Livelihood, Language or Self-Identification? The Shifting Base of Sámi Representation in Finland

Abstract

Against the backdrop of (i) the Finnish Eduskunta's enactment in June 2025 of a contentious change in the voting rules for elections to the Sámi Parliament and (ii) the publication in December 2025 of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission examining the historic discrimination practised against the Sámi population, this paper focuses on the representation of the indigenous Sámi minority in Finland. The central question, which comprises three integral parts, runs: How and why has the basis of Sámi representation changed and what was the Sámi view of their representational arrangements in the run-up to the 2025 electoral reform? Several variants of neo-corporatist representation are presented, in all of which Sámi elect Sámi to represent them. Ultimately, the case made is that the 2025 electoral reform marked a shift away from an inclusive, livelihood-based vocational franchise towards a more exclusionary, ethno-centric model predicated on strict Sámi-language criteria. The wider interest lies in the extent to which forms of neo-corporatist representation can retain utility and functional value under the cross-pressures of party-based territorial representation.