I had the opportunity to interview Petra Laiti in 2017. A steadfast activist for Saami rights, I remember one matter from the interviews: Her clear views and eloquence. She is a gifted leader. If Finland has a questionable reputation, how it treats Others like migrants and minorities, the Saami is a case in point. In…
Tag: Saami
Exposing Finnish white privilege #67: Pirkka-Pekka Petelius’ apology exposes deep-rooted white Finnish supremacy
Helsingin Sanomat carried out a survey asking if Pirkka-Pekka Petelius did the right thing to apologize to the Saami for mocking them in a racist manner in the Hymyhuulet show (1987-88). The survey showed that 57% thought that Petelius was wrong to apologize, while only 29% said that he did the right thing; 14% had…
Cultural appropriation of Saami in Northern Europe: “Make as much noise as you can”
The most recent case of cultural appropriation in Finland was seen in October when a Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) host put on a Native American feathered hairpiece. To add insult to injury, the YLE TV host aired on the same programme a clip of a Finnish 1960 “comedy” with blackfaced actors.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Rejoice 100 years of Finland’s treatment of migrants and minorities
Should we boycott Finland’s centenary celebrations? One hundred years of building a white Finnish-speaking Lutheran society has not only whitewashed my roots and who my family was but on top of that continues to exclude me from being treated as an equal member of society. Do you have the courage to not only see but change how…
Facebook: The “True Finn” versus the Saami woman
Migrant Tales insight: What is this party that steals and hogs Finnish identity for itself and decides who is or isn’t a “true Finn?” They are called the Perussuomalaiset in Finnish, which means something like “basic” or “fundamental” Finn. After calling themselves True Finns in English they went for it all by calling themselves “the…
Finnish skier rudely shows her ethnic privilege over the Saami
When I saw last week Finnish alpine skier Tanja Poutiainen put on a Saami costume to crown her career, I knew she was heading for trouble unless she was a member of that ethnic group. In countries like the United States, dressing up as a member of another culture is considered racist and a rude…
guardian.co.uk: Australia set to recognise Aborigines as first people of continent*
Australia is poised to make historic changes to its constitution, recognising Aborigines as the country’s original inhabitants and removing the last clauses of state-sanctioned racial discrimination.
Seeing the ogre of racism in Finland at an early age
What kind of a society denies others their identity? What kind of a society approves their children of ostracizing those that come from different backgrounds? Probably the answer is a society that has low self-esteem of its own identity.
YLE: Suomen valtio selvittelee anteeksipyynnön esittämistä saamelaisille
Uusi dokumenttielokuva paljastaa, miten saamelaisia suomalaistettiin kouluissa sotien jälkeen. Ohjaaja Anja Aholan elokuva on herättänyt keskustelua siitä, pitäisikö valtion pyytää anteeksi saamelaisten kohtelua. Oikeusministeriö tutkii asiaa parhaillaan.