Norway: Thousands of Youth Demonstrated against “Green Colonialism”

From the end of February to the beginning of March, over a thousand youth protested against the construction of wind turbines on Sami land. This movement represents the birth of a militant, Indigenous-led environmentalist movement.   Although the movement forced the current government to meet with movement’s leaders, unfortunately nothing was won; the demonstration ended without the government agreeing to a single demand or concession. Despite an apology and recognition of their violation of human rights, the government has made clear that they will continue constructing wind turbines. Sápmi is the traditional territory of the Sami people, whose occupied territory lies between Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.  Sami people were forcibly pushed off their traditional lands to make way for settler communities to open up mines, mills, and fisheries. The Sami people were forced into hard unpaid labor in mines, as well as guiding settlers in hunting, cutting trees, and any other difficult jobs. A process of forced assimilation ensued with the goal of eliminating Sami culture. The main focus of the protests is over the construction of over 270 wind turbines in Fosen, of which 150 are currently in use. As ruled by the Supreme Court in October of 2021, these windmills were illegally constructed on traditional reindeer herding territory. Not only is reindeer herding the main source of income for many families, it is also a traditional cultural practice for even more. That the Norwegian state can continue this development against the ruling of the Supreme Court shows that, no matter what symbolic gestures or reforms they make, they will always override the self-determination of Sami people in favor of profits. For several years, the greenwashing of capitalism and colonialism had divided the Norwegian environmentalist movement.