Sápmi and Its Cultural History: Six Months After the Truth Commission’s Final Report—What Happens Next?

Senior Lecturer and PhD in Sámi Studies Krister Stoor reflects on developments in the six months since the Truth Commission for the Sámi People published its final report, and on what may lie ahead. What positive and negative consequences might the report have for the Sámi on the Swedish side of Sápmi? And will it lead to reconciliation?
Unlike several comparable commissions, the word “reconciliation” does not appear in the Commission’s official name. In its submission to the Ministry of Culture, however, the Sámi Parliament emphasized that the work of the Truth Commission was intended to be followed by a process of reconciliation, provided that the Commission’s recommendations were implemented.

Krister Stoor, from Orusjohka/Årosjokk, is Senior Lecturer and holds a PhD in Sámi studies at the Department of Language Studies / Sámi dutkan and Várdduo: Centre for Sámi Research at Umeå University. His research explores how narratives embedded in joik and other traditional forms of storytelling continue to resonate in contemporary contexts. His primary research area is intangible cultural heritage as a force in society, encompassing both joik and oral traditions.

For more information about the seminar series Sápmi and Its Cultural History, click HERE