Reparations for Indigenous Peoples in Europe: The Case of the Sámi People

This chapter examines the practice of reparations for indigenous peoples in Europe, devoting special attention to the case of the Sámi people (living in the Northern countries of the European continent). It suggests that compared to the American continent, Europe, on the whole, appears to have been less concerned about indigenous issues and accordingly slower in dealing with them. In Europe, the discourse of indigenous peoples has in fact traditionally been approached within the broader context of minority rights. However, a positive trend has recently been inaugurated in some Northern countries with respect to the Sámi people, through the recognition of their right of ownership of ancestral lands at the judicial level as well as of the Sámi Parliaments as means of cultural autonomy (although lacking territorial jurisdiction).