The research group is established to strengthen cooperation between the Sami Law researchers at the Faculty. The subjects of the research group covers more than laws relating to natural resources. Sami Law researchers also deal with questions relating to the right of Sami people to use their native language, the health service and courts of law.
Sami and indigenous peoples law is one of three areas of strategic focus at the Faculty of Law. The Norwegian State has a joint responsibility to safeguard the Sami language, culture and industries, including that the Sami people's traditional land areas are recognised and given legal protection. Within this lie many major challenges of a legal nature.
Through the Research Group for Sami Law, the Faculty of Law aims to produce new knowledge that can contribute to making these challenges more manageable. As well as publishing legal texts, popular scientific literature, textbooks and other knowledge, our aim is to strengthen the research on Sami Law through teaching, purposeful recruitment of researchers and good academic supervision of students wishing to write Master's theses relating to Sami Law.
The Research Group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples’ Law received funding from the UiT central administration through the UiT Talent Research Environment Boost Scheme (UiT Talent forskningsmiljøløft ordning). The UiT Talent project aims to enhance the group’s competence in research leadership and external funding applications, thereby strengthening its competitiveness in securing external funding and managing its research.
The grant provides operational funding for five years, along with a permanent position financed by the project for up to three years, which will later be sustained by the faculty. Additionally, the project includes a mentoring scheme where the group will receive guidance and support from an experienced senior researcher, as well as a PhD position linked to the mentor. To guide its efforts, the research group has developed a comprehensive five-year action plan outlining various measures to support its growth and development. The ultimate objective of the research group is to establish a Nordic Center for Sami, Indigenous, and Minority Rights.
To officially launch the implementation of the UiT Talent Project, the Research Group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples’ Law organized a kick-off workshop on April 30, 2025. The workshop was held at the Scandic Ishavs Hotel in Tromsø. The workshop began with a shared breakfast, bringing together all members of the research group and the project mentor, Professor Ketil Lenert Hansen. The leader of the Research Group, Endalew Lijalem Enyew, opened the workshop by welcoming the participants and reflecting on its main objectives.
Several presentations and activities were conducted during the workshop.
Endalew Lijalem Enyew delivered an introductory presentation on the UiT Talent Project, focusing on its primary objective: strengthening the Research Group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples’ Law. He outlined the three key strategies for effectively implementing the five-year action plan. Enyew emphasized the importance of strategically recruiting PhD students and permanent staff with expertise in Sami and Indigenous Peoples’ Law, enhancing the group’s competence in external funding applications and research leadership, and expanding national and international networks. These efforts are critical to advancing the group’s development and achieving its vision of becoming a Nordic Center for Sami, Indigenous Peoples, and Minority Rights in the near future. He further highlighted the importance of collaboration and teamwork in achieving this goal.
The leader’s introductory presentation was followed by a group discussion and collaborative work focused on the activities and plans for implementing the UiT Talent Project. Participants were divided into groups to address two key questions: i) what measures can be taken to foster closer collaboration among members of the Sami and Indigenous Rights Research Group?, and ii) what short-term and long-term activities should the group undertake, in line with the three-fold strategies of the UiT Talent Project, to strengthen the research group and progress toward establishing a Center? The insights and suggestions generated during the group discussions will serve as a foundation for developing a comprehensive long-term plan for the implementation of the UiT Talent Project.
The mentor of the UiT Talent Project, Professor Ketil Lenert Hansen, delivered a presentation titled “UiT Talent Mentor’s Talk: Insights into Sámi Health Research and Collaborative Approaches.” Professor Hansen, who has achieved significant success in leading and collaborating with various research groups, shared his extensive experience and accomplishments. In addition to recounting his inspiring success stories, he provided practical guidance and advice on strategies the research group could adopt in its journey toward becoming a Center. His insights and experiences served as a valuable source of inspiration and motivation for the group.
Finally, Margherita Paola Poto, Research Professor at the Faculty of Law and a member of the group, talked about “Team Dynamics: The Role of Individual Members for the Success of a Research Group.” Instead of a traditional presentation, Poto adopted a creative and interactive approach through a group role-play exercise known as the Circle of Empathy.
In this exercise, participants formed a circle, with one member standing in the center. Each individual in the circle offered positive feedback—expressing their appreciation and admiration for the person in the middle, both on a personal and academic level. The person in the center actively listened without interrupting or responding. This indigenous-inspired method of recognizing personal qualities and valuing each member’s contributions fostered mutual understanding and strengthened collegial connections. The exercise, rooted in genuine validation and active listening, provided a heartfelt and emotional conclusion to the program.
The workshop concluded with a shared lunch at the Scandic Ishavs Hotel. Overall, the kick-off workshop was a highly successful start to the five-year UiT Talent Project. The presentations and activities were designed to strengthen the group’s sense of unity and to inspire a collaborative spirit, laying a solid foundation for working closely together in the years ahead.
On 15 May 2025, Dr. Carolina Sánchez De Jaegher, Researcher at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Utrecht University, delivered a guest presentation to members of the Research Group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples Law and other research groups at the faculty who are interested in the topic. Carolina spoke on the following topic: “Beyond the ‘Indigenous Ecological’: Mapuche storytelling in the weaving of law and dignity with the Itrofill Mogen/Isofij Mogen”.
Carolina’s presentation builds on the critics of Indigenous thinkers that western philosophical knowledge is often divorced from the experience of life through principles that do not seem to "catch the essence of human existence". This divergence of Western philosophy is one of the factors that has had a visible impact in the lack of studies dedicated to exploring the concept of dignity seen from Indigenous perspectives, that even in critical studies, the enquiry seems to always confirm that the start and end of dignity is within its own western genealogy.
Against this backdrop, Carolina’s presentation weaves together two seemingly opposing threads. First, she critically explores the “persistent specter” of the ‘noble savage’, a colonial site that continues to haunt contemporary efforts to recognize the ecological wisdom of Indigenous peoples within justice frameworks. She argued that this narrative obstructs the possibility of entering genuine and respectful dialogue about ecological justice with Indigenous ecological and justice thinking. The second thread explored how any inquiry into Indigenous notions of dignity must be grounded in the land itself, an encounter in which dignity may be rejected, revived, or reimagined by the land through the stories and sensibilities that arise from other ways of knowing and sensing reality. To address these two essential aspects Carolina first provided a general introduction to the legal tensions between dignity and ecological justice, highlighting how Indigenous relational ontologies align with and challenge emerging paradigms in ecological thought. This was followed by the examination of the myth of the ‘ecological Indian’ as a critical lens for understanding how colonial representations shape modern colonial engagements with otherness. Finally, she presented a methodology for integrating legal analysis with storytelling, drawing on two legal cases involving Mapuche communities and multinational energy corporations in southern Chile.
Her presentation was followed by an interactive discussion with the members of the research group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples Law and other research groups at the faculty, who attended the event. For more information about Dr. Carolina’s research, see her personal webpage at Utrecht University.
On 11 April 2025, Camilla Brattland, Associate professor in Sámi cultural heritage at the Norwegian university museum, UiT, delivered a guest presentation to members of the Research Group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples Rights. The title of Bratland's presentation was «Rights of Rivers in Sápmi? Status of Sami participation and leadership in salmon watershed governance”.
Based on her previous work with Indigenous participation in salmon river management, which was published in a report and in her forthcoming article in Arctic Anthropology, Brattland provided a detailed presentation on the state of Indigenous participation and leadership in salmon management in Sápmi. Here, the Njâuddam and Deatnu rivers are the two main case study areas. She further delved into compelling issues around Free, Prior and Informed Consent in research engagement as it pertains to Sámi communities in Finland and Norway.
As there are no recognized Rights of Nature cases in Sápmi so far (and very few in Europe), Brattland also discussed the probability of Rights of Rivers being recognized in Sápmi.
Finally, Brattland also shared insights on an Indigenous-led research project she is co-leading titled “Sharing Our Knowledge”, which focuses on the role of Indigenous knowledge in dealing with climate change risks and resilience. Her presentation was followed by an interactive discussion with the members of the research group for Sami and Indigenous Peoples Rights who attended the event.
Arianne Porronne & Margherita P. Poto
A story about knowledge, Aracne Editirice, ISBN: 978 88 255 4110 6
2019Giulia Parola & Margherita P. Poto
Inclusion, Coexistence and Resilience: Key Lessons Learned from Indigenous Law and Methodology, Agora 21, ISBN: 9788582738184
Stephen Allen, Nigel Bankes og Øyvind Ravna
The Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Marine Areas, Hart Publishing, ISBN: 9781509928644
Øyvind Ravna
Same- og Reindriftsrett, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, ISBN: 9788205509535
Øyvind Ravna
Fra Little Bighorn til Standing Rock. En moderne indianerhistorie, Orkana Forlag, ISBN: 9788281043350
Mattias Åhren
Indigenous Peoples' Status in the International Legal System, Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198778196
Christina Allard
Renskötselrätt i nordisk belysning, Makadam Förlag, ISBN: 9789170611865
Øyvind Ravna
Finnmarksloven og retten til jorden i Finnmark, Gyldendal Juridisk, ISBN: 9788205425057
Øyvind Ravna og Jan J. Olli
Sedvanerettslig oppfatninger om arealbruk blant reindriftsutøvere. Kautokeino: Sámi allaskuvla, Diedut / Sámi instituhtta, ISBN: 9788273670274
The Sami and Indigenous Peoples Law Research Group is administered by the Faculty of Law at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Our offices are located in Teorifagsbygget House 4. The address is Universitetsvegen 30, 9019 Tromsø. See digital map.
You can get in touch with us by contacting the leader of the research group, Associate Professor Endalew Lijalem Enyew:
Telephone: +47 77625204
E-mail: endalew.l.enyew@uit.no
