Northern Lights on Indigenous intangible heritage: a changing legal landscape in Sápmi

This article explores recent developments in legal analysis related to the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in general, and to the safeguarding of Indigenous intangible cultural heritage in particular, with reference to the debates on the protection of Sámi intangible cultural heritage in Nordic countries used as a case study. I reflect upon existing and prospective conjunctions of fields of law, arguing that the experiences in Nordic countries are of interest to global legal scholarship, which is constantly developing in the field of intangible cultural heritage law. I argue that there is a changing legal landscape that can be observed, where the UNESCO 2003 Convention meets the protection of intellectual property rights, human rights, the rights of Indigenous peoples, and more. I ground my reflection on the observations of intangible cultural heritage–related regional debates among the representatives of communities and government bodies in Nordic countries – Finland, Sweden and Norway – with a particular focus on the intangible cultural heritage and rights of Sámi people, and a qualitative study of Nordic and, more specifically, Sámi legal scholarship, policymaking, litigation processes and governmental reporting. As this regional case study shows, it is taking time to advance legal thinking and decision-making on the safeguarding of Indigenous intangible cultural heritage, which gives space for dialogues, negotiations and exchanges. KCI Citation Count: 0