Battle to hunt in Sweden’s Arctic | DW Documentary

Who owns the land of the reindeer? The indigenous Sami people? Or all Swedish people? The decision of the country’s top court to award exclusive hunting and fishing rights to Sami in one 19-mile strip of land has prompted an outcry. For the Sami people, the Supreme Court ruling was an historic moment - the culmination of a decade-long legal battle. Yet it is one that has sparked outrage among some non-indigenous hunters and anglers. Sweden’s top judges conferred exclusive fishing and small game hunting rights to the Sami in the village of Girjas Sameby, persuaded by their argument that Sami people had been hunting, fishing and grazing reindeer here since time immemorial until the Swedish state came and took away more and more land. Some 20,000 to 40,000 Sami people live in Sweden. Almost 5,000 own reindeer, including Ylva Sarri’s family. She hails the judgement, arguing that the Swedish hunters frighten the reindeer with their dogs and hinder the Sami’s work. The indigenous people regula