Reindeer Blog

The Saami Council, the NGO that represents the Sami people in all four countries in which they live have released a strongly worded press release criticising the German bank KfW IPEX for their funding of a giant wind power project in Sami reindeer herding areas, in contravention of the OECD Convention on Multilateral Enterprises. In [...]

A multi stakeholder seminar was held in the Kautokeino, Norway yesterday which focussed on the issue of mining in Finnmark, an issue of some controversy in the region since the passing of the Finnmark Act which devolved desicion making powers over multiple resource issues to the region of Finnmark. The seminar was attended by the [...]

In a billowing cloud of white, Russia’s Arctic herders drive thousands of panting and wild-eyed reindeer through the knee-deep snow to the first slaughter this year. But warm winters in recent years have forced herders here in the far northern Kola Peninsula to delay for months the rounding up of their reindeer from the vast [...]

A proposal on a new convention on cross-border reindeer grazing between Norway and Sweden is now completed. The two countries’ negotiating delegations finished their work in Stockholm 24 February, and the negotiation results are now submitted to Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Norway and the Agriculture Ministry in Sweden for further follow-up.

Laila Marielle Bergstrøm is a reindeer herder in the Saanti reindeer herding district in North Trøndelag, in the southern Sami region. Her regular reindeer herding help has a bad knee, so she took the unusual step of placing a ‘help wanted’  ad in the media in Finnmark, northern Norway. The position is for 3 months, [...]

Samerna borde ha samma rätt att avliva djur som judar och muslimerna. Det menade advokaten Trond Biti när samisk tradition sattes mot norsk lag igår i högsta domstolen i Norge. Trond Biti menar att muslimer och judar avlivar djuren med knivstick utan att bedöva (SR.se). Sami should have the same right to kill animals as [...]

Ingen sänkt bensinskatt för rennäringen / No lowered Fuel duty for reindeerhusbandry Regeringen har för flera år sen sänkt skatten för bränsle som används i jord- och skogsbruk. Men när det gäller skattelättnader för bränsle i rennäringen så säger regeringen nej. ”Diskriminering”, menar renägarförbundet. The government has for several years ago lowered the tax on [...]

Samebyarna får fortsätta att vänta på besked om när resterande rovdjursersättningar kan betalas ut av Sametinget. Sametingets begäran om mera pengar från regeringen, internbereds fortfarande.Allt talar för att Sametinget antingen får låna av sina egna pengar för nästa år, eller att Finansdepartementet går med på att utöka checkkrediten för Sametinget med nio miljoner kronor. Det [...]

Although the deal to get start up aid from Sami Parliament will be two months, many of the reindeer who sought assistance had to wait up to one year. Margret Fjell Power waited almost a year and a half for clearance and she is very critical to the Sámi Parliament slow processing. Trots att handläggningstiden [...]

Även om beskedet att det kanadensiska bolaget, Northland Resources fått tillstånd att bryta järnmalm i Pajala, så finns oron hos Muonio sameby kring vilka konsekvenser det får för renskötseln. / The Canadian mining company, Northland Resources has received permission to mine iron ore in Pajala, and as a result, there are concerns among Muonio Sameby [...]