Stop hatespeech against the Sámi people!
Illustration: Tjåenieh // Katarina Blind
Stop hatespeech against the Sámi people!
Inline hatespeech against Sámi people has exploded in the Swedish side of Sápmi after the Swedish Supreme Court decision stating that Girjas Sámi reindeerherding community has the right to manage hunting and fishing in the area.
Direct threats are posed against members of the Girjas community and Sámi as a people in various websites. Anonymous and identifiable individuals are telling Sámi to kill themselves , as well as well as threatening to kill reindeer.
The Saami Council is horrified to witness the amount of hatred and threats directed towards Sámi, and declares that this is never acceptable. The Swedish Sámi Association (SSR) encourages documentation and reporting threats and hatespeech to the police, and has also offered to assist if needed.
The Saami Council is behind our member organization on this, and encourages Sámi and everybody else to condemn all threats and hatespeech, and to stand together against all hate speech against Sámi online and in the society as a whole.
People can disagree on issues, but attacking individuals or groups is never acceptable. Sámi people are often targeted with accusations, hatespeech and threats, in particular connected to indigeous peoples’ rights issues. The suicide rate is too high among the Sámi population, and the psychological pressure following constant pressure and attacks online and in other foras is aggravating our health situation. Statistics witness about Sámi people experiencing more discrimination and violence than the majority population, and this must be taken seriously.
The Saami Council calls for solidarity from our good friends and allies in the society to support the members of Girjas and the Sámi people.