A new report from Amnesty International says “green colonialism” — the appropriation of land and resources for environmental purposes — threatens indigenous Sámi culture in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Written with the input of the Saami Council, a voluntary nongovernmental organization, the report highlights human rights violations connected to Sámi lands being treated like sacrifice zones for global climate goals and green financial interests.
“We see that states continue to promote the same types of industrial activities and exploitation of nature as before, but now under new labels and justifications,” said Saami Council President Per-Olof Nutti. “These processes are often extremely lengthy and complex, leaving the Sámi with little or no opportunity to influence our own future.”
Sámi homelands, known as Sápmi, stretch across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, and the report’s authors highlight that climate change threatens Sámi people in two ways: direct environmental impacts, and an increasing number of green energy projects and extract... Read more