12 votes

Sámi are the only officially recognised indigenous people in the EU and some of their languages are on the brink of extinction

6 comments

  1. Leonidas
    Link
    I think the erasure of indigenous culture and intellectual heritage is something a lot of people simply don't think about. Even though I'm a white American, I still think keeping these distinct...

    I think the erasure of indigenous culture and intellectual heritage is something a lot of people simply don't think about. Even though I'm a white American, I still think keeping these distinct practices alive is a crucial part of alleviating the harm done by settler policies based on maxims like "kill the indian and save the man." People are quick to think of native people as "mysterious ancestors" to tell stories about, rather than people who still live and maintain their practices today.

    4 votes
  2. moonbathers
    Link
    It's really too bad. A number of Sami dialects and languages have already gone extinct.

    It's really too bad. A number of Sami dialects and languages have already gone extinct.

    3 votes
  3. [4]
    Odysseus
    Link
    This phrasing feels so odd to me. Are white people not indigenous to Europe? I understand what they mean, but it feels a little patronizing to call them the only "officially recognized indigenous...

    This phrasing feels so odd to me. Are white people not indigenous to Europe? I understand what they mean, but it feels a little patronizing to call them the only "officially recognized indigenous people in the EU". I suppose Germans and Norwegians and the rest aren't officially recognized as "indigenous", so it's not inaccurate per se.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      Turtle
      Link Parent
      According to Wikipedia, "Indigenous peoples, also known in some regions as First peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal peoples or Native peoples, or autochthonous peoples, are ethnic groups who are...

      According to Wikipedia, "Indigenous peoples, also known in some regions as First peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal peoples or Native peoples, or autochthonous peoples, are ethnic groups who are the original or earliest known inhabitants of an area." White people, who are descended from Indo-Europeans, do not match this description, as they were not the first to settle in Europe. See: Old Europe

      4 votes
      1. mrnd
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        This is (at least not always) the relevant part of the definition. For example, UN defines indigenous people like this: I'd say that "non-dominant" is the imprtant part. Practically this often...

        This is (at least not always) the relevant part of the definition. For example, UN defines indigenous people like this:

        "Indigenous communities, peoples, and nations are those that, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.

        I'd say that "non-dominant" is the imprtant part. Practically this often means that they don't have a state.

        This is important for example in Finland, where neither Sami or Finnic tribes were the earliest humans there ever, and have inhabited area of Finland for approximately the same time. However, later on Finns colonized them and became the dominant culture, while the Sami were left without state, as guests/subjects in the different Scandinavian states.

        4 votes
    2. Kuromantis
      Link Parent
      Depending on what you mean by indigenous a large part of europe can probably be disqualified. More seriously though, the idea of being 'indigenous' is rather vague.

      Are white people not indigenous to Europe?

      Depending on what you mean by indigenous a large part of europe can probably be disqualified.

      More seriously though, the idea of being 'indigenous' is rather vague.

      2 votes