"Their own struggle for Indigenous rights and self-determination has turned the Sami into vocal advocates for the Palestinian cause.
“There is an instant urge to stand up for people who are being displaced from their homes,” Ella Marie Haetta Isaksen, a Sami activist and artist widely known for her singing, tells Al Jazeera.
"...Indigenous peoples all over the world have stood up for the Palestinian people because our bodies know the pain of being displaced from our homes and forced out of our own lands,” Isaksen says."
"Europe’s oldest and last remaining Indigenous people are under grave threat as a result of borders, land seizures, construction projects dedicated to the extraction of natural resources and systematic discrimination.
"Yet, that creeping sense of suffocation has made the Sami reach out to another set of Indigenous people nearly 4,000km (2,500 miles) away, whose fight for survival they identify with: the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
"Their own struggle for Indigenous rights and self-determination has turned the Sami into vocal advocates for the Palestinian cause."
Today Oslo, the capital of #Norway, formally recognized and adopted the South #Sámi name of the city, #Oslove. From now on both Oslo and Oslove have official status.
Oslo/Oslove is situated in South Norway, while the Sámi are #Indigenous to Middle and North Norway.
The Oslo City Council voted unanimously in favor of recognizing the name.
(Picture: consultation meeting between Sámi representatives and City Board member Omar Samy Gamal, Socialist Left Party).
The #Sámi side of #Tromosø, #Norway.
Susan Nerberg embarks on a deeply personal tour of Tromsø, taking part in #SámiWeek as a means to better understand her own Sámi #roots and #culture.
Sum-up:
The Sámi House laments the victims of atrocities from #Hamas and the State of Israel,
expresses sympathy with communities associated with Israel and Palestine,
condemns the #warcrimes and #ethniccleansing of #Gaza by the State of Israel,
and stands in #Indigenous solidarity with the Palestinian civilians who are now being driven from their land, denied their rights, and murdered.
Once again #Norway has erupted in #Indigenous and #environmentalist protest- but also something more:
Norway's legal system, the safety of all citizens, is at stake.
The Government has now for two years ignored the Supreme Court's decision in the #Fosen case.
Yesterday a protest camp was put up outside parlament and #Sámi activists entered the building for peaceful protest. They were carried out by police in the night.
Yesterday's protests ended with a cultural event at the square outside parliament. Today's protests ended with a live concert at the Trinity Church in #Oslo.
The church has opened its doors as a second safe space for #Fosen activists, in addition to the activist base at Oslo #Sámi House.
Photo: Outdoor stage under construction, 11.10. Banner by Ingemund Skålnes reads"The state is breaking the law."
During Day 3 the #Fosen activists have blocked the doors of government ministries to protest government's ignoring a decision of the Supreme Court of #Norway. Activists have been forcibly removed by police.
Now, #Indigenous#Sámi tents, lávvus, have been set up outside the royal castle.
As the legislative and executive branches of the state refuse to respect the courts, activists have requested a meeting with the King of Norway.
I generally post about the protesters. If you were wondering what the antagonist in all this looks like, here he is: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of #Norway. A ruler who apparently thinks he can chose when he has to listen to Supreme Court.
Photo by Rasmus Berg, taken as Støre passes by the #Indigenous#Sámi protesters inside parliament.
"Vástádus eana" ("The answer is land") dancers from the #Indigenous#Sámi nation of #Norway during the #Fosen protests of October 2023.
The Vástádus Eana choreography is made by Sámi artist Elle Sofe Sara for music by Sámi composer Frode Fjellheim (also known for the intro music to #Frozen).
I have been honored to lead an episode of the Dáiddadállu #podcast starring #Sámi politician and activist Aili Keskitalo, #Inuit artist Aqqalu Berthelsen, and Sámi activist and artist Petra Laiti - on #indigenousart and reconcilliation.
One of the country’s largest Sami – an indigenous ethnic group – organisations have been trying to arrange a meeting with the Swedish Minister for Culture and Sami Affairs, Parisa Liljestrand, since she took office last year, only to receive a negative reply from the minister’s office....
A job somewhat out of the ordinary today: contributing to editing my own video lecture.
The National Library of #Norway commissioned my institute NIBR at #OsloMet University to have me record a 30 minute video.
Task: Help high school students get an overview of #Sámi and #Norwegian history that will allow them to better understand why the temperature is so high in conflicts between the Norwegian government and #Indigenous Sámi over natural resources.
#Kungsleden: Day 1 ☀️
The trail started right from the train station platform, and I was treated to the views of Abiskojokk river with its countless rapids and small waterfalls. The path continued through a deciduous forest and across countless crystal clear glacier streams.
As the sun descended behind the nearby mountains, I ended the day on the lake shore.
The trail has entered the area, where #Sami people engage in traditional #reindeer herding. And the sight of reindeer grazing has quickly become commonplace.
500 days ago yesterday Supreme Court ruled State of Norway violate human rights through construction of 150 wind turbines at Fosen, Trøndelag, SW Sápmi/MW Norway.
State don't give a fuck that it violates the law, because it's rights of indigenous Sámi, so yesterday some Sámi started occupying lobby of Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
"The wind turbines at Fosen shall be demolished and the land returned to Fosen-Sámi. They've been fighting against the wind industry and State ~10 years. We are here in solidarity with those […] who are exhausted after all of the State violations", said Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen to NRK.
Norway's Minister came down and spewed same nonsense as always, that they're investigating and don't have a decision yet but "we must ensure indigenous rights are safeguarded", which is what they actively piss on.
"Those are just empty words. We are used to hearing that we have to deal with them having to make a new decision. But they don't deal with that there are real people who live with this violation every day, and we who sit here feel in our bodies that we cannot tolerate the ongoing human rights violation." responded Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen.
Today Elle Rávdná Näkkäläjrvi says "The Ministry locked its front door so nobody can come in. They're trying to starve us out".
@b9AcE UN has characterized the construction as violation of human rights. This is the 700th day that the human rights has been breached without any action from the norwegian state.
Stand in solidarity with the sami people :sami: :sami: ✊
Swedish Sami minister refuses to meet with the indigenous group this year (www.euractiv.com)
One of the country’s largest Sami – an indigenous ethnic group – organisations have been trying to arrange a meeting with the Swedish Minister for Culture and Sami Affairs, Parisa Liljestrand, since she took office last year, only to receive a negative reply from the minister’s office....