In his speech during the official opening of the Sámediggi (Sámi Parliament) in 1997, HM King Harald V emphasized that both the Sámi people and the Norwegians are an integral part of Norwegian society, and apologized for the manner in which the Sámi people had been treated in the past: “The state of Norway was founded on the territory of two peoples - the Sámi people and the Norwegians. Sámi history is closely intertwined with Norwegian history. Today, we express our regret on behalf of the state for the injustice committed against the Sámi people through its harsh policy of Norwegianization.”
At the end of the 1800s, the Norwegian authorities imposed a strict policy of Norwegianization on the Sámi people and national minorities. Towards the late 1930s, a more positive minority policy perspective began to emerge in relation to the Sámi people. In 1956, the Ministry of Church and Education appointed a committee to examine Sámi issues. The committee’s report, completed in 1959, proposed a new policy that represented a complete shift away from the Norwegianization and assimilation policy. Building on these recommendations, the Ministry submitted a Report to the Storting in 1962-63 that formed the basis for the first comprehensive parliamentary debate regarding the fundamental principles governing Norwegian Sámi policy.
Measures that were subsequently implemented to preserve and develop settlement and economic activity in the Sámi areas included the launching of the Sámi Development Fund in 1974, and the establishment of the Reindeer Husbandry Agreement in 1976.
During the 1980s, the Sámi Rights Committee and the Sãmi Cultural Committee were established. Based on a proposal from the Sámi Rights Committee, the Act concerning the Sámediggi (the Sámi Parliament) and other Sámi legal matters (the Sámi Act) was adopted in 1987. The first elections to the Sámediggi were held in conjunction with the elections to the Norwegian national assembly in September 1989, and the first session of the Sámediggi was formally opened by King Olav on 7 October the same year.
Collective and individual compensation
In 2000, the Storting established a Sámi people’s fund of NOK 75 million. The returns from the fund are to be used for various measures to strengthen Sámi language and culture, and serve as collective compensation for the damage inflicted upon and injustice committed against the Sámi people by the former Norwegianization policy. The fund is administered by the Sámediggi.
In June of 2004, the Norwegian Government submitted a white paper proposing compensation under the Storting’s ex gratia payment scheme to Sámi people and Kvens (people of Finnish descent living in the North) who were deprived of schooling as a result of WWII. As a result of the lack of schooling and the former Norwegianization policy, many Sámi and Kven individuals of that time never learned to read and write. The proposal will be subject to further deliberation in the Storting.
The Government’s objective to create a framework within which the Sámi people of Norway can maintain and develop their language, culture and lifestyle is rooted in Article 110 a of the Norwegian Constitution and the provisions of the Sámi Act. Norway is also bound to protect the rights of the Sámi people through its ratification of various international agreements, in particular Article 27 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and ILO Convention No. 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples in independent states. As an indigenous people and an ethnic minority in four different states, the Sámi population is in need of, and is entitled to, special status in relation to international and national law. Norway acknowledges that it has a special responsibility to ensure the development of Sámi language, culture and social structures.
In 2004, the Government allocated some NOK 542 million for special Sámi-related measures. Of this, NOK 227 million is to be administered by the Sámediggi.
The Sámediggi
The Sámediggi serves as the Government’s primary source of input and dialogue with regard to Sámi policy. The Sámediggi has also assumed responsibility for administrative tasks and implementation of policy measures in certain areas. It is a stated government objective to provide the Sámediggi with even greater influence and authority in matters of special concern to the Sámi population.
The Sámediggi has already been given responsibility for distributing allocations to Sámi organizations as well as for cultural, economic and linguistic initiatives. Furthermore, a number of tasks of particular importance for Sámi culture have been transferred to the Sámediggi from various government ministries. In accordance with the provisions of the Sámi Act, the Sámediggi enjoys a large degree of autonomy and influence in dealing with these issues.
By the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development