Today, the Norwegian Institution for Human Rights (NIM) presented research on “Attitudes towards Sami and other minorities in Norway”. The survey shows that there is hatred of the Sami and prejudice against the Sami. Other minorities, such as Taters, Kvens/Norwegian Finns, Skog Finns and Jews, also experience hate speech and prejudice. Scary numbers Sami Council member Runar Myrnes Balto thinks there is one point in the survey in particular that he sees with horror. – This means that over 50,000 people in Northern Norway have a negative impression of the Sami. A member of the Sámi parliamentary council is concerned that the Sámi are so disliked in northern Norway. Photo: Nils John Porsanger / news Most Sami hatred in the north of the country The survey also shows that the further north you go in the country, the more Sami hatred. While 15 per cent of the population nationally have observed hate speech/incitement against Sami in the last 12 months, this increases to 24 per cent in southern Sami areas (central Norway and the north-eastern parts of the interior). In Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, this increases to 33 per cent Kai Emil Anti recognizes this. – There are some places here in the north where people are very against the Sami, it is easy to see in social media. Do not write The survey was aimed at 2,654 respondents in a representative sample of Norway’s population, limited to people aged 18 or older. The survey showed that there was relatively high support for stereotypical statements about Sami: Sami have too many special rights, arrangements and benefits that others do not receive (23 per cent) Sami are too easily violated (31 per cent), Sami contribute little to the economic community (14 per cent) Sami hinder progress and modern development (14 per cent) As a young reindeer herder, Kai Emil is often fed up with all the harassment and harassment that the reindeer herding industry is exposed to in comment fields on social media. – It does no good to see how much people dislike us, if there is a picture of a reindeer, people write a lot of strange things. Kai Emil Anti works on a daily basis as a reindeer herder. Photo: Marie Elise Nystad An example is if there is a picture of an injured reindeer. – If someone posts on Facebook a picture of reindeer that is injured for an unknown reason, then people attack the reindeer herders. Most common is that we do not herd our reindeer. We don’t care about our animals. Of course it is hurtful to read such a thing. Many times he has stopped writing on social media because of the hatred of the Sami. – It has happened several times that I have finished writing something and then delete it again. Something I want to share with others, but after thinking twice, I find that I will not post it. Because I can’t stand the negative attention just because I’m the same. Wrote master’s degree about Sámi violence Nils Johan Eira took a master’s degree in indigenous journalism in 2018. Eira wrote about Sámi who experienced harassment on social media. In his research, he used discourse analysis. Discourse analysis Discourse analysis is a research tradition that mainly deals with linguistic units uttered or expressed in a given context. This is often called discourse. Discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary tradition. Some of the directions that have contributed to or used discourse analysis as a method are linguistics, history of ideas, philosophy and literary studies. Source: SNL – Store norske lexikon – We looked more closely at the kind of language people used when they wrote about Sami issues, we tried to find out what triggers Saminess, says Eira. Already in 2018, Nils Johan’s master’s degree showed that the Sami experienced netness. Photo: Johan Ánte Utsi / news The research showed that five themes were sure triggers of Sami unity. – Words and themes that set fire to comment fields are: Ethnicity, reindeer husbandry, Sami language, special rights and the right to land and water. – Why does anyone want to incite Sami people? – It is a question that has a complex answer. But you have to look at history, all the way back to the 17th century when Sami who were seen as witches were burned. The short answer is that the Norwegianization policy had major consequences that we see to this day in the form of Sámi unity. We must get help Runar Myrnes Balto believes that this is a societal problem that the authorities must take seriously. – Both NIM and the Freedom of Expression Commission write that the authorities must now draw up a national action plan on how to combat hate speech/incitement. The Norwegian Institute for Human Rights (NIM) comes in connection with the survey with some recommendations on measures that the authorities can introduce. Among other things, they write: Minister of Education, Tonje Brenna (Ap), assures that this is something the government takes seriously and is working on. The government promises to fight hate speech/hate, assures the Minister of Education, Tonje Brenna. Photo: Even B. Johnsen – Hate speech is completely unacceptable. We must increase knowledge about our own indigenous population and counteract prejudice – which, unfortunately, we still see a lot of. For the Minister of Knowledge, one case in particular has made an impression. – One example of many is little Magnus who experienced incitement to wear a cardigan on 17 May this year. This is not the way it should be in Norway, and we must work together to break prejudices and stop incitement. More knowledge about the Sami and minorities in Norway is needed to stop the harassment. – It would be natural to look at increased competence about the Sami and national minorities for all teachers and teacher training in the context of existing arrangements, the Minister of Knowledge answers to news. Hope for recovery Kai Emil hopes that things will improve and that the hatred against the Sami will disappear. – I have seen when people share pictures of reindeer with positive text, the comments are not so ugly either. I think if people outside the industry learn more about reindeer husbandry that the hatred will disappear or at least be much less. Kai Emil hopes that Sami will avoid harassment and harassment in the future. Photo: Henrik Turi / No
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Research shows that Sámi experience Sámi hatred and prejudice – news Sápmi
