Chapter 7. Sámi Frames in the Planning and Management of Nature Protection Areas in Historical Perspective – Environmental Non-conflict in Inari

What kind of framings can be detected in Sámi opinions on conservation of nature in Inari? The region has witnessed recurrent conflicts over land usage, fought between forestry officials and Sami herders. Establishment of nature reserves has aroused severe disputes as well, but conservation enjoys continuing support among the Sámi herders.

What kind of framings can be detected in Sámi opinions on conservation of nature in Inari? The region has witnessed recurrent conflicts over land usage, fought between forestry officials and Sami herders. Establishment of nature reserves has aroused severe disputes as well, but conservation enjoys continuing support among the Sámi herders. This article charts the preconditions for this state of affairs through cases of the establishment of the state park of Koilliskaira (1975–1982) and recent administrative measures in park administration by the Sami Parliament (2000s). An analysis is undertaken of whether the frames concerning conservation aligned in the administrative setting and the background reasons for the (non-)alignment. The actors studied are those Sámi included in the establishment processes and the park administration: the Sámi herders and the Sami Parliament. The conservation history is contextualised in the history of the Sámi movement and its relations to state actors, the Forest and Park Service (FPS). The case is one of success for both conservationists and Sámi. The Sámi mostly favoured conservation, because the protection of parks meant protection of reindeer herding from competing land-use forms. Later, conservation became a way to manifest the cultural autonomy, self-determination and cultural rights of the Sámi. An institutional source for this success was the marginalisation of the FPS from park establishment processes. The case was framed mostly economically, as a possibility to safeguard the pastures from forestry, and later as a case of indigenous rights. The economic framing resonated well both with conservationists and the general sentiments of the era; only later did indigenous rights clash with environmental values.