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Learning from the Nordic Sami Model by Joseph

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Learning from the Nordic Sami Model by Joseph FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY P OLICY S ERIES No. 223 / MAY 2019 LEARNING FROM THE NORDIC SAMI MODEL BY JOSEPH QUESNEL FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY I I deas that change your world / www.fcpp.org 1 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY JOSEPH QUESNEL Joseph Quesnel is a research fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy who mainly focuses on Aboriginal matters and property rights. Presently based in eastern Nova Scotia, he is from northeastern Ontario and has Métis ancestry from Quebec. He graduated from McGill University in 2001, where he majored in political science and history. He specialized in Canadian and U.S. politics, with an emphasis on constitutional law. He also has a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University, where he specialized in political reporting. His master’s research project focused on reformist Indigenous thinkers in Canada. He is currently studying theology at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax. In the past while as a policy analyst, he was the lead researcher on the Frontier Centre’s flagship Aboriginal Governance Index, which is measured perceptions of quality of governance and services on Prairie First Nations. For over two years, he covered House standing committees as well as Senate committees. Quesnel’s career in journalism includes several stints at community newspapers in Northern Ontario, including in Sudbury and Espanola. He also completed a radio broadcasting internship at CFRA 580 AM, a talk radio station in Ottawa, and the well-known Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC). He is a past editor of C2C Journal, an online Canadian publication devoted to political commentary. He wrote a weekly column for the Winnipeg Sun and contributes to The Taxpayer, the flagship publication of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Quesnel’s policy commentaries have appeared all over Canada, including the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Financial Post, the Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen, the Montreal Gazette, the Calgary Herald, Winnipeg Free Press, among many other major papers. Over the years, he has been featured as a guest commentator on many radio and television news programs. FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY 203-2727 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3J 0R2 Tel: 204-957-1567 Email: [email protected] The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent, non-profit organization that undertakes research and education in support of economic growth and social outcomes that will enhance the quality of life in our communities. Through a variety of publications and public forums, Frontier explores policy innovations required to make the prairie region a winner in the open economy. It also provides new insights into solving important issues facing our cities, towns and provinces. These include improving the performance of public expenditures in important areas such as local government, education, health and social policy. The author(s) of this study have worked independently and the opinions expressed are therefore their own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the board of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Copyright © 2019 by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Policy Series No. 223 • Date of First Issue: May 2019. Reproduced here with permission of the author(s). Any errors or omissions and the accuracy and completeness of this paper remain the responsibility of the author(s). Frontier Centre for Public Policy expresses its appreciation and thanks to the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation for supporting for this project. ISSN 1491-78 I deas that change your world / www.fcpp.org 2 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY P OLICY S ERIES No. 223 / MAY 2019 LEARNING FROM THE NORDIC SAMI MODEL BY JOSEPH QUESNEL The Sami flag was inaugurated during the Sami Conference in Åre, Sweden, on 15 August 1986. (Source: flaginstitute.org) TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 A Closer Look at the Sami Peoples 5 The Sami Path 6 A Cross-National Comparison of the Sami Peoples 8 Ideas for Canada Moving Forward 10 Conclusions 11 Policy Recommendations 11 Endnotes 12 Bibliography 13 3 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY INTRODUCTION In February 2018, the Liberal government in Canada announced it would be releasing in the future a new legislative framework for recognizing Indigenous rights and title, with a heavy emphasis on Indigenous self-governance.1 “We need to get to a place where Indigenous peoples in Canada are in control of their own destiny, making their own decisions about their future,” the Prime Minister said during the announcement. It was believed that the end goal of self-determination would be the tackling of entrenched social and economic problems.2 However, is the Liberal government putting the cart before the horse or making a premature and mistake inference or conclusion about the causal chain? In the 1970s, courts began to recognize Aboriginal title, and the emphasis switched to Indigenous self-government. Additionally, with the repatriated Constitution and its inclusion of Aboriginal and treaty rights, separate rights and benefits were also emphasized. Economic independence was not placed at the centre but was assumed to come with political independence. But what has the focus on self-government, separate political rights, and separate territories brought to Indigenous peoples in Canada? They continue to seriously lag behind other Canadians, especially if they live on reserves far from the mainstream. Indigenous people have made marginal gains, but they still have lower GDP per capita incomes and life expectancy. They lead in suicide, addiction rates, and health problems. While political autonomy is a laudable goal and would deliver benefits, in theory, it is not clear that the Liberals’ continuing this same path in a much larger way would not lead to worse results. Canadian politicians and policy makers—including Indigenous leaders—need to look at models of Indigenous-state policy beyond North America. Canada and the United States follow a roughly similar policy trajectory of treaties, a formalized fiduciary relationship between the federal government and Indigenous groups, and protected reserves/reservations held in a trust status. But, looking around the world, one can see that there are different approaches to Indigenous peoples, some of which are working better than the North American context. The Sami peoples are an Indigenous northern people of Scandinavia who occupy large parts of Norway and Sweden, the northern parts of Finland, and parts of Russia, largely in the more isolated parts of the northern areas of these countries. However, their standard of living in general is closer to the mainstream populations.3 In comparison with other Indigenous people around the world, the health and living conditions of the Sami are exceptionally good. For instance, there are no evidences of low-life expectancy, of significantly elevated incidences of common diseases, or of increased prevalence of alcohol and substance abuse that are serious health problems among other Indigenous populations.4 The Sami people have a different policy trajectory and relationship with the states they inhabit. This study will look at those differences and will determine what insights and approaches can help Canada. 4 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY A CLOSER LOOK AT THE The Sami languages are Finno-Ugric languages, which means they are related to Finnish, Hungarian SAMI PEOPLES and Estonian. Sami is divided into three main According to one Swedish Sami source, there is no languages: Eastern Sami, Central Sami and census for the Sami, but the population is estimated Southern Sami. These languages are further divided at between 80,000 and 100,000 people, spread into nine distinct variants. over four countries with 20,000–40,000 in Sweden, Originally a semi-nomadic people, the Sami now 50,000–65,000 in Norway, 8,000 in Finland and live in modern housing and only use temporary 2,000 in Russia.5 accommodations during reindeer migratory times. At one point, the Sami were known in English as Lapps Only 10 percent of Sami are engaged in the reindeer or Laplanders. That term is seen as derogatory now, industry, but many are employed in tourism, fishing, so it will not be used in this study, with preference crafts and other trades. The Sami—despite their given to the Sami names of the countries studied. regional differences and dialects within the countries they inhabit—also have a pan-Sami identity that The Sami have been associated with traditional transcends borders. For example, there is a Sami activities such as fishing, fur trapping, and sheep flag (it is shown at the top of the paper) and there is herding. However, they are most known for their a national Sami song. Despite their integration into reindeer herding. Their ancestral lands are not as the three Nordic states featured in this study they well defined and are the subject of controversy have a strong sense of identity and fierce sense in their home countries. The people speak Sami of themselves as separate from the mainstream languages that are Indigenous to their country. populations. 5 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY THE SAMI PATH was the consolidation of Sami areas through Like Indigenous peoples elsewhere in the world cultural and administrative efforts to prevent including Canada, the Sami faced official policies assimilation. The idea was to make it possible of assimilation and forced relocation in the past. for the Sami population in Norway to maintain 7 Within the last few decades, these countries all its integrity as a viable culture. ended that policy in favour of respecting cultural Rather than focus on land title rights, the states difference and autonomy. However, all these states with Sami populations focused on cultural protection still de-emphasized rights to land and encouraged rights, specifically language retention and traditional integration with other citizens, while encouraging economic rights.
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