A Swedish truth commission has formally urged the state to issue an apology to the indigenous Sami people, citing a long history of injustices, including forced assimilation programs. The Truth Commission for the Sami People, which was established in 2021 to investigate and document policies affecting the Sami, intends to present 71 specific proposals to the government, various authorities, museums, and the Church of Sweden.
The commission stated these measures are necessary to acknowledge past wrongs, take accountability, provide compensation for human rights violations, and establish a path forward rooted in equality and respect.
In a statement released shortly before the final report was presented at a ceremony in Östersund—known as Staare in the Southern Sami language—the commission declared that discrimination, racism, hatred, and threats against the Sami must come to an end.
The commission's investigation revealed that state control and guardianship categorized the Sami and restricted their self-determination, which resulted in the fragmentation of their communities and the loss of fundamental rights.
According to the report, the state and the church held significant power over how the Sami lived, the education their children received, the languages they used, and the practice of their culture, religion, and traditional livelihoods.
The plight of the Sami, who are recognized as Europe's only indigenous people, traces back to the 17th century. During that period, the state began colonizing and exploiting resource-rich lands in the Arctic wilderness, which spans across northern Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia's Kola peninsula. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Sami live in this region, maintaining a heritage of hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding that has lasted for thousands of years.
Research presented by the commission in March documented severe abuses, including forced relocations, the removal of Sami children from their families for placement in boarding schools, and the systematic breakdown of their faith and cultural traditions.
The commission’s work involved gathering approximately 300 interviews and written accounts from Sami individuals. While the commission was not explicitly tasked with proposing reconciliation efforts, the Sami Parliament has expressed an expectation that a formal reconciliation process will follow the report's completion.
This development in Sweden follows similar actions in neighboring countries; Norway's parliament issued a formal apology in November 2024 following a damning report on historical injustices, and in December 2025, a Finnish commission also called for the rectification of injustices against the Sami.
Meanwhile, land rights remain a persistent point of tension in Sweden, as the Sami face threats to their traditional reindeer herding grounds from mining, forestry, and energy projects required for the green transition. In 2021, the Lutheran Church of Sweden previously apologized for centuries of severe violations of human dignity against the Sami people.
They were first brutally forced to adopt Christianity and abandon their shamanism, before assimilation efforts intensified in the 19th and 20th centuries as the far north's economic importance grew.
