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INTERPRT, HAM

Kolonialistinen nykyisyys: Saamenmaan totuus- ja sovintokomission vaihtoehtoinen uudelleenkartoitus 

Kolonial
nutid: Alternativ ny kartläggning av Sanningsoch försoningskommissionerna i Sápmi  

Colonial
Present: Counter-mapping the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in Sápmi 
Tekstitys suomeksi

Fosen protest

5:01

ČSV, ČSV, ČSV! 

(Näytä saamelaista henkeä) 

 

Anna tunturien elää! 

 

Anna tunturien elää! 

 

Anna tunturien elää! 

 

Poliisi katkaisee kahleet 

 

Tänään on paljon enemmän 

väkeä kuin eilen. 

 

Eilen poliisi kantoi pois 

joitakin mielenosoittajia. 

 

Oletteko valmistautuneet 

poliisin väliintuloon? 

 

Vaikuttaa siltä, että poliisin 

väliintulo nähdään tänäänkin. 

 

ČSV, ČSV, ČSV! 

 

Anna tunturien elää! 

 

500 päivää 

ihmisoikeusrikkomuksia 

 

Pääministeri Støre pahoitteli 

tilannetta mielenosoittajille. 

 

Ongelmana on byrokratia. 

 

Se, että saat sanottua 

sanottavasi, tuntuu hyvältä. 

 

Emme ole millään tavalla 

saaneet esille… 

 

Me emme ole ollenkaan 

tyytyväisiä hallituksen työhön. 

 

Heidän työnsä on 

kaikkea muuta kuin ohi. 

 

Otetaan samalla kertaa… 

 

Yksi, kaksi… 

 

Hallitus on nyt pyytänyt anteeksi 

Fosenin saamelaisilta 

 

Suo heidän nähdä kirkkaasti. 

 

En tiedä, tapahtuuko sitä, 

mutta olen ainakin pyytänyt. 

 

Se on yrittämisen arvoista. 

 

Että he ymmärtävät sen, 

mikä on ajatuksissamme, – 

 

verisuonissamme, unelmissamme 

kautta Saamenmaan sukupolvien. 

 

Eikä ole varmaa, 

että pyyntöihimme vastataan. 

 

Ja siksi emme olekaan täällä 

pyytämässä vaan vaatimassa. 

 

Se ei ole pyyntö vaan vaatimus. 

 

Ja se nousee jyrinän tavoin 

sisältämme, demokratiasta. 

 

Siitä, mikä voi olla unelmana. 

 

Unelmasta, jossa on kyse niinkin 

perustavanlaatuisesta asiasta 

 

kuin Saamenmaan 

tyttären nykyhetkestä 

 

ja Saamenmaan pojan 

tulevaisuudesta. 

 

Revitään laitos alas, on jo korkea aika. 

Ja rakennetaan luottamus uudelleen. 

 

Teillä on valta tehdä se. 

Seisomme tässä, kunnes työ alkaa. 

 

Me olemme mukana. ČSV! 

Undertexter på svenska

Fosen protest

5:01

ČSV, ČSV, ČSV! 

(Visa samisk anda) 

 

Låt fjällen leva! 

 

Låt fjällen leva! 

 

Låt fjällen leva! 

 

Polisen kapar kedjorna 

 

Idag är det  

mycket mer folk än igår. 

 

Igår bar polisen bort  

några demonstranter. 

 

Har ni förberett er  

på polisingripanden idag? 

 

Det verkar som om polisen  

skrider till åtgärder idag också. 

 

ČSV, ČSV, ČSV! 

 

Låt fjällen leva 

 

500 dagar av brott  

mot de mänskliga rättigheterna 

 

Fosen-demonstrationen i Norge 

 

Att du får säga det  

du vill ha sagt, känns fint. 

 

Vi har inte på något sätt  

kunnat föra fram… 

 

Vi är på inga sätt nöjda  

med regeringens arbete. 

 

Dess arbete är allt annat än över. 

 

Vi tar på samma gång… 

 

Ett, två… 

 

Regeringen har nu bett  

Fosens samer om ursäkt. 

 

Låt dem se saken klart. 

 

Jag vet inte om det händer, 

men åtminstone har jag bett om det. 

 

Det är värt försöket. 

 

Att de inser, att det här  

löper genom tankarna, 

 

genom blodådrorna, drömmarna  

och generationer samer. 

 

Det är inte heller säkert,  

att våra böner besvaras. 

 

Därför är vi inte heller här för att be,  

utan för att kräva. 

 

Det är inte en bön, det är ett krav. 

 

Och det växer som en åska  

inifrån oss, från demokratin. 

 

Från det, som kan vara en dröm. 

 

En dröm, som handlar om  

en så grundläggande sak 

 

som samelandets dotters nutid 

 

och samelandets pojkes framtid. 

 

Det är hög tid att riva verket. 

Och att bygga förtroendet på nytt. 

 

Ni har makten att göra det. 

Vi står här ända tills arbetet börjar. 

 

Vi är med. ČSV! 

Subtitles in English

Fosen protest

5:01

ČSV, ČSV, ČSV! 

(Show Sámi Spirit) 

 

Let the mountains live! 

 

Let the mountains live! 

 

Let the mountains live! 

 

Police officers cut the chains 

 

Today, there is much more people here 

than yesterday. 

 

Yesterday, the police carried away 

some demonstrators. 

 

Are you prepared 

for similar police intervention today? 

 

It seems the police 

will intervene today as well. 

 

ČSV, ČSV, ČSV! 

 

Let the mountains live! 

 

500 days of 

human rights violations 

 

The Fosen protest in Norway 

 

It feels good 

to be able to have your say. 

 

We have not, in any way, 

managed to bring up, how should I say it… 

 

We are in no way satisfied 

with the work of the government at all. 

 

Their work is far from over. 

 

Let’s lift together… 

 

One, two… 

 

The government has now apologised 

to the Sámi people in Fosen. 

 

Let them see clearly. 

 

I don’t know if that will happen, 

but I have at least asked. 

 

It’s worth a try. 

 

That they will understand 

that which goes through the minds, 

 

through the veins, dreams, 

and generations in Sápmi. 

 

And it is not certain 

that our requests will be answered. 

 

And that is why we are not here to ask, 

but to demand. 

 

It is not a request; it is a demand. 

 

And it rises like a roar 

from within us, from democracy. 

 

From what can be a dream. 

 

A dream about 

something as fundamental as  

 

the present for Sápmi’s daughter 

 

and the future for Sápmi’s son. 

 

Tear the facility down. It is high time that happened. 

And let’s rebuild trust. 

 

You have the power to do it. 

We will stand here until the work begins. 

 

We are with you. ČSV! 

INTERPRT

TREACHEROUS JOURNEY 
Modelling Jillen Njaarke’s ways of knowing against Øyfjellet Wind 
23:32
Subtitles in English

Torstein Appfjell:  

That’s the importance of a reindeer herd 

It’s not just important that we know the landscape 

but that they also know the landscape. 

 

Ole Henrik Kappfjell:  

 There are two values of a reindeer herd 

 The first is the weight of meat, what you get in 

kroner and øre for selling it. 

 

But maybe the most important value 

 it’s what Torstein is talking about 

 it’s the dressage, the continuation of the traditional knowledge. 

 That is what the Sámi value of a reindeer herd is. 

 VO: 

 Øyfjellet Wind Energy is located in Jillen Njaarke, a Southern Sami reindeer herding community in Vefsn municipality, or Vaapste in Southern Sami, in Helgeland in Nordland county. 

 It is one of Norway’s largest onshore wind energy projects, with 72 wind turbines and  more than 70 km of roads covering an area of 40 square kilometers.  

Øyfjellet occupies a crucial migration route and grazing area of Jillen Njaarke. 

The Jillen-Njaarke never consented to the project on their land.    

The reindeer herders have brought legal action against the Norwegian state and Øyfjellet Wind AS to protect their land and cultural rights. 

At each stage, the corporations behind Øyfjellet Wind have enjoyed the direct and indirect approval from the Norwegian state. 

Ole Henrik Kappfjell:  

It’s written in the concession that 

one cannot begin to build before an agreement has 

been reached with reindeer herding 

about mitigating measures, as they are so nicely called 

about how reindeer herding is supposed to exist in 

the future with such an enormous development 

that has not been implemented. 

So my answer to picking out something here 

it would be just splitting hairs to point out a road cut into the terrain 

 or a turbine that’s standing in the wrong place 

 when the whole area has been taken.  

Vappste 

 VO:   

The Jillen Njaarke have practiced nomadic reindeer herding in Vaapste over many generations.  

This history and archaeology of Sami landscape is under-researched as a result of Norway’s colonial knowledge production   

This map documents Jillen Njaarke’s reindeer nomadism between 1900 and 1940 and shows migration routes. Overlaying current reindeer migration routes show they have remained the same. 

Historical photographs of reindeer herding provide visual evidence of the Jillen Njaarke’s ancestral rights to the area. 

This photograph geolocated and placed on a 3D landscape is from the southern part of Jillen Njaarke winter grazing area. 

People of eight seasons 

 Ole Henrik speaks in Saami 

 VO: 

 The following description of the reindeer herding year is based on an interview with Ole Henrik Kappfjell. 

 Preparation for the new year begins in the winter.   

 The year starts in April with the spring migration. This takes about one to three weeks and is carried out in several stages.  

The herd must be on the calving ground before it begins.  

The calves are born, the females stay together to protect the calves. 

In summer, when reindeer get high up on the mountain to get away from insects, it is easy to gather them as they stay in a big herd. Calf marking takes place in this period.  

In late summer, they go down to the forest  to eat mushrooms and the  

the mating season begins.  

After, the reindeer naturally gather in large herds. 

In November/December, the herds are separated and the slaughter takes place.  

The preparation for moving them to the winter grazing areas starts. 

The winter migration begins. 

Here is how a single reindeer year for the Jillen Njaarke looks based on the official land use data.  However it represents no more than a general pattern, in reality no year is  the same. 

Ole Henrik Kappfjell:  

This is the cycle I’m telling you about 

and it’s one you need to work with. 

There is no lawyer, court or Oil and Energy Department 

who can decide when things can happen 

and it’s different from year to year. 

One year things can happen early and then next they can be late 

And it is usually the case that 

if one season gets disrupted then it affects the rest of the year. 

 You struggle with it the whole year 

 you must come at the right [time] 

 you must be in unison with nature 

 if grazing becomes available you must be there at the right time 

 if not, you end up far behind 

 and it takes a long time to catch up 

 

Green colonialism  

VO:  

Construction began on the Øyfjellet project in December 2019, and the wind power plant was fully operational in 2022.  

Bad faith on the part of corporate interests was already at work during the construction phase. In the spring migration of 2020, the Jillen Njaarke were given only 55 hours to relocate the reindeer.  

This was a clear violation of the license agreement.    

Reindeer herding is based on the rotation of seasonal pastures. 

Zone 5 – a winter pasture area for the herders – is one of the areas most affected in the conflict.  

The Øyfjellet project was built right over a crucial migration route disrupting the traditional cycle of moving reindeer to and from winter pastures.  

Also a wider area of over eighty square kilometers of pastures, is directly affected and according to herders, unusable.  

The full extent of cascading impacts on the fragile and interconnected reindeer herding cycle is unknown.  

Spring migration 

VO:  

In April and May 2023 INTERPRT met with the Jillen Njaaarke to model the impacts of the Øyfjellet project based on their own perspectives and knowledge of their ancestral land 

We situated their testimony in a 3D environment combined with publicly available spatial and environmental data.  

Before migration begins, the herd is spread over the winter pasture. The herders first gather them in these two collection areas before bringing the animals up the mountain. 

It is often assumed that the entire herd is moved at once. In practice reindeer are  brought in small groups. 

Here a group of fifty one reindeer are guided up the mountain. 

Saami herders have to work together in different areas to collect the animals, and bring them up the mountain. While one group is herded up, other reindeers can spread out so herders have to find them.  

Reindeer know their migration routes well, but mountains are challenging for both reindeer and herders, especially in bad years when there is no good grazing grounds. 

After passing through challenging ground, they can be left on their own to graze and rest. This is why migration can take several weeks, especially when weather conditions are bad. 

More and more groups of reindeer are herded up and guided through the mountains. 

Once they reach the south side of the mountain they are in the safe grazing and and continue their journey to calving ground and summer pastures. 

According to the Saami herders, the reindeer follow the same paths from generations to generations. This migration route is in their DNA. 

Ole Henrik Kappfjell:  

We have, among other things, been given 

by OED (The Oil and Energy Department) 

in spring 2020 

we got 55 hours to get through the windpark area. 

This is a moving process that normally takes… 

yeah ok… 

we asked for a pause in the construction work 

for one and a half months 

 from NVE (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy) 

we got an approval of one month 

 and then OED readjusted it 

 to 55 hours. 

 From there – to there 

 55 hours 

 That is so 

 far from 

 Sámi animal welfare. 

 There are pregnant females that are carrying large foetuses. 

  

Treacherous journey 

 The wind power plant is now standing right on this migration route  

 Apart from the wind turbines – their top blade reaching 179 meters  –  the reindeer have to face an extensive network of access roads that cut through the landscape.  

 The roads also bring traffic and increased activity to the area. As explained to us by the herders, these factors combined, pose an increased threat to the reindeer   

 We modeled two sites among many that Jillen Njaarke identified as potentially treacherous  

 Road segment 1  lies where two valleys meet  

 The path between the valleys is narrow so the reindeer have no choice but to go through here.  

 The road continues along a steep valley which can be hard to see when under the snow  

 It then passes along the edge of a steep cliff  

 We were able to model this cliff by extracting 3D information using photogrammetry, from drone footage taken by the Jillen Njaarke themselves  

 Here road construction created 10 meter steep cliffs on both sides.  

 We see the road is built along the steep side of the mountain, resulting in a five meter vertical drop. if a reindeer goes down this mountain on its journey under poor visibility conditions, it may result in serious injury.   

 The second area also lies between two valleys.  In the years since the Oyfjellet project herders reported reindeer escaping down these valleys frightened by wind turbines and vehicles on the road. 

 The migration route goes through this area.   

 Here we see how steep and potentially dangerous it is  if reindeer will try to run down this valley 

The road cuts through the cliff splitting it into two parts creating a cliffside of about 50 meters  

This view demonstrates that from the ground you don’t see  the road cutting through the landscape.   

Animals, who remember this landscape in their blood, are not aware this mountain was blown up to construct the road.  

 The terrain has become more dangerous for not just the reindeer but the herders as well 

For the Jillen Njaarke, losing this migration route, and surrounding pastures would have both direct and cumulative impact, when combined with the climate emergency and other forms of state sanctioned encroachment on their land such as mining and hydropower.  

Torstein Appfjell:  

The very survival of Saami reindeer herding is at stake.  

Furthermore, the whole windpark area 

is in the middle of a migration route 

and it also functions as a gathering area. 

It’s not just a yellow line on the map and so straight through. 

It’s about how we as reindeer herders use the land. 

 

xxx 

 

The trial in the legal case between Jillen Njaarke and Øyfjellet Wind AS was set to begin on 31 May 2023.   

 

Øyfjellet Wind has proposed vague and unspecified mitigation measures in the last hour leaving the reindeer herders and their legal team no other option but to ask for a postponement.  

 

The case has now been postponed until May 2024. 

 

INTERPRT are assisting the Jillen Njaarke in their struggle for justice.