When the Sami becomes a problem

I was born and raised as the same. Sami is my first language. Norwegian I learned first when I was about twelve years old. My identity is Sami, not something I have chosen, but something I carry with me, and which I have to defend every day to a greater or lesser extent.

When I read posts from the Northern Calotte People (NKF), I feel discomfort. Not because there is disagreement or political resistance – I can tolerate it. The discomfort comes from the tone, of the words, and what is said between the lines.

When NKF writes things like « not the same good enough », I don’t just feel overlooked, I feel suspected. It creates a sense of being defined as a problem. Not as an individual, but as part of a people.

Often, it is felt that NKF does not know Sami environments or cultures. While we say « we », they say « they Sami ». It is an important linguistic detail, but it reveals the distance. It shows who is seen as within and who is placed outside the community.

It is serious when Sami people feel turmoil and fear of the idea that a party can gain power. Not because we are afraid of differences of opinion, but because we have historical and personal experiences with how it feels when our existence is made a problem in the social debate.

I have experienced heat. I have been treated like air in the workplace. I have known how small events such as taking the wrong coffee cup can get another sound when you are the same. It’s not about the cup. It’s about the underlying feeling of not belonging.

We do not ask for special treatment. We ask to be met as equal. We ask for the right to be ourselves with language, culture and belonging. We do not want more than others. But we can no longer get less.

When NKF says they fight for everyone, I ask the question: Do they see us? Do they see the whole picture, or do they see Sami rights as something that needs to be « balanced »?

We must never end up there again where Sami children grow up and learn that it is safest to be quiet about who they are. That’s why I refuse to silence.

Brita Julianne Foam, Alta

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