The states of Lapland regard the Sámis as a profession and not a nation. They are seen as Norwegian, Russian, Swedish or Finnish rural mountain peasants who farm reindeer instead of cows. The reindeer herders are governed by the agricultural ministries. The reindeer herding laws of the four states are a blue copy of the national farming laws. The nomadic rules followed by the herders are in conflict with the state “herding” laws.
Soviet anti-nomadic propaganda from 1985: “The tundra is not a proper home for a child.” The yellow house is a state orphanage where the native children are left.
The ministries have been working hard to “develop” the “rural peasants” by promoting the end of nomadism. This project has been executed using both the carrot and the whip. State-run villages with central heating and running water serves as the carrot, and state orphanages and boarding schools to force families to leave the migration paths serves as the whip. Another essential core principle of the four Lapland states’ laws is that the states own the ground. The natives only have the right to use the land if it’s not needed for mines, power stations, oil fields or other kinds of industrial activity. These state laws had little impact on everyday life earlier on, when the climate was harsh and unforgiving. Few could survive there except the indigenous nations. The four states did little to enforce their laws.
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