Indigenous Self-determination through a Government Agency? The Impossible Task of the Swedish Samediggi

The last two decades have witnessed a growing global acknowledgement of indigenous rights, for instance manifested in the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Nordic countries have all responded to the rights claims of the indigenous Sami people by establishing popularly elected Samediggis (Sami Parliaments) to serve as their representative bodies. Internationally, the Samediggis are often referred to as 'models' for indigenous self-governance and participation. Using in-depth interviews with politicians and civil servants, this article provides the first empirical study of the daily work of the Swedish Samediggi, with a specific focus on its institutional design as a government agency with dual roles: as an administrative authority under the Swedish government and as a popularly elected representative body of the Sami people. We examine how these dual roles affect the work of the Samediggi and if the Swedish Samediggi safeguards the Sami right to self-determination.