The Sami, a symbol and model people

In 2009, the film Avatar depicted the confrontation between a mining resource company and an indigenous people of the planet Pandora, the Na7vis.

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On Earth, one of the greatest threats to the survival of indigenous peoples is climate change. Rising temperatures, increasingly frequent droughts, multiplying fires: these are all factors that threaten these peoples who are also called “indigenous”.

Today, we are talking about the Samis, this indigenous people living in the Nordic countries. Alerted by its vulnerability to climate change, we were inspired by it for our name.

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1. The Samis, victims of the excesses of our economic choices

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The Samis are an indigenous people who inhabit the region of S1pmi, called Lapland in French, located in the north of three Nordic countries (Norway, Finland and Sweden) and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The Sami population is composed of 70,000 to 100,000 inhabitants and has lived in the region for thousands of years. 

The Samis are also an example of sobriety. But what does that mean exactly? No, sobriety is not a return to the oil lamp. It is the re-evaluation of our needs and the distinction between what is superfluous and what is necessary: living with less, certainly, but above all living better.

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Among the Samis, this translates into a strong attachment to nature and consequently not taking more than they need. Aili Keskitalo, a Norwegian politician of Sami origin, explains that although a majority of Samis have adopted a modern lifestyle, they have kept a value system based on the circular economy and frugality.

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1.1. Climate change

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Today, the way of life of the Samis is largely questioned by the effects of climate change. The average temperature in the region has not stopped increasing in recent years. In 2017, the terrestrial temperature in the Arctic surpassed by 1.60C the average of the period 1981-2010. In the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, with 21.7°C recorded on July 25, 2020, the Arctic experienced its hottest day since the beginning of meteorological records.

As shown by the map below, the rise in temperatures is about twice as high in the Arctic region as in the rest of the globe.

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Consequences of the rise in temperatures, droughts and fires are multiplying and destroying vital lands for Sami reindeer breeders. And this, while they have already been facing for many years other environmental pressures: mining exploitation and impact on biodiversity, deforestation and poorly managed reforestation and other problems related to our ecological footprint.

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In 2021, a geoengineering project was considered in Sweden, on Sami lands. Geoengineering refers to all scientific projects concerning the modification of the climate using technologies. The project in question, entitled Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), consisted of sending a balloon to high altitude in order to release particles aimed at mitigating the effects of solar radiation and thus cooling the atmosphere. A special committee was set up by Harvard to study the ethical and environmental cost of this project and requested the cancellation of the flight scheduled for June.

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Indeed, geoengineering does not have a consensus in the scientific community and the Samis were not consulted during the negotiations concerning this project, it has been canceled for the moment.

1.2. The exploitation of natural resources

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The forestry industry also contributes to the problem: it cuts down the trees on which lichen grows, which the reindeer feed on. As a result, lichen areas have decreased by more than 71% since 1953 in northern Sweden.

Some breeders have no choice but to feed their reindeer. For this, they are forced to place them in enclosures, where the living conditions are not suitable for animals used to wide open spaces. Enclosures become places of contamination, filled with stress factors that weaken the immune system of reindeer: it is a fertile ground for the spread of diseases.

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Finally, a controversial project of an open-pit iron mine was enacted by the Swedish government in 2021. This project poses several problems:

• It is planned to be located in the Gallok region, in northern Sweden, where a large reindeer farm managed by Samis is already established. Moreover, the transport of the ore would hinder the usual routes of the great reindeer migrations.
• The exploitation of the mine would generate pollution of water and the environment due to the dust of heavy metals and toxic waste.

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2. Other indigenous peoples

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"We must remember and preserve the deep spiritual connection that indigenous peoples have with their lands and resources." "Antonio Gutteres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

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The situation of the Sami can be compared to that of another northern indigenous group: the Inuit of Greenland. Generally, indigenous peoples represent about 370 million people (according to the United Nations), spread across 90 countries, from 5,000 different cultures.

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The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Gutteres, recalled on the occasion of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples the "deep spiritual connection that indigenous peoples have with their lands and resources", calling for their preservation. He also stated, within the framework of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, that indigenous peoples must be recognized for their contributions and that the possibility of prospering in peace on a healthy planet must be given to them.

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Indeed, according to a recent report by McKinsey, indigenous and local communities around the world manage forests containing carbon equivalent to 33 times our current annual emissions. To learn more about indigenous peoples in the face of climate change, we invite you to read the report by the International Labour Office on the subject.

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If indigenous peoples have been largely overlooked in the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mention them six times in the 2030 Agenda. Goal 2 aims to double by 2030 the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, including indigenous peoples, while Goal 4 aims to ensure equal access for indigenous peoples to all levels of education and vocational training. 

Enough to protect the Sami and other indigenous peoples? Probably not. The Sami, like other indigenous peoples, contribute very little to greenhouse gas emissions, but they are the first to suffer the consequences. To help them, we need not only targeted measures for indigenous peoples but above all to accelerate the fight against climate change.

In its own way, by allowing companies to calculate their carbon footprint and reduce their emissions, Sami hopes to be able to contribute to helping the Sami!

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