Sweden's indigenous Sami people protest mine plans
Published 5:16 pm, Thursday, August 29, 2013
Jokkmokk, Sweden -- On a dirt road passing through sparkling lakes and spruce woods in the wilds of northern Sweden, a woman belonging to Europe's only indigenous people - the Sami - chants a traditional, high-pitched tune.
Since the end of the last Ice Age, the Sami have wandered the vast landscapes of northern Europe, herding reindeer and nurturing a philosophy of harmony with nature. This time, however, the woman's Joik - a Sami chant that involves gliding over notes without lyrics - has a desperate tone to it: Her voice trembles and grows into a scream as four policemen remove her from the road. She had been protesting a British mining company's plans for an open pit mine on ancient lands.
The woman is one of dozens of Sami and environmental activists who gathered recently on the site, setting up road blocks, burning bonfires and flying the Sami flag, trying to block the company from conducting test blasts near the town of Jokkmokk on the Arctic Circle.
The escalating conflict pits the Sami's lifestyle and stunning mountain environment against job creation in an area suffering population decline. The dispute has largely divided the population of Jokkmokk, a town of 5,000 people, into two camps - with Sami and environmentalists on one side and non-Sami locals and entrepreneurs on the other.
The Sami people number about 80,000, including 50,000 in Norway, 20,000 in Sweden, 8,000 in Finland and 2,000 in Russia. In Sweden, around 2,500 still make a living from herding reindeer and selling the meat. International organizations recognize the Sami as Europe's only indigenous people because of their unique cultural roots that predate the creation of nation states.
The mining camp said the amount of land to be used for iron ore mining is so small it would hardly affect reindeer herding.
Fred Boman, CEO of Beowulf Mining's Swedish subsidiary, said the Sami village closest to the mine has a herding area for its 4,500 reindeer of 1,500 square miles and the mine would use no more than 8 square miles.
Sami herder Jonas Vannar, 34, said the reindeer need every patch of their grazing grounds to get enough food. He said movement of materials to and from the mine risks increasing road killings of reindeer; recently, a nearby train line killed as many as 1,200 reindeer in one season.
According to Swedish law, the Sami people cannot claim ownership of the land where they have lived for nearly 9,000 years, but have the right to use it for herding. The mining dispute has led to renewed calls for the government to adopt changes that recognize Sami ownership rights over the land.