The prohibition to weaken the Sámi culture in international law and Finnish environmental legislation

• Main Author: Heinämäki, Leena
• Other Authors: Cambou, Dorothée, Ravna, Øyvind
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2023
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/5/13; name=Law; Sámi
• Online Access: https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/437ee198-d502-47ad-a38d-a2d49ed9f694; https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003220640-7; https://lacris.ulapland.fi/ws/files/36790144/The_prohibition_to_weaken_the_Sami_culture.pdf; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85180846219&partnerID=8YFLogxK; http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85180846219&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Sámi in Finland are granted a constitutional status as an Indigenous people to maintain and develop their language and culture and related linguistic and cultural self-government. The Sámi traditional way of life is threatened by many forms of competing land use, such as mining and forestry, as well as climate change. Since environmental sustainability and sustainability of the Sámi culture go hand in hand, Finnish environmental legislation, which aims at safeguarding sustainability, includes the prohibition to weaken the Sámi culture. This chapter assesses the legal norm of the prohibition to weaken the Sámi culture, including its basis in international and constitutional law. Additionally, a further aim of this chapter is to discuss current serious challenges to implement this norm in practice in Sámi Homeland in Finland.