Home River
A film by Scott Thornton and Kati Eriksen
About the film
In 2017, three Sámi women broke the law to protect their traditions. The Sámi people had fished the Deatnu River as a livelihood and spiritual practice for centuries until Finland enforced unprecedented restrictions on the river. In a monumental case for Indigenous rights, Kati, Ánne, and Heidi fought the state to keep their culture alive.
They broke the law,
but didn't commit a crime.
The human rights of the Sámi people are not realized in Finland. Sámi fishing rights have been criminalized, making it impossible for the Sámi people to practice their culture.
“It makes it impossible to transmit this knowledge when one is breaking the law.”
— Heidi
The Deatnu river has been used by the Sámi people for time immemorial. According to the Finnish Constitution, the Sámi have the right to practice their own culture, and this right includes fishing. The Rivers have been in continuous use by the Sámi people. Until the summer of 2016, The Sámi of the Veahčak village were free to practice their traditions of using and managing the resources of the Rivers. They had the right to fish freely upon the Veahčak. However, the new fishing legislation of 2016 brought with it an oppressive and culturally erosive system in which the local Sámi population was forced to pay for the privilege of practicing their culture in the waters that the Finnish State claims.
“I don’t understand why state’s assume that we don’t have the ability to govern waterways that we have protected for centuries.”
— Kati
“The day that we lose our connection to the lands and waters, we are no longer indigenous people.”
—Anne