Welcome to the Sámi Law Symposium 2026!
This year's Symposium has three parts.
The first two events are in English, while the third is in Norwegian language.
- 09:00–10:30: Breakfast panel: Security first? Sámi perspectives on the future of a Militarized Arctic
- 11.00–14.00: Part II Security, Reconciliation, and Self-Determination in Sápmi: Towards a New Research Agenda
- 16.00–19:30: The Right to Land and Water
See the full program below and find the registration link at the end of the page.
Program:
09:00–10:30: Breakfast panel: Security first? Sámi perspectives on the future of a Militarized Arctic
- This part of the event will be held in English.
As the Arctic becomes a region of renewed geopolitical and strategic importance, Sámi communities are increasingly affected by security policies, defence investments, infrastructure development, and shifting governance priorities. At the same time, Norway, Sweden, and Finland are engaged in truth and reconciliation processes intended to address historical injustices and strengthen relations between states and Sámi peoples.
How can Sámi institutions and communities help shape emerging Arctic policy agendas and ensure that Indigenous perspectives remain central to debates about security, preparedness, development, and governance in the North?
This breakfast panel brings together Sámi political leadership and academics to discuss how Indigenous rights, reconciliation processes, and self-determination can be advanced in a rapidly changing security environment.
09.00–10.30: Breakfast panel - program
09.00: Opening of the Sámi Law Symposium 2026
- Welcome by the Dean (TBC) and Kristin Bergtora Sandvik (University of Oslo / UiT The Arctic University of Norway)
- Introduction of participants by moderator Carola Lingaas (VID Specialized University)
09.10: Panel Interventions
- Silje Karine Muotka, President of the Norwegian Sámi Parliament Sámediggi
- Ketil Zachariassen, Associate professor/Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, UiT
- Laura Junka-Aikio, Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Global Northern Communities and Societies (University of Lapland, Finland)
- Paul Sigurd Hilde (Professor, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies)
09.50: Panel Discussion: Rights, Reconciliation and Security in a Changing Arctic
10.15: Questions and Answers
11.00–14.00: Part II Security, Reconciliation, and Self-Determination in Sápmi: Towards a New Research Agenda
- This part of the event will be held in English.
Over the past decade, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have established truth and reconciliation processes aimed at addressing historical injustices and improving relations between states and Sámi peoples. At the same time, the Arctic has become a focal point of geopolitical competition, driven by the war in Ukraine, NATO enlargement, military investments, critical mineral extraction, and expanding security infrastructures.
This academic event examines the legal implications of these developments for Sámi rights, reconciliation processes, and Indigenous self-determination.
Bringing together leading scholars and practitioners, the program features a keynote address, presentations on ongoing research, and a panel-to-floor discussion exploring how security politics may reshape research agendas on legal frameworks, policy priorities, and Indigenous-state relations. The event seeks to identify emerging research agendas that place Sámi perspectives and priorities at the center of Arctic governance and security debates.
11.00-14.00: Part II - program
11.00–11.10: Welcome and Introduction
- Kristin Bergtora Sandvik (University of Oslo / UiT The Arctic University of Norway)
- Moderator: John McNeish (Norwegian University of Life Sciences, NMBU)
- Introduction of participants and objectives of the workshop.
11.10–11.55: Keynote Address: Navigating militarization and Indigenous self-determination: Sámi advocacy and Arctic security governance
- Laura Junka-Aikio (University of Lapland)
11.55–12.10: Comments and Discussion
- Discussant: David Goyes (University of Oslo)
12:10–12:30: Coffee Break
12.30–13.30: Presentations: Emerging Research Agendas
- Ekaterina Zmyvalova: The War in Ukraine and the impact on indigenous peoples in Russia
- Andrine Salangli: Researching the militarization of Sápmi: Reflections on Methods
- Kristin Bergtora Sandvik: Indigenous Airspace and Democracy: carving out a research agenda
13.30–14.00: Panel and floor discussion: The future of Sámi law and indigenous legal studies in new security context: Research and Policy Priorities
Open discussion with speakers and the audience emerging legal challenges, research needs, and opportunities for collaboration.
16:00–19:30: The Right to Land and Water
- This part of the event will be held in Norwegian.
Underlying the rearmament, development cases, and other ongoing developments in Sápmi are unresolved and contested land-use issues. The right to land and water is, and has long been, of central importance. Drawing on different parts of Sápmi, different courts and legal bodies, and somewhat different legal perspectives, we highlight some of the many questions raised by rights to natural resources.
16:00–19:30: Program
16:00: Mingling and light refreshments
16:30: Welcome
Marit Heier Lajord, PhD Fellow, University of Oslo
16:35: The Commons in Nordland and Troms
Geir Stenseth, Professor, University of Oslo
17:05: Outlying Land, Future Governance and International Law
Adrian Nystø Mikkelsen, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
17:35: Customs, district courts and the rights to land and water
Ragnhild Elisabet Nilsson, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Bergen
18:05: Break
18:20: Land Consolidation in Light of the Right to Land and Water
Dagfinn Kleveland, Head of Finnmark Land Consolidation Court
18:40: The Land Tribunal for Finnmark
Jussi Erik Pedersen, Head of The Uncultivated Land Tribunal for Finnmark
19:00: The Right to Land and Water in the Supreme Court
Cecilie Østensen Berglund, Supreme Court Justice
19:20: Closing
Participate
The event is free and open to all. Sign up via the link below if you want to participate in person.
You can also follow the event via streaming. The streaming will begin when the event starts.
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