Indicator history

The Sámi Parliament is a cultural self-government body of the Sámi. The Constitution of Finland provides that the Sámi have linguistic and cultural self government in their native region. The parliament was established under the Act on the Sámi Parliament and the Decree on the Sámi Parliament.

The Sámi Parliament's (Sámediggi) main purpose is to plan and implement the cultural self-government guaranteed to the Sámi as an indigenous people. The Sámi Delegation was a predecessor to the Sámi Parliament. It operated from 1973-1995.The Sámi Parliament is an independent legal entity of public law which, due to its self-governmental nature, is not a part of the public administration. The Sámi Parliament functions under the administrative sector of the Ministry of Justice. The Sámi Parliament can make initiatives, proposals and statements to the authorities.The members of the parliament are elected from among the Sámi every four years. The Sámi Parliament expresses an official view of the Sámi in Finland on issues concerning them. The operation of the Sámi Parliament is funded by the state.