Indigenous Authority in the Nordic Countries. How Different is that from what we find in Northern Canada?

This paper explores the case of the Sami political system in Norway. The Norwegian Sami Parliament is an indigenous Parliament in a unitary and "state-friendly" society. Most of the Sami are concentrated in the most northern part of Norway and the terrritorial dimention and the strong emphasis upon the traditional Sami settlement areas are at the core of the Sami political project. Even so, the Sami Parliament covers the whole of Norway, and the Sami can register to vote for the Sami elections independently of where in Norway that person is living. This paper discuss how this non-territorial model came about and what it implies for the Sami political project. What kind of boundaries or limits concerning Sami self-determination and self-rule do we see? And, how do these boundaries differ from what we do find when it comes to self-rule solutions in Northern Canada?