After Girja’s Sámi village won in court – and received the right to manage hunting and fishing in the mountains within its area – the state chose to appoint the Reindeer Committee to review the Reindeer Management Act.
On Thursday, the first result of the committee’s work will come. An interim report that is expected to be over 700 pages long.
Sami villages risk being disappointed
The Girjasdom has led to an increasingly conflict-filled situation in the north. This was not least noticeable in the election campaign, where several parties in northern Sweden went to the polls locally on issues related to hunting and fishing – even if these are not issues governed by the municipality or the region. Sami villages have also testified that, among other things, attacks on reindeer have increased. Which is believed to be a consequence of the heated debate situation.
However, those who hoped that the plains committee would come up with the solution risk being disappointed when the partial report becomes public. According to what was previously leaked from the documents, no major changes will be proposed. The Reinmarks Committee is expected to propose that the state continue to manage hunting and fishing in the mountains – with the exception of the Sami villages that have won in court.
“The right belongs to the Sami villages”
Matti Blind Berg, chairman of SSR and former chairman of Girja’s Sami village, is disappointed. Since the information was leaked from the committee, at least two Sami villages have started preparing to sue the state – and Blind Berg hopes that even more will follow that path.
For him, the question is simple. It is legal and not political. With the clear land committee’s expected proposal, he believes that Girjasdom is being ignored.
– The right belongs to the Sámi villages, then how the villages choose to manage their right is up to each Sámi village to decide, says Matti Blind Berg SSR chairman
Watch Matti Blind Berg comment on the work of the clearing committee in the clip above