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Being part Sami I think it's fascinating to read about the system of reservations in the USA. I'm not sure about minority rule, but I'm clearly in favour of sav
by kebman 6y ago
Being part Sami I think it's fascinating to read about the system of reservations in the USA. I'm not sure about minority rule, but I'm clearly in favour of saving the unique cultures and ethnicities from dying out.
After many years of persecution in Northeren Europe—including forced assimilation often called "Norwegianization" or "Swedification," and near extinction in Russia—we've finally gotten some recognition as a nation of our own, at least in the Nordics. We have our own parliament (Sámediggi) and flag, for instance, and enjoy semi-autonomous leadership in "our" historical regions (called Sápmi) in close cooperation with the governments of Finland, Norway and Sweden. As such it acts more like a subset of the respective governments of the Nordics.
Now, both the finnic and germanic populations are also indigenous to the Nordics together with the finno-ugric Samis, so in that sense it's a bit different from the native population of the USA, where the other nations are almost all of immigrant descent. On the other hand, just like the Native Americans, Samis are in the clear minority in Northeren Europe, with only about 100.000 members, some of whom can't even speak their own language due to the assimilation policies (like me, although I do know a few words). Thus our culture and unique way of life is indeed in danger of extinction. For that reason alone I think it's important to at least recognize the ethnicity, and perhaps save it from the "tooth of time" as it were. Perhaps especially since most Samis today enjoy a modern lifestyle, and only very few live the traditional nomadic lifestyle of reindeer herding. If I'm not mistaken, the same is true for the Native Americans. In any case I'm happy we can finally enjoy peace and democracy with one another.
All the best, from Norway! <3
- bluGill 6y agoNote that most of these tribes were moved form somewhere out east in the 1800s (or north, tribes came from all over there was not a common culture) . Most of their culture could not be kept because the climate is different (desert, or just enough rain to technically not be desert). Much of old the way of life is not possible. Nobody alive lived in their in their own home to remember it. They are making the best they can.
- mytailorisrich 6y agoReservations were not created out of generosity, quite the opposite.
- kebman 6y agoI'm sorry if it seemed like I made that assumption. I certainly didn't mean to. There were attempts at similar things in the Nordics, and certainly Russia displaced many local tribes in its hunt to stamp out any ethnical uniqueness through-out Russia, under Communism, for the gain of assimilation. We see similar tendencies today in China, although there seems to be a sort of uneasy acceptance of the minorities there. Well, if you disregard the not-so secret re-education camps... Anyway, a great movie about the difficult adaptation to Scandinavian modernity among Samis, and the prejudice towards them, is the Swedish movie Sami Blood. Highly recommended!
- lekanwang 6y agoI was fascinated with the history of the Sami when I visited Karasjok in the dead of winter, and spoke to a few who still tried to keep a somewhat traditional lifestyle. It did feel like it was a fight against time to keep those nomadic herding ways alive, and a really interesting philosophical debate about what really defines the Sami other than blood and (partly forgotten or purged) shared history if most are living lives indistinguishable from Norwegians and Swedes in their community.