Reindeer Blog

On Wednesday, October 7th, the Ministers of Agriculture in Norway and Sweden signed the new Norwegian-Swedish Reindeer Grazing Convention. The Convention contains provisions for how reindeer herding is conducted over the border. The background to the negotiations is that the 1972 Reindeer Grazing Convention expired in 2005 and had to be replaced with a new [...]

(Press Release, Saami Council) The Saami people say a mining project in Northeastern Sweden, proposed by a Canadian company, threatens their traditional way of life and violates their basic human rights, as recognized by the United Nations. On 31 August 2009, Blackstone Ventures Inc., a Vancouver-based mining company, announced plans to begin test-drilling for minerals [...]

War games in the North were in the news in Scandinavia this last week, when Operation Loyal Arrow took place between June 8-18. 800-900 exercise participants from Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and the United States as well as NATO’s airborne early warning component participated. Two issues were of [...]

(pic: Carl-Johan Utsi) Per-Erik Marsja from Girjas Sami village and the leader of the Association of Swedish Reindeer Herders, Per-Gustav Idivuoma, submitting the application to Gällivare District Court. The Sami Radio in Sweden reports that Girjas Sami village together with the Association of the Swedish Reindeer Herders yesterday left in a lawsuit against the Swedish [...]

  The documentary ‘Herdwoman’ by Kine Boman tells the stories of  three Sami reindeer herding women in Sweden of different generations and their lives with the reindeer herds. Their thoughts, dreams and memories show their view of lifes essential values. When a court case questions their ancient rights to reindeer pasture their life as reindeer keepers [...]

Vapsten Sami village in Sweden has been granted state aid which enables them to test new methods in monitoring reindeer. Now, the reindeer will be fitted with GPS transmitters. Jon Mikkal Labba, the leader of the Vapsten Sami village, says that he begins his working day by turning on the computer, to see how the reindeer [...]

The reindeer grazing dispute in Härjedalen county, Sweden, will now be admissible by the European Court of Human Rights. It became clear recently when the European Court of Human Rights gave permission for the Sami Villages complaint. “It is positive,” says Jan Södergren, lawyer for the Sami villages.

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.

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 [...]