Indigenous Self-determination in Disguise – The Sámediggi as a Representative Body and its Impact on the Sámi People

The Sámediggi (Sámi Parliament of Sweden) was originally created not as a body for Sámi self-determination, but as an agency under the Government. Since the Sámediggi formation in 1993, international human rights concerning indigenous peoples has developed and it is clear that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination by representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures. The Sámediggi, however, is not a structure which the Sámi themselves decided to be the form in which self-determination will be exercised, but was “given” to the Sámi by the Swedish Parliament. In this paper I will outline a study of the concepts of representation, trust and self-determination in order to answer the questions whether the political system of Sámediggi can be seen as a representative body for the Sámi, if it has promoted Sámi internal self-determination and how it has affected the constituency of the Sámi as a people.