Tertiary Societies: Circumpolar Societies in Transition and Self-determination

• What are Tertiary Societies?
  
• The result of a desire for self-determination “rejection of colonialism”
• Characterized by: Rejection of previous dependence, which made it difficult or impossible to foster development of political and other institutions
• Attempts to build autonomous and effective local institutions
• Healthier, more balanced societies; outward looking
• Social capacity for criticism; increasing self-sufficiency in research.

Indigenous Self-Determination:
· Land- authority over its use
· Supports traditional activities; economic base for government
· Participation- as equals in economy and life of the state
· To ensure indigenous perspectives taken into account; to work toward self-sufficiency
· Money- to fund government; compensation; enable development

Limits to Self-determination:
· Indigenous peoples and sub–national units remain within the notion-state- subject to absolute limits
· Southern environment has limited carrying capacity
· Not inexhaustible; sustainable requires voluntary limits
· Constitutions reserve certain powers to federal governments.


Saami still fighting for land rights in Norway

• The Saami Parliament, which represents the estimated 80,000 Saami who live in Norway, was shocked when the Norwegian government presented its proposals on how to deal with land management in Finnmark - the region Saami know as Sapmi.
  
• The Finnmark Act was to be the result of a process that started when Saami protested the construction of a hydroelectric project in Alta, Norway more than 20 years ago. A Saami Rights Committee presented proposals for new land management legislation in 1997 that would recognize their traditional land rights and ownership.


• Saami fear the present Finnmark Act, if adopted, would open their region to more industrial development and militarization.


• That's because the act doesn't recognize any traditional Saami ownership of the land - and expands the land rights of non-Saami in the region to all European Union citizens.
  The new law would also safeguard the rights of the Norwegian government to expropriate land for public purposes without compensation, and establish a review committee on which Saami wouldn't even hold the deciding vote