The Sami Rights Situation, Lands and Resources: A talk by Magne Ove Varsi February 17, 2011

Due to the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Mr. Varsi's visit to the US has been rescheduled for February of 2011.

Control over resources is an integral part of Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. Magne Ove Varsi will speak about Sami struggles for control of land and resources, and prospects for the future.

Magne Ove Varsi is a Sami rights leader and executive director of the Gáldu Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Kautokeino, Norway. The resource centre was created to increase information about the rights of Sami and other indigenous peoples. The Centre is independent, governed by its own board and is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusions and by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During Mr. Varsi’s diverse career he has also served as lecturer in journalism at the Sámi University College, news editor for SVT Sápmi in connection with the establishment and joint Nordic Sámi TV news on SVT2, NRK 1 and YLE, and president of the Sámi Journalisstaid Seari (Sámi Journalists Association) 1998-2001. Magne Ove Varsi has been invited to speak at the United Nations in New York in May 2010 as part of Indigenous Peoples Month.

Official Website: http://www.ias.umn.edu/thursdayscals10.php