Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving the Sámi People in Finland Released

The need for and significance of ethical guidelines for research has figured in discussions among the Sámi and researchers in Sámi Studies already in the 1970s. The drafting of the guidelines by a designated working group took place over a period of six years, and the publication was released on 30 May 2024.

The process of drafting of these ethical guidelines has been somewhat different from the discipline-specific processes of drafting ethical guidelines, where representatives of a discipline work together to define the ethical principles for research in their field. The Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving the Sámi People have been drafted in collaboration with Sámi communities and researchers in Sámi Studies.

The purpose of the new guidelines is, in accordance with the ethical principles of research with Indigenous peoples, to promote culturally safe environments and ways of working in the context of conducting research. The guidelines are applicable to any discipline where research involving the Sámi people, Sámi society and Sámi communities is conducted. The guidelines also concern research carried out in the Sámi Homeland that has or could potentially have an impact on Sámi people.

–The application of the guidelines is discipline- and method-specific. Execution and implementation of the guidelines is based on the researcher’s self-regulation, and at the moment there are no plans to set a research ethics review committee, says a representative of the working group.

Indigenous peoples’ research practices highlight the community-driven nature of research as well as the significance of research from the community perspective. Taking cultural values, norms and indigenous peoples’ collective right to self-determination into consideration receives significant emphasis. This means, in particular, engaged and sustained reciprocal communication between the researcher and the research partners as well as inclusive research practices. The researcher is expected to be strongly aware of the specificities of the research tradition to which their research belongs and to be well informed of the impact their background and role has or can potentially have on the implementation of the research.

–The starting point for the guidelines is recognition of and respect for Sámi society and Sámi knowledge. It means being aware of and considering the Sámi languages, Sámi knowledge and traditions, and the rights of the Sámi.

–Researchers also need to familiarize themselves with previous research and archival materials before conducting the research in order to minimize the burden on Sámi communities caused by the research.

According to the guidelines, researchers have the obligation to return and share research data and results, that is, to make them available to the Sámi communities that participated in the research.

Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving the Sámi People in Finland

The guidelines have been published online in all three Sámi languages spoken in Finland, as well as in Finnish and English: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202405294076

The website of the working group: https://www.ulapland.fi/FI/Kotisivut/Saamelaisia-koskevan-tutkimuksen-eettiset-ohjeet-

Further information is available by contacting the members of the working group:
Rauna Kuokkanen, University of Lapland, tel. +358 40 484 4350
Pirjo K. Virtanen, University of Helsinki, tel. +358 50 318 2400‬
Sigga-Marja Magga, University of Oulu, tel. +358 50 568 5326
Lydia Heikkilä, The Sámi Parliament of Finland, tel. +358 40 594 0559
Janne Näkkäläjärvi, The Sámi Education Institute, tel. +358 40 759 9427‬

Original article published at the University of Lapland website.