Sámi Parliament of Norway
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sje, Sámedigge
sju, Sámiediggie
sma, Saemiedigkie
sms, Sääʹmteʹǧǧ
no, Sametinget , legislature = 9th Sámi Parliament , coa_pic = Nordsamisk_farge_symmetrisk_stor-01.svg , house_type = Unicameral , foundation = , preceded_by = Norwegian Sámi Council , leader1_type = Speaker , leader1 = Tom Sottinen , party1 = Labour , election1 = 15 June 2018 , leader2_type = Deputy speaker , leader2 = Tor Gunnar Nystad , party2 = NSR , election2 = 12 October 2017 , leader3_type = President of the Sámi Parliament , leader3 = Silje Karine Muotka , party3 = NSR , election3 = 21 October 2021 , members = 39 , structure1 = Sami Parliament of Norway current.svg , structure1_res = 250px , political_groups1 = Governing Council (21) * * Centre Party (3) * Ávjovári Moving Sámi List (1)
Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
(18) * Nordkalottfolket (9) * Labour Party (6) * Sámi People's Party (1) * Progress Party (1) *
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
(1) , voting_system1 =
Open list proportional representation Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, par ...

Modified Sainte-Laguë method , last_election1 = 13 September 2021 , next_election1 = 2025 , session_room = Sámediggi.JPG , meeting_place = Sámi Parliament of Norway Building
Karasjok ( se, Kárášjohka ; fkv, Kaarasjoki) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok. Other villages include Dorvonjárga, Šuoššjávri, and Váljohka. Th ...
, Norway , website = The Sámi Parliament of Norway ( no, Sametinget, sme, Sámediggi ,
Lule Sami Lule may refer to: * Lule people, an indigenous people of northern Argentina * Lule language, a possibly extinct language of Argentina * Lule Sami language, a language spoken in Sweden and Norway * Luleå, also known as Lule, a town in Sweden * ...
and sje, Sámedigge, sju, Sámiediggie, sma, Saemiedigkie, sms, Sääʹmteʹǧǧ) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the Sami people of Norway. The parliament opened on 9 October 1989 and its seat is in the village of Kárášjohka (Karasjok) in Kárášjohka Municipality in
Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...
county. It currently has 39 representatives, who are elected every four years by direct vote from 7 constituencies. The last election was in 2021. Unlike the neighboring Sámi Parliament of Finland, the 7 constituencies cover the entire country. The current president is Silje Karine Muotka who represents the Norwegian Sámi Association.


History

In 1964, the Norwegian Sámi Council was established to address Sámi matters. The members of the body were appointed by state authorities. This body was replaced by the Sámi Parliament. In 1978, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate published a plan that called for the construction of a dam and hydroelectric power plant that would create an artificial lake and inundate the
Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...
village of
Máze or or is a village in Kautokeino Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the river Kautokeinoelva, about south of the town of Alta and about north of the village of Kautokeino. The village is made up ...
. This plan was met by strong opposition from the Sámi, and resulted in the
Alta controversy The Alta conflict or Alta controversy refers to a series of massive protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s concerning the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta River in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Timeline *Inhabitan ...
. As a result of the controversy, the Norwegian government held meetings in 1980 and 1981 with a Sámi delegation appointed by the Norwegian Sámi Association, the Sámi Reindeer Herders’ Association of Norway and the Norwegian Sámi Council. The meetings resulted in the establishment of a committee to discuss Sámi cultural issues, and the ''Sámi Rights Committee'' addressing Sámi legal relations. The latter proposed a democratically elected body for the Sámi, resulting in the Sámi Act of 1987. In addition, the ''Sámi Rights Committee'' resulted in the 1988 amendment of the Norwegian Constitution, and the adoption of the Finnmark Act in 2005. The Sámi Act (1987:56), stipulating the responsibilities and powers of the Norwegian Sámi Parliament, was passed by the Norwegian Parliament on 12 June 1987 and took effect on 24 February 1989. The first session of the Sámi Parliament was convened on 9 October 1989 and was opened by King Olav V.


Organization

The Norwegian Sámi Parliament plenary (''dievasčoahkkin'') has 39 representatives elected by direct vote from 7 constituencies. The plenary is the highest body in the Sámi Parliament and it is sovereign in the execution of the Sámi Parliaments duties within the framework of the Sámi Act. The representatives from the largest party (or from a collaboration of parties) form a governing council (''Sámediggeráđđi''), and selects a president. Although the position of vice-president was formally removed from the Sámi Parliament's Rules of Procedure in 2013, it is considered the concern of the President of the Sámi Parliament whether he or she wants to appoint a vice-president. The governing council is responsible for executing the roles and responsibilities of the parliament between plenary meetings. In addition there are multiple thematic committees addressing specific cases.


Presidents


Location

The Sámi Parliament of Norway is located in
Karasjok ( se, Kárášjohka ; fkv, Kaarasjoki) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok. Other villages include Dorvonjárga, Šuoššjávri, and Váljohka. Th ...
(Kárášjohka), and the building was inaugurated on 2 November 2000. There are also offices in Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino), Unjárga (Nesseby), Gáivuotna (Kåfjord), Romsa (Tromsø), Skánik (Evenskjær) Ájluokta (Drag), Aarborte (Hattfjelldal) and Snåase (Snåsa). The town of Kárášjohka is considered an important center of Sámi culture in Norway. Approximately 80% of the town's population is Sámi-speaking, and the town also hosts Sámi broadcasting stations and several public and private Sámi institutions such as the Sámi Museum and the organization Sami Trade and Industry.


Building

The building was designed by the architects Stein Halvorsen & Christian Sundby, who won the Norwegian government's call for projects in 1995, and inaugurated in 2005. The government called for a building such that "the Sami Parliament appears in a dignified way" and "reflects Sami architecture." Hence the peaked structure of the Plenary Assembly Hall resembles the tipis the Sámi used as a
nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
culture. The parliament building also houses a Sámi library focusing on books in the Sámi language or on Sámi topics, and the Sámi chamber of commerce, Sámi Trade and Industry'.


Responsibilities

The parliament works with political issues it considers relevant or of interest to the Sámi people. The responsibilities of the Sámi Parliament in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
are: "(1) to serve as the Sámi’s elected political body to promote political initiatives and (2) to carry out the administrative tasks delegated from national authorities or by law to the Sami Parliament.". The extent of responsibility that was assigned and transferred from the Norwegian government at the time of establishment was modest (1989). However, more responsibilities have been added including: *Management of the Sámi Development Fund, which is used for grants to Sami organizations and Sami
duodji {{Peacock, date=May 2022 Duodji is a traditional Sami handicraft, dating back to a time when the Sami were far more isolated from the outside world than they are today. Duodji tools, clothing and accessories are intended to primarily be functiona ...
(1989). *Responsibility for the development of the Sámi language in Norway, including allocation of funds to Sámi language municipalities and counties (1992). *Responsibility for Sámi culture, including a fund from the Norwegian Council for Cultural Affairs (1993). *Protection of Sámi cultural heritage sites (1994). *Development of Sámi teaching aids, including allocation of grants for this purpose (2000). *Election of 50% of the members to the board in the
Finnmark Estate The Finnmark Act () of 2005 transferred about 96% (about 46,000 km2) of the area in the Finnmark county in Norway to the inhabitants of Finnmark. This area is managed by the Finnmark Estate agency. The Finnmark Estate is managed by a board of dir ...
(2006). One of the responsibilities is ensuring that the section 1–5 of the Saami Act (1987:56) is upheld, i.e., that the
Sámi languages Sámi languages ( ), in English also rendered as Sami and Saami, are a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sámi people in Northern Europe (in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden, and extreme northwestern Russia). There are, dependin ...
and
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
continue to have the same status.


Finances


Funding

Funding is granted by the Norwegian state over various national budget lines. But the parliament can distribute the received funds according to its own priorities. In the Norwegian government the main responsibility for Sámi affairs, including the allocation of funds, is the ''Ministry of Local government''.


Salaries and other expenses

The president's salary is 80% of that of the members of the Norwegian cabinet. The salary of the other 4 members of the ''Sámediggeráđđi'' (governing council) is 75% of the president's salary. The speaker's salary is 80% of the president's.


Elections

To be eligible to vote or be elected to the Norwegian Sámi Parliament a person needs to be included in the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll. In order to be included the following criteria must be met as stipulated in Section 2–6 of the Sámi Act: "Everyone who declares that they consider themselves to be Sámi, and who either has Sámi as his or her home language, or has or has had a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent with Sámi as his or her home language, or who is a child of someone who is or has been registered in the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll, has the right to be enrolled in the Electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament in the municipality of residence." Results of the last election:


Cooperation with the state government

In the Norwegian central administration the coordinating organ and central administrator for Sámi issues is the Department of Sámi and Minority Affairs in the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion. This department also coordinates inter-ministerial and Nordic state cooperation regarding Sámi issues. The Sámi Parliament is consulted when state government issues affect Sámi interests.


See also

* Sámi politics ** Sámi Parliament of Finland ** Sámi Parliament of Sweden **
Sámi Parliament of Russia The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...
* Elections in Norway


References


External links


Official site
*On gender balance in the parliament
''Norway’s Sámi Parliament: Getting to 50-50''
on the International Museum of Women website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sami Parliament Of Norway Politics of Norway Sámi in Norway
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
Organisations based in Troms og Finnmark Buildings and structures in Troms og Finnmark Karasjok 1989 establishments in Norway Indigenous organisations in Norway