple by legal processes in the courts and achieve this ownership as an indigenous right to land if that is recognized to be sui generis.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Akhtar, Zia
spellingShingle Akhtar, Zia
Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title
author_facet Akhtar, Zia
author_sort Akhtar, Zia
title Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title
title_short Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title
title_full Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title
title_fullStr Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title
title_full_unstemmed Sami Peoples Land Claims in Norway, Finmark Act and Providing Legal Title
title_sort sami peoples land claims in norway, finmark act and providing legal title
publisher eScholarship, University of California
publishDate 2022
url https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fg4j1tx
geographic Canada
Norway
geographic_facet Canada
Norway
genre sami
genre_facet sami
op_source The Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance, vol 7, iss 1
op_relation qt6fg4j1tx
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fg4j1tx
op_rights public
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