After more than ten years of legal process, the so-called Girja case was decided in early 2020. The Supreme Court granted the Sami village Girja the right to grant hunting and fishing in the area.
- The Girjas verdict has made it clear, among other things, that all authorities must weigh in and facilitate the Sami effort to maintain and develop their culture on land where the Sami have traditionally lived and worked. It also clarifies that international law on the Sami as indigenous peoples should influence the interpretation and application of Swedish law, says Marie B. Hagsgård, lawyer and expert in the Council of Europe's Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities.
In the wake of the verdict, the contradictions in many places have hardened and the Sami are exposed to both hatred and threat.
"It's my home"Anders Kråik is a member of the Sami Parliament, reindeer herder and lives in Kiruna for several years. His family was forced out of their settlements in the 1930s and although he himself does not belong to Girja's Sami village, he himself has noticed an increased hostility after the verdict.
- The mountains mean to me as the same that it is my home. My cultural residence. If you come into someone's home, you should also respect the rules and activities that are going on, he says.
"These are my mountains"Gunnar Selberg (C) is the chairman of the municipal council in Kiruna and tourism entrepreneurs who have profiled themselves on the question of who is entitled to the mountain. He condemns the hatred and threats, but is critical of the rights of the Sami villagers on questions about who can use the mountains.
- There is a conflict at the bottom here. The view of who actually owns this land, he says.
- I was born and raised in Kiruna, these are my mountains. I will probably never be able to get a feeling in my body that I would be here on mercy.
See excerpts from their meeting in the clip above, or the entire program on SVT Play.