Protecting indigenous identities? An example of cultural expertise on sámi identity

Bibliographic Data

ID8253238
AuthorsReetta Toivanen (0000-0002-1441-6272, University of Helsinki, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume54
Issue2-3
Pages210-230
Publication date2022-09-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLegal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2770-6869 • E-ISSN: 2770-6877
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/27706869.2022.2151167
OpenAlexW4311082504
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited30

The national law of Finland identify criteria of belonging to the Indigenous Sámi in order to protect their cultural heritage and identity. In Finland, the electoral committee of the representative organ of Sámi Indigenous Peoples, the Sámi Parliament, decides who fulfills the criteria for being Sámi and thus is included in the electoral roll. Since its establishment, the Sámi Parliament has rejected hundreds of applications by persons not recognized as Sámi. Unsuccessful applicants can appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (SAC). In 2015, the SAC overturned 93 rejections. This led to an internal crisis of the Sámi Parliament and to the question, who actually has the cultural expertise to decide who is indigenous in Finland. Sámi activists filed two complaints with the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the violation of Sámi rights to self-determination. In 2019, the Human Rights Committee concluded that Finland had violated the rights of the Sámi. This paper analyzes what is the cultural expertise for ascertaining Sámi identity and who exercises it. The focus is on the evidence required by the SAC and the question of whether identity can be decided by legal experts, independent judges of a Finnish judiciary without any involvement of cultural experts. It is argued that the legal instruments adopted to protect Indigenous Peoples lack cultural expertise on the diversity and heterogeneity of the real-life contexts where rights are negotiated, leading applicants to repeat essentialist arguments of how Indigenous Peoples stereotypically would be

Appeal · Cultural identity · Essentialism · Human rights · Indigenous · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Supreme court · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Gender Studies · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Law · Law in Society and Culture

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