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Indigenous Peoples

The legal rights and duties of the indigenous Sami population is principally regulated in the Sami Act (1987). Additionally, the Finnmark Act (2005) regulates the distribution of land and resources in the northernmost county of Norway, and the Reindeer Herding Act (2007) provides a legal framework for the maintenance of sustainable reindeer husbandry. Both acts provide that the distribution of land and resources should be based on the maintenance of Sami culture, society and history. Norway has also ratified ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (1989).
The Sami Act § 1-2 provides for a separate parliament for the Sami people, which is closely regulated in chapter 2 of the act. The parliament has a largely advisory role, and can, under § 2-1, address all issues it considers to be of particular concern to the Sami people. Chapter 3 of the act secures the rights of the Sami population to be addressed in the Sami language in a variety of administrative functions, from education and health, to church and social security.

D 16 September 2016    AHelge Årsheim

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

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