In the mountains of Luleå, in northern Sweden, Sami reindeer herder Lars-Marcus Kukkamäki has painted a bleak future for himself and other indigenous people who have roamed this land for thousands of years.

An expanding iron ore mine and a rare earth deposit are breaking up the land and changing ancient reindeer migration routes. But as the Arctic warms four times faster than the rest of the world, herders say they need more geographic flexibility, not less, to ensure the survival of their animals. If a mine is established at the so-called largest rare earth deposit in Europe, Per Geijer, Kukkamäki said, it could completely cut off the migration route used by the Sami village of Gabna.

He said this would mean the end of the indigenous lifestyle of Kukkamäki, his children, and their Sami reindeer herding companions, located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Arctic Circle. "Reindeer are the foundation of Sami culture in Sweden," Kukkamäki said. "Everything is built around reindeer: food, language, knowledge of the mountains. Everything is built around reindeer herding. If this no longer exists, Sami culture will also disappear."

The ancestors of Sami nomads were once a nomadic people spread across remote northern areas of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and northwest Russia. Until the 1960s, members of this indigenous minority were discouraged from reindeer herding, with churches and the state suppressing their language and culture.

There are at least 20,000 people in Sweden with Sami heritage, although there is no official census, as ethnic-based censuses are legally prohibited. Today, Sami villages, called sameby, are commercial entities decided by the state, which determines how many semi-domesticated reindeer each village can have and the range in which they can move.

"It has become increasingly difficult to maintain sustainable reindeer herding and to keep reindeer alive through the Arctic winter to reach the next year," said Stefan Mikaelsson, a member of the Sami Parliament. In the village of Gabna, Kukkamäki manages about 2,500 to 3,000 reindeer and 15 to 20 herders. Their families, totaling about 150 people, rely on this business's bottom line. Even before the discovery of the Pyr Gällar deposit, they had to fight against the expanding footprint of Kirunavaara. This world's largest underground iron ore mine has forced the village's herders to lead their reindeer along longer and more difficult migration routes.

Swedish officials and the state-owned mining company LKAB say that the proposed Per Geijer mine may reduce Europe's dependence on rare earth minerals from China.

LKAB hopes to start mining there in the 2030s. Rare earth minerals are essential for various consumer technologies, including mobile phones, hard drives, and electric and hybrid vehicles, and are considered crucial for transitioning the economy from fossil fuels to electricity and renewable energy.

But if the work at Per Geijer continues, Kukkamäki said, the Gabna herders will have no other routes to move their reindeer from the mountains to the nutrient-rich lichen pastures in the winter. The village will take legal action against the mine, but Kukkamäki said he is not optimistic. "It's really hard to fight a mine. They have all the resources, all the methods. They have money. We don't have these," Kukkamäki said. "We only have the will to survive. Leave these pastures for our children."

Darren Wilson, senior vice president of special products at LKAB, said the mining company is seeking solutions to help Sami herders, although he was unwilling to speculate on what those solutions might be. "What we can do has potential; we can explore and must continue to interact," he said. "But I don't underestimate the challenges of doing so."

Climate change is having a significant impact on traditional Sami reindeer herding. Global warming has caused winter rain instead of snow in Lapland, Sweden. According to Anna Skår, an expert in reindeer husbandry and professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, frozen rain traps lichen under thick ice layers, making it impossible for hungry reindeer to access food.

In summer, mountain temperatures have risen to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), causing reindeer to overheat and unable to eat enough to maintain their weight for the winter. Some Swedes suggest that if the Per Geijer mine is built, reindeer could be transported by truck to grazing areas. However, Skår said this is not feasible because the animals eat while moving, and relocation would deprive them of the food they need while traveling from one area to another.

"So you're actually taking away the migration routes that the animals have used for hundreds or even thousands of years," she said. "At the same time, you're also depriving them of the feed resources they should use during this period." For Kukkamäki, this also means that the traditions passed down through generations of Sami people will end on this land. "How can you tell your people that what we are doing now will disappear soon?" he asked.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7547289633316241935/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author and others. Please express your opinion below using the 【up/down】 buttons.