Sami feminism is the feminist movement among the Sami people of the Sapmi region of northern Scandinavia. The Sami people are an Indigenous minority living in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Sami feminism has highlighted the intersecting oppression of Sami women who face both ethnic and gender-based discrimination.

History [ edit ]

Sami culture traditionally contained certain matriarchal elements. Traditional Sami gender norms were disrupted and changed by the Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and Russian colonization of Sapmi. Many Sami feminists believe that the Christianization of the Sami people by colonial governments and Christian missionaries contributed to the emergence of more rigidly patriarchal gender norms within Sami culture. ^[1]

The Sami feminist movement first achieved cultural prominence in the 1970s. The equal status of Sami women within reindeer husbandry has been an important issue within Sami feminism. ^[1]

In Sweden, male violence against Sami women is an overlooked topic within discussions about domestic violence. Sami feminist scholars have highlighted the problem of violence against Sami women, as well as the role colonial power structures have played in Sami women's experiences of and responses to violence. ^[2]

See also [ edit ]

• Feminism in Finland
• Feminism in Norway
• Feminism in Sweden
• Indigenous feminism

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Liisa-Ravna Finbog in a conversation with Maria Karlsen on duodji - saami subtitles , Wikimedia Norge
• These Indigenous Reindeer Herders Are Fighting for the Right to Their Ancestral Lands , Marie Claire