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Finland's Truth Commission Calls On State To Make Amends For Historic Injustices Against The Sami

09:47 PM, 12/04/2025
Finland's Truth Commission Calls On State To Make Amends For Historic Injustices Against The Sami

The Finnish truth and reconciliation commission concluded a four-year inquiry and urged the state to take responsibility for historic injustices against the Sami, including forced boarding school placements and cultural suppression. It recorded testimony from nearly 400 Sami and issued 68 recommended legal and administrative measures, such as adopting the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention and creating a Sami affairs unit in the prime minister's office. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said an apology 'must be made.' The report also highlights contemporary threats from climate change and land-use conflicts.

Truth Commission Urges Finland To Redress Historic Wrongs Against The Sami

A Finnish truth and reconciliation commission on Thursday presented its final report after a four-year inquiry, urging the state to acknowledge and rectify historic injustices against the indigenous Sami people. The commission gathered testimony from nearly 400 Sami and interviewed dozens of experts to document systemic discrimination, human rights violations and long-standing assimilationist practices.

Until late in the 20th century, many Sami children were removed from their families and placed in boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their languages, practise their culture or maintain traditional livelihoods. Though Finland never codified an assimilation policy in law as neighbouring Sweden and Norway did, commission chair Hannele Pokka told AFP: 'The end result has been the same.'

"The state must assume responsibility for historic injustices," the report says, adding that Finland was founded on lands shared by two peoples — the Sami and the Finns.

The commission delivered its final findings to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Sami representatives. Finland has not yet issued a formal apology; after the handover ceremony Orpo said, 'It is clear to me that an apology must be made.'

Recommendations To Secure A Sustainable Future

The commission proposed 68 measures combining legal and administrative reforms to ensure the Sami 'a good future.' Key recommendations include Finland's adoption of the International Labour Organization's Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, new legislation to regulate and protect Sami reindeer husbandry, and the creation of a dedicated unit in the prime minister's office to coordinate Sami affairs.

The report also highlights current pressures facing the Sami — climate change, increasing competition for land use in the Arctic, and gaps in recognition of indigenous rights — and urges prompt government action to address them.

About 10,000 Sami live in Finland out of an estimated 75,000–100,000 people across the broader Sápmi region, which spans parts of Sweden, Norway and Russia's Kola Peninsula. Sami culture and languages are closely tied to traditional livelihoods such as reindeer husbandry, fishing, gathering and handicrafts. Three Sami languages are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami.

Truth and reconciliation processes in Australia, Canada and other Nordic countries have similarly documented historic abuses against indigenous peoples, and the commission's report positions Finland to follow a comparable path toward repair and recognition.

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