Our struggle for the culture of nature in the north
For 25 years, NSR has shown zero interest in fighting for residue’s nature use. Continue voting NSR and Sp and you lose even more of your rights in nature.
We have fished inland fish for generations, both with yarn and lace. Summer and winter. We have picked berries and utility plants, we have hunted, picked up and used nature actively and as part of our basis of life and worldview.
Why is it that we more and more often refused to go to the mountain both summer and winter? Why then does the law say that you are a criminal if you go to the family’s traditional fishing waters and berry ants, if you fish with yarn as it has been done for generations before us?
And this during a period when we become smaller and smaller people in the north, it is claimed that we are a great harm to nature.
And this utilizes the entire management system: Municipalities discriminate when they grant exemptions in terms of motor traffic. Residents are assessed according to extremely strict criteria. The state manager goes even further: They close out -of -the -field trails on the grounds of reindeer husbandry – even though the reindeer husbandry has not commented on the matter!
NSR has completely failed us Sami, and has built up a hierarchical system, where some should be sacred on top, while we others should bend and be grateful because we get to live in the country. Most of us do not count wealth in crowns.
We count it in access to nature, the number of kilos of berries and meat in the freezer, how much fish we can fish. The Sami worldview is so for many of us.
If we ever achieve reconciliation between us Sami, we must fight for all residents to have equal rights, be able to move in nature and develop their culture of nature. NSR has never taken responsibility and recognized the rights of residents.
Today, the conflict is great, with good help from NSR. Letting NSR continue will contribute to the continuation of incompatibility between the Sami.
NSR and Sp will never fight that fight, it is only the Northern Calotte people who want to take. The same goes for the same-ap. In motor traffic, they also failed to defend the Sami’s right to use nature in line with our culture and way of life.
We have therefore prepared a principle document for nature use and industry, which we initiate as soon as we have a majority in the Sami Parliament. We want the nature industry back – inland fishermen, berry anchors and others. We want more fishing and berry reception, more living mountain lodges and good trails and driving tracks to get to our berry areas and fishing lakes. We know that we can all live side by side, whether it is reindeer husbandry, inland fish industry or sankers of various kinds. Then we must first get our rights in our own laws and in the Motor Transport Act. With the NSR SP in the lead, it will never happen.
