The Sami people of Norway and Sweden
The Saami people are an arctic-based native community, they have a population of around 80,000 to 100,000 spread out between Finland, Russia, Norway, and Sweden having most of their population placed in that country. Fishing and reindeer herding help the economy for the Saami people and even bring tourists for the big herds of friendly reindeers. Over the past two decades, mental health problems have popped up creating a focus on such issues. A lot of this has to do with the cultural loss of identity and tradition. Taboos about mental health are more popular around that region, and a portion of these mental health issues revolve around the reindeer herding dilemma.
What is so important to Sami people about reindeer?
Reindeer herding is a huge part of Saami tradition, it's believed to be in practice since the 17th century. Not only has reindeer provided food, clothes, shoes, and transportation but practically a second family belonging to the Saami people. Frøydis Nystad Nilsen, a Saami psychologist claims “We are nature people. When you lose your land, you lose your identity.” Since there is a crisis surrounding reindeer, it has impacted many Saami family’s mental health. Many reindeer herders spend time with those animals daily around that season, so if reindeers are negatively affected by it, it affects the Saami people secondhandly as well.
What issues have affected reindeers?
The main issue affecting reindeer is climate change. The drastic changes in weather make it hard for lichen (the main food source for reindeer) to survive due to some days it being sunny and snow melting then the next day it being super cold causing it to freeze up again. In the past couple of years lots of reindeer herds face starvation, starvation is a huge cause for mother reindeers to miscarry which lowers the population of reindeer. Another big factor affecting reindeer is the use of land choices made by the government in control of where the Saami people live. A reindeer herder, Aslak Eira, states “The problem is land grabbing. Government expropriates land for roads and tunnels, wind farms and mines. Our land is being eroded by development. Almost half of our winter lands have gone. I fear that in future there will be nowhere left for the reindeer.” an example of this would be the battle between the Saami people and Sweden army to fight against the industrial expansion of the Mauken-Blafjell military area for anti-terrorism training. There are now roads and huts dotted across their pasture since the Saami people lost this case. Conservationists know this is an issue so the protection of predators such as eagles and lynx(One lynx can kill 100 reindeer in a year ) comes into place, but since the food chain is disarrayed more reindeer are being hunted down faster than they can produce. One other big issue is waste dumping, Aili Keskitalo, president of the Saami parliament concludes ''The latest assault on the Saami way of life comes from companies which have been allowed to dig massive open-cast mines on Saami land, and then dump toxic mineral waste in fjords with the best salmon fishing''. In the end, not one issue is causing distress to the reindeer herding community but the build-up of multiple issues.
The mental health crisis with the Sami people
Overall mental health is a very taboo topic in that European region. An ordinary reindeer herding Saami family lost two family members due to suicide and the surrounding people who knew that family disconnected themselves from them. The family believes it's because of the embarrassment of knowing those two people passed by committing suicide. Suicide offers an escape from the inexorable force of climate change, which is "eroding" the traditional way of life in the Arctic. Jonas Partapuoli, a member of the Saami Youth Association says ''traditional reindeer-grazing land has been taken by the state for resource development or sustainable energy projects, such as wind farms, with no consultation with the Saami. The changes have had massive effects on their way of life, and one in three reindeer herders between the ages of 18 and 29 have considered suicide. There is little mental health support specific to the Saami, and reindeer herders often eschew seeking help as they feel it weakens their image.'' Ethnic discrimination, cultural loss, and identity are the biggest factors affecting mental health, 60,000 to 100,000 remaining Saami are being “Norwegianised '' cutting ties with the traditional way of life. Researchers have found that Half of Saami adults suffer from anxiety and depression and rates of suicidal ideation to be around four times higher among Saami than other people in Sweden. Although the Saami people used to have one of the highest rates of suicide amongst other native nations and have gotten better, does not mean it still isn’t a massive issue that needs to be resolved.
How is this issue being resolved?
Not much can be done about climate change since it's an international issue, but more mental health programs are being offered to the countries in which the Saami people live. SANKS (Saami Norwegian National Advisory Board on Mental Health and Substance Abuse) offers a therapeutic camping program for healing families. This includes campfires, fishing trips, horseback rides, and creating traditional handicrafts. As much as this sounds amazing there are still flaws about this program. Patients have to travel to Norway to be in the program. No similar programs exist in Sweden. Traveling can cause more distress for the Saami people and may not fix the cause of the mental health issues they face. In Sweden, it is illegal for doctors to ask about a patient’s ethnic background. Providing care that is specific to an indigenous group would technically disobey that rule. In 2017 a Truth and reconciliation commission opened up focused on indigenous peoples of Sweden, so in hopes that if all goes well, the overall objective of mental health help for the Saami people will progress. The result of the Truth and Reconciliation commission being propelled, by 2023 some members of the truth and reconciliation team have scheduled physiological help for indigenous groups of Findland.
Connections to other native nations
The opening of Truth and reconciliation for the Saami people is heavily based on Canada’s actions. Tuomas Aslak Juuso, Vice-President of the Sami Parliament of Finland, says “I think the Canadian example has triggered political will among Saami representatives. It was the crucial factor for us to take the leap and believe in this kind of process." A lot of the living styles of the Saami people are similar to Canadian indigenous culture as they both still make a profit off of their traditions, the most common one is fishing.
The way issues around the Saami people only have just recently tried to be resolved reminds me of Australia and how it’s been more of s struggle to deal with native issues. Canada seems to have a little more progress towards fixing issues as these other communities have to fight more to get recognition.
Final Thoughts
This topic hits a lot deeper than normal due to the massive involvement animals have with this topic, and the fact mental health is seen as embarrassing. A way for both you and I can help this situation is to spread more awareness about climate change, help remove our environmental footprint and help make mental health a less taboo topic in other parts of the world. Which we can do by making groups and organizations that clearly support European regions.
References
advertising agency SEK, and the visit Finland team. (2020, April 21). Meet the Sámi - Finland's indigenous people. VisitFinland.com. https://www.visitfinland.com/article/meet-the-sami-finlands-indigenous-people/#7e96acad
Andersen, C., & Schreiber @m_scribe, M. (2016, December 9). Suicide stalks reindeer herders in the land of midnight sun. STAT. https://www.statnews.com/2016/12/09/suicide-sweden-sami-mental-health/
CBC, N. (2015, March 27). Mental health issues rampant among Saami reindeer herders: CMWS presenter | CBC News. CBC news a disappearingthe . https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mental-health-issues-rampant-among-saami-reindeer-herders-cmws-presenter-1.3010792
Kvernmo, S. (n.d.). The Impact of Cultural Determinants on Indigenous Sami Adolescents' Well-being and Mental Health. Northern and Indigenous Health and Healthcare. https://openpress.usask.ca/northernhealthcare/chapter/chapter-20-the-impact-of-cultural-determinants-on-indigenous-sami-adolescents-well-being-and-mental-health/
News, Y. (2021, March 26). Psychosocial support for Sami proposed ahead of Finland's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Eye on the Arctic. https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2021/03/26/psychosocial-support-for-sami-proposed-ahead-of-finlands-truth-and-reconciliation-commission/
Petit, F. (2019, September 11). Finland to set up Truth Commission for the Sami people. Intercontinental Cry. https://intercontinentalcry.org/finland-to-set-up-truth-commission-for-the-sami-people/
Vidal, J. (2016, February 21). Sami reindeer herders battle conservationists and miners to cling on to Arctic culture. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/21/sami-people-reindeer-herders-arctic-culture
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