Abstract
Sacred sites and places, the knowledge and customs connected to these places, are still of significant importance for Sámi people today. They are part of their cultural identity and as such protected by Finnish law. However, current law systems do often not comply with indigenous peoples’ worldviews in general, and with the Sámi concept of sacred sites in particular. Against this background, this chapter investigates by which legal means Sámi sacred sites are protected nowadays in Finland and discusses related problems based on the Finnish Antiquities Act (295/1963). In doings so, the article gives an overview of the main existing domestic legal instruments for protecting Sámi sacred sites and elaborates, in this context, whether and to what extent Sámi sacred sites are specifically recognized in the respective legal framework. More specifically, the practical implementation of the legal protection of Sámi sacred sites under the Antiquities Act is discussed. Today, there are around 50 registered Sámi sacred sites, recognized as ‘ancient monuments’ under this act. These sacred sites are usually nature formations: mountains, lakes, springs, rocks, boulders or islands. Many challenges and problems exist related to their protection; so for example, the difficulty to identify them without ethnographic, historical, linguistic, archaeological or oral sources, or in general without deeper understanding of the Sámi concept of sacred landscapes. Moreover, questions arise of “How do we recognize a Sámi sacred site?”; “What kind of tools is needed when defining a sacred site and its borders?”; or “How can the Sámi knowledge of sacred places maintained and related information protected against the misuse of outsiders, while at the same time ensuring public access to cultural heritage?”
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Notes
- 1.
The Sámi homeland means, according to Section 4 (1) of the Act on the Sami Parliament (974/ 1995), the areas of the municipalities of Enontekiö, Inari and Utsjoki, as well as the area of the reindeer owners’ association of Lapland in Sodankylä.
- 2.
The National Board of Antiquities, operating under the Ministry of Education and Culture, is responsible for protecting environments with cultural history value, archaeological culture heritage and architectural heritage, and other cultural property. See its webpage at: http://www.nba.fi/en/about_us (accessed 17 May 2016).
- 3.
Access to the register, in Finnish language, at: http://kulttuuriymparisto.nba.fi/netsovellus/rekisteriportaali/portti/default.aspx (accessed 17 May 2016).
- 4.
„Suojelualueiden kulttuuriperintökohteiden inventointi –ohje“, last revised by Metsähallitus in 2013, not publically available.
- 5.
In Finland, protected areas are categorized as: national parks, strict nature reserves, mire reserves, protected herb-rich forests, protected old-growth forest areas, grey seal protection areas, other protected areas on state-owned land and protected areas on private land. Moreover, Finland has a Natura-2000-network in place to conserve important biotopes and species. These protected areas, established by statute, comprise ca. 17.000 km2. Moreover, the Finnish network of protected areas also includes areas which are part of nature conservation programmes (not yet established by statute), and which count in principle to be reserved as protected areas. Taking the latter areas also into account, the total protected area network comprises more than 71.000 km2. http://www.metsa.fi/web/en/numberandsizeofprotectedareas (accessed 23 May 2016).
- 6.
In this sense, wilderness reserves belong also to the “extended” network of protected areas in Finland. They are established in accordance to the Wilderness Act on state lands in Lapland. Currently, there are 12 wilderness areas combining an area of ca. 14.903 km2, http://www.metsa.fi/web/en/wilderness-areas (accessed 23 May 2016).
- 7.
The Hammastunturi wilderness reserve area comprises ca. 184.000 hectares and spans the municipalities of Inari (90 %), Sodankylä (9 %) and Kittilä (1 %). It is situated almost entirely within the Sámi homeland, and used as reindeer pastureland of the Hammastunturi (53 %), Sallivaara (26 %), Ivalo (11 %), Lapland (9 %) and Kuivasalmi (1 %) reindeer herding cooperatives.
- 8.
It should be noted, however, that the Finish language text version of the Land Use and Building Act in Section 5 (1), Nr.3 is somehow weaker by using the expression: „edistää rakennetun ympäristön kauneutta ja kulttuuriarvojen vaalimista“, what means in English language translated: „to promote the appreciation of beauty of the built heritage and cultural values“.
- 9.
In practice, this implies that extra field surveys and researches might be required from the competent authority if the plan does not contain sufficient information about sacred sites in the planning area.
- 10.
The Inari Sámi word ‘Äijih’ can be translated as grandfather, old man or god of thunder, and there are a few known Inari Sámi sacred sites called Äijih around the Inari Lake.
- 11.
Ilmari Mattus, unwritten notification. Holder of traditional Inari Sámi knowledge.
- 12.
The Inari Sámi word ‘Akku’ means old woman or grandmother.
- 13.
Observation of Eija Ojanlatva who took part in the planning process towards the Lake Inari in 2007–2008.
- 14.
Sámi museum Siida is a competent authority of archaeological cultural heritage in the Sámi homestead area according to the joint agreement made with National Board of Antiquities in 2011.
- 15.
Observations and records taken by Eija Ojanlatva during her field studies of many years.
- 16.
Ibid.
- 17.
Database at the website of the Swedish National Heritage Board, “Riksantikvarieämbetet”, in Swedish language, http://www.fmis.raa.se/cocoon/fornsok/search.html (accessed 23 May 2016).
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Ojanlatva, E., Neumann, A. (2017). Protecting the Sacred in the Finnish Sápmi: Settings and Challenges. In: Heinämäki, L., Herrmann, T. (eds) Experiencing and Protecting Sacred Natural Sites of Sámi and other Indigenous Peoples. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48069-5_6
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