– There is a heavy backdrop as to why you sit here, says Mihkkal Hætta. He lives in a flat outside the Storting protesting that the wind turbines at Fosen have not yet been taken down. 700 days have now passed since the Supreme Court ruled that they had been set up in violation of the rights of the reindeer husbandry Sami. A new report from Amnesty International Norway shows that Sami people are being harassed in social media. Together with the analysis agency Analyze & Tall, they have gone through over 200,000 comments from Facebook from recent years. Sami Parliament Councilor Runar Myrnes Balto (NSR) believes that the Sami festival is a legacy of the Norwegianization process. These stereotypes are spread about Sami: The report shows that these stereotypes are most common in negative posts about Sami topics: • Sami have too many special rights, arrangements and benefits ¨¨ • Sami contribute little to the community • Sami are not indigenous • Sami allow themselves to be violated too easy • Sami hinder progress and modern development From report: Negative attitudes and stereotypes about Sami on Facebook (2023) by Analyze & Tall, on behalf of Amnesty International Norway. Increased Sami hatred after the Fosen verdict During the heated debate after the Fosen verdict, the spread of prejudice against the Sami on Facebook increased – according to a report from Amnesty. Together with an analysis agency, Analyze & Tall, they have gone through 200,000 comments on Facebook pages between January 2019 and June 2023. Secretary-General of Amnesty International Norway, John Peder Egenæs, says the Sami are systematically harassed online. Photo: Bjørn Olav Nordahl / news – The analysis shows that every fourth comment on Sami topics is negative. This is what John Peder Egenæs, Secretary General of Amnesty International Norway, tells us. – We also find that in matters concerning Sami themes, 25 percent of the comments are what we call negative, promote prejudice, and substantiate a number of myths surrounding the Sami population, says Egenæs. – In addition, we see that when the demonstration against the wind farms at Fosen started in the first half of 2023, the number of mentions of Sami issues increased, and then the share of what we perceive to be negative comments about the Sami increased to over 30 percent. Sami Parliament President Silje Karine Muotka (NSR) visits shareholder Mihkkal Hætta. Photo: Inga Kare Marja I. Utsi / news Got lavvo tried to demolish Mihkkal Hætta and the other campaigners have also directly experienced what was experienced as incitement in the last week. A local rap group used vandalism against the lavvo to promote their own music in a video posted on social media. – I think it’s stupid that people should look down on us Sami, says campaigner Mihkkal Hætta. The band Roc Boyz is previously known for inciting gays from one of their concerts this summer. The report from Amnesty shows that several peculiar prejudices about the Sami are spread in the comment fields on social media. Runar Myrnes Balto, leader of the Norwegian Sami National Confederation, speaks during Nature and Youth’s demonstration against mining dumping in Repparfjord outside the Storting on Saturday. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB “We need fewer Sami” Runar Myrnes Balto is a member of the Sami Parliament responsible for fighting Sami unity and truth and the reconciliation work of the Sami Parliament. He is not surprised by the report’s content. – It documents what we have shown all along. When there are Sami issues in the social debate, incitement against the Sami increases, he says. His latest example is from the comment section under a debate post in VG. Where Sami artist and activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen writes about the Fosen verdict. On 18 September 2023, a debate post by Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, about the Fosen judgment, was published on VG.no. On 19 September, the comment was still public. Photo: Faksmile from VG-nett. In the comments section below, there were several statements against the Sami, which can best be described as hate speech, one day after the publication of the debate post. In one comment, the statement reads: “We need more renewable electricity and a smaller number of Sami.” – It overflows with negative attitudes towards the Sami, and what I experience as Saminess, without the comments being deleted by those responsible, says Balto. He believes that such statements are quite common among statements on social media. – I think it is absolutely terrible that it is possible to write such things about the Sami, and that it is completely normal. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission outside the Storting during the presentation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. On 1 June 2023, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission submitted its investigation report to the Storting. Photo: Mette Ballovara A legacy of the Norwegianization process Runar Myrnes Balto believes the Sami festival is a continuation of the Norwegianization process, where the state taught Norwegians to view Sami language and culture as inferior. – This goes all the way back to the Norwegianization process. It is a holdover from the time when the state taught Norwegians, and the Sami, that Sami culture was inferior to Norwegian culture. He believes that the state’s attempt to eradicate Sami culture legitimized a culture of hatred against the Sami, which still lives in parts of the Norwegian population. – The state taught Norwegians to incite the Sami. Therefore, the state also has a duty to correct this, Balto believes. He believes that a national action plan against Sámi hatred, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has also proposed among measures to achieve understanding and reconciliation, is a way to go: – The government is therefore obliged to initiate coordinated measures to combat the incitement. – We have requested that the government must draw up a national action plan against Sami identity, the same has been pointed out by the commission. We are now starting to get enough documentation that the Sámi heat still has roots in our society, believes the Sámi parliamentary council. Mihkkal Hætta lives in a flat outside the Storting. He objects to the state’s treatment of the Fosen Sámi. Photo: Line Forsmo – There is more support than hate Amnesty fears Sami withdraw from the public debate for fear of being incited, and proposes measures to improve the speech climate for the Sami population. – We know that when the necessary green shifts come, there will also be more discussions where Sami themes and rights will be part of the discussion, says Amnesty leader John Peder Egenæs. He believes the Norwegian population must learn more about the Sami, in order to combat the prejudices that are spreading. Mikal Hætta also believes more knowledge is the way to go: – You also see in the school system that you learn very little about the Sámi and our history, says Mikal Hætta. At the same time, he appreciates all the support he also experiences that the Sámi receive. – There is more support than hatred for the Sami among Norwegians. It is very nice. This is how the data was analysed: Analysis of sources from 269 partisan Facebook pages, 284 media owners on Facebook and 73 public Facebook groups. From the period January 2019 to 2023. • Local party pages • National party pages, as well as the youth parties • The parties’ county teams • Party leaders, deputy leaders and party secretaries during the period • Ministers during the period • Storting politicians during the period • The parties’ top five Storting candidates from each constituency in 2021 Method: Qualitative analysis of selection of comments, identified negative holdings and stereotypes using AI. From report: Negative attitudes and stereotypes about Sami on Facebook (2023) by Analyze & Tall, on behalf of Amnesty International Norway.
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Every fourth statement about Sami on Facebook is negative – news Troms and Finnmark
