Grupprättigheter - skydd för vems kultur? En kvalitativ fallstudie om icke-renskötande samers rätt till land och vatten i Sverige

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to examine natural resource rights of the non-herding Saami population in Sweden. Throughout history Swedish governments have actively reinforced the notion of herding as the core of Saami culture. In reality, the Saamis involved in this traditional livelihood consists a small part of the overall Saami population. Swedish law still make a distinction between the herding and the non-herding Saamis when it comes to granting group-differentiated land and water rights. Therefore, my ambition is also to evaluate the effect it may have on the sustainability of other traditional Saami livelihoods such as fishing, hunting and handicraft. The theoretical framework is the debate on group rights or more specifically the critique that group rights tend to homogenize the identity of the group. Methodologically, this study is based on textual analysis of academic literature as well as national and international legislation. This study shows that even though all people of Saami descent nowadays are eligible to herd, the current Reindeer Act consists of several restrictions, which prevent a majority of them from using their rights. The conclusion drawn is that the lack of rights has a negative effect on the non-herding Saamis’ prospects of sustaining their culture.