Sami’s experience more discrimination than Norwegians

Sami people ReiindeerSami people with Reindeer: Photo: wikipedia.org

A new research shows that the Sami population is four times more likely to experience discrimination than the majority of the population.

The researchers have conducted a survey among 11,600 Sami from 25 municipalities from Trøndelag and northwards, writes Klassekampen news.

The research statistics are discouraging, says Professor Ketil Hansen Lenert at UiT – Norway’s Arctic university.

– These are severe figures. Many Sami experience various forms of discrimination.

The most common form reported by the Sami, is ethnic discrimination, followed by discrimination based on gender and geographical representation, says Hansen.

He also says that there is also a discriminating framework where it isn’t necessarily motivated by any ill will.

– The framework of the general public is such that the Sami are often forgotten. Translations of texts into the Sami language are forgotten or inclusion of advertising in Sami media, says Hansen.

As an example, he refers to the advertisement for the position of County Governor of Finnmark. The advertisement was not included in any of the Sami newspapers.

– This conveys a very bad signal, when a very important position in Norway’s Sami county is not announced to the Sami population, says editor Geir Wulff in the Sami newspaper Ságat.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today