Last yoik in Saami forests ?

Hello

The present version of the film can be loaded on the page:
http://elonmerkki.net/en/synopsis

================================
Press release and video reportage 5.6.2007
by Media cooperative Signs of Life
http://elonmerkki.net
==========================================


Illegal logging in Saami forests -
The destruction of Saami home area in Finnish Lapland started again


The long lasting forestry conflict in Finnish Lappland is again in a very
urgent state. The Finnish state owned company, Metsähallitus,
has started large scale logging operations in the home area of indigenous
Saami people on the 14th of May, 2007.

These logging have been critisized for the following reasons:

-there is no solution yet for the land ownership conflict between
indigenous Saami
people and the Finnish state.
-the Finnish state has not proven to be the actual owner of the forests that it
is logging right now.
-the clear-cutting style of logging ancient forests in the extreme north
of Europe cannot be accepted from an ecological and micro-climatical point
of view.
-the loggings destroy the very basis of the culturally important Saami
free grazing reindeer herding tradition
-the loggings waste the ancient forests and its wood and leave less
possibilities for future truly sustainable continuous cover forestry
without destructive clear cutting.


Among others Union of Ecoforestry urged Finnish
parliament to stop the logging immediately and distributed for
parliament groups the documentary movie Last yoik in Saami forests
(http://elonmerkki.net).
Until now there has not been any public reaction by the Finnish government.
The silence in Finnish media also continues.

The director of the movie, Hannu Hyvönen, expressed his feelings about the
on-going loggings recently: "It is quite easy for us to update this sad
turn-up in the documentary movie, but we cannot update these forests
which are now again cutted down."

The documentary movie can also be loaded here:
http://video.elonmerkki.net/last_yoik.mp4

More info and links:

http://elonmerkki.net/en

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• saami
• forests
• indigenous
• people
• finland
• stora
• enso
• greenpeace
• reindeer
• lapland
• yoik
• joik
• culture
• action

[noniino]

Just like forestry, reindeer herding is harmful to the ecosystem. But boreal forests WILL grow back after cuttings. Erosion is not a problem. Sami people aren't some innocent Indians exploited by the evil Finns. Herding is business nowadays. And remember, Greenpeace makes business too, just like the forest companies! Ps. very large parts of Lapland are under protection. National parks like Lemmenjoki or UKK.

[apuronen]

Please look what Timo Helle speaks out about the cutting and reindeerherding. The cutting means losses for reindeerherding. The clearcutted scenerys tell enough if you have some sense left, friend

[benzo430]

Have you contacted Survival International, they help indigenous people fight for their land and culture??

[apuronen]

Thanks for the information, we shall contact them

Hannu

[kivinen1]

Sorry, I love the trees, and don't believe we should waste them, but whoever put this film together has never seen where the true Saami live, there aren't trees there, it is tundra and small pines that grow maybe 10 feet in 100 years.

[TheSWORDOFTRUTH777]

Protect indiginous peoples from IMF aggression!

[SlazerlentonTV]

Good film! "Our" state also destroyed our indiginous forests and the ancient culture. Greetings from Estonia!

[RavenofDenmark]

that is an absolutely horrible view this man has, but understandable.

The companies destroy these people's way of life and the goverment does nothing about it.

But hey, Isent it just common politics? Here in Denmark the top-politicans has no reality sense when it comes to the life of the common man, and especially not outside the big city. So why should it be different in Finnland with goverment in the south and Saami in the north?

[Darkstorms15]

agreed.

FYI im an american(and im 1/8 saami, and proud!), dont make generalizations about americans being stupid, they always interview american idiots on tv, if u go outside on a weekday in public there will be idiots without jobs walking around.

[ProspectorSam]

This little preview leaves me with the impression that the film is largely emotional manipulation. A chainsaw at night? A noose? Lots of edited-together scenes, but not much in the way of explanation of how the scenes relate to one another or the overall land situation in Finland.

That's my honest reaction; take it FWIW. I haven't seen the film, just this preview, so perhaps my impression is wrong. FYI I'm a middle-aged American.

[Kenzofeis]

This is in Finland, lappland overlaps Norway, Finland and Sweden, Norwegian lappland (Finnmark) are more tundralike, While I suppose on the finnish and swedish side there is forests

[milkgodnl]

Traditionally, reindeer herding was done by family in which each family has a somewhat different herd migration route. This leveled out the use of the ecosystem. Americans: please conceptualize this as the nice side of 'regulation'.

[StalluBuidoar]

reindeer herding is controlled and is important to the ecosystem of sapmi to kee a steady reindeer population.

[Indigence]

Tobique First Nation and Indigenous of North America are fed up with this BS.