Stockholm
This February 6, the representatives of the Sami people dressed in the traditional kolt raised their flag on the esplanade of the town hall of Stockholm, at the edge of the lake Mälaren. They sang their hymn - Sami soga lávlla - which evokes nature and the seasons, and listened to the haunting melody of the jojk . But unlike previous years, they did not just celebrate the meeting of the first Sami Parliament on February 6, 1917, in Norway.
Just two weeks ago, the Swedish Supreme Court ruled on a dispute between Sweden for ten years and a Sami village in the Far North. According to its decree, issued on January 23, it is not up to the State, the owner of the land on which the Samis live, to decide who can hunt and fish in this territory ... But the Sami themselves, by virtue of their ancestral rights.
It is important for us, because hunting, fishing and gathering are part of our culture, it is an essential complement to reindeer breeding.
Pierre Ahrén, activist and painterFor members of the only indigenous people in Europe, who straddle the Scandinavian borders and still fight today to preserve their culture
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