Who is a real Swede? (And who can steal your girlfriend?)

Note: This is based on an old blog post from 2021 that I wrote in Swedish. Now, with election year again and an increase (AGAIN; WHAT THE HELL!) in racism and hateful rhetoric towards People of Color, I rewrote it and translated it into English.

Okay, election year 2026 in Sweden is coming up. So, here are my thoughts about the over all shift in attitude towards immigrants and People of Color (in this text referenced to as PoC)  from our government.

Since 2014,  the tone has gone from being “racism is absolutely unacceptable” to “ Let’s just turn a blind eye AND let’s encourage it more”  and now, it’s completely okay to express racist statements without having the slightest analysis behind what this has to do with what structures or what it does to people and citizens of color in Sweden.

Hell, I’m so tired and angry about this.

And here there are probably several of you who want to say… ”Hey Anna, you are adopted, it is not YOU that the statement applies to. Why are you making it about you when you are not an immigrant?”

Correct, I am adopted, a Swedish citizen and have lived in Sweden 98% of my life (with short breaks for Denmark and now Norway).

I can still react and think that it is wrong and racist with the current attitude towards immigrants and PoC. 

Maybe I react a bit more since I am a PoC and this actually impacts me. Because who can say that I’m adopted and a Swedish citizen when they see me on the bus or out for a walk? How do we distinguish between PoC:s that, according to our government, have “the right to be here” and the ones that apparently do not?

The answer is that we cannot and we should not divide people simply on something like a racist rhetoric. 

With that, we only end up in an impossible spiral that turns the debate into ”who are real Swedes?” (Spoiler,  it can never be PoC:s, it’s white people only and I will elaborate more about why down below.)

It’s not great to have a debate around who is a real Swede plus the statements from the current government that immigration is a burden on the Swedish society (and blatantly ignore that immigration is one of the pillars for a lot of jobs in Sweden plus a HUGE help for smaller cities in getting populated again).

Because it does something with how we and Sweden are viewing people with non-Nordic backgrounds.

The first is that all PoC:s in Sweden, despite our status as citizens or immigrants, are all perceived as less worthy, no matter how much we work, contribute or do for Sweden. (Again, this view has become a widely accepted notion, increasing over the years since 2014.) This does something to how we behave and act and also how we present ourselves. Not only good or equal to white citizens but we need to be twice as good or great to even be accepted as a Swede.

Note, accepted, not applauded.

It’s so tiresome and draining to always have to perform like this and to always feel like we no matter how much we try to defend our place in Sweden, as citizens and people that have lived and contributed for years - it’s just never enough. Sometimes, we are even getting hate for having a job, knowing the language, having an exam and being married.

Because then, we are taking jobs, education and partners away from real Swedes.

We cannot continue to have a conversation based on the concepts of “The talented immigrant/PoC” VS “The lazy immigrant/PoC”. Simply because the debate will be about who does enough not to be a burden. And those of us who do not look Swedish (white) enough will NEVER be able to do enough to not be a burden. Because even when we are over performing, learn everything and do our best - we are just barely being accepted, not applauded.

The bar is so different for us that it is simply impossible to win. For me personally, I get so angry over this. I should not have to defend myself, nor should I have to be perfect and have to over perform to keep on earning my place in Sweden

I should be able to be on sick leave, have a bad day at my job, speak English once in a while on the phone with my friends from Denmark, steal your awesome girlfriend and still feel that I am no more of a burden on society or get judged harder just because I’m a PoC.

The current racist debate climate in Sweden tries to divide PoC:s into those two camps, “The talented immigrant/PoC” VS “The lazy immigrant/PoC”. 

And some fall for this argument and support it because “Of course, we only want good people here".

But all that argumentation does is to create a fake safety and a fake goal that can never ever be won.

It also shifts the focus to us instead of where it should be: namely, that the racist climate in Sweden has increased immensely and our government is backing it up. That is not okay. 

We need to stop with the racist rhetoric and start to view the whole image.

Immigrants and PoC have the right to be in Sweden on the same terms as everyone else, and we have the right to do exactly as much or as little as we can without being shouted at about deportation or laziness.

The racist climate right now creates an impossible situation where PoC:s feel stuck in a fox-scissors situation where we cannot do the right thing. 

We cannot be good enough not to be a burden because we must always be a THOUSAND times better than white Swedes. But if we are good enough, then we are too good and then we should know our place and it is not in the white rooms or jobs.

Feel grateful to the country that has accepted you. Feel guilty if you don't contribute. But don't do too much because then you'll steal the jobs, girlfriends, and livelihoods of real Swedes.

If you are a PoC parent and your underage child does something wrong, then your WHOLE family is threatened with deportation. And you as a parent, should be ashamed because you worked three jobs to keep your family afloat but could not keep track of who your kid was hanging out with.

But if you are a white parent and your underage child is part of an active nazi organisation, then it is just “bad luck” and “kids will be kids.” And you as a parent, can get away with looking sad on TV and saying that you talked with your kid and that you simply missed checking their social media.

Again, the bars are so different depending on your skin color that it is insane.

Ultimately, I feel enormous anger that our current government has chosen to embrace racist rhetoric to such a degree that they now see this as a completely okay way to express themselves and to make a difference between white Swedes and PoC Swedes.

No one should feel like a burden because they live here and have a different skin color, and no one should feel like they have to defend their existence against a rhetoric that is built on racism.

Att skriva långt är inte lönsamt men vem bryr sig?

​Jag kan bli så frustrerad på formatet på sociala media idag. Det är så mycket kortformat i videos och korta texter.

Och det är inte mitt bästa utryckssätt alls.

Ja, jag är kränkt över att vi har gått från långa texter och långt format till något jag är kass på.

När jag började hänga på X för tusen år sedan och sen började blogga så var det som gjorde det fint för mig detta: Det var plattformar att skriva tankar och åsikter på, att nå ut till andra på och att knyta kontakt.

Jag kunde skriva om allt och inget i början. Sedan blev det mer allt med starkt fokus på anti-rasism, feminism och nördsaker.

Och jag kände att jag nådde ut. Att folk läste och engagerade sig i både det jag skrev och i andras texter. Detta att spinna vidare på andras tankar och se hur andra tog del av mina var fint. Jag provade videos med längre format för familjens skull och det kom aldrig mer än just dit men kul var det.

Och nu idag?

Jag känner väl att jag får mest engagemang och klick på en kul bild, en selfie eller på om jag är elak/drygi en blupp ( eller ja, jag har försökt, det ligger inte för mig alls, jag faller som en pannkaka)

Jag får noll respons på åsikter/rants från hjärtat om ämnen som betyder allt för mig och som verkade vara viktiga för fler. Samma ämnen nu som då: Anti-rasism,feminism,nördsaker.

Och jag sörjer över det. En liten personlig del över att folk inte läser MINA grejer för det är klart att det betyder mycket. En liten ilska över att jag kan anpassa mig till TikTok och så mycket annat men inte detta.

Men min största sorg är detta:

• Att folk inte verkar kunna ta in längre texter mer. 
• Inte kunna ta in tyngre ämnen utan hoppar dessa.
• Utan hellre föredrar korta AI-grejer utan djup. 

Sådant som inte kommer från hjärtat från en person utan mest är… själlöst och ofta fel i fakta.

Det känns som att vi blir mer avtrubbade,mindre empatiska och mer oförmögna att hålla fokus.

Jag har funderat så många gånger under året på om jag borde försöka det korta,skarpare och roliga formatet och tonen med i mina texter.

För att anpassa mig och följa med strömmen men också för att hjälpa folk. Men jag vet att de texter jag älskar mest är just de långa, de med själ och hjärta. Det var de som fick mig att älska skrivandet som uttryckssätt och som drev mig till journalistiken som yrke.

Så jag tänker fortsätta med mina långa trådar på diverse sociala media, kanske lite mer bloggtexter här och bevara mitt hjärta.

Det är en extremt kass plan för framtiden.

Det kommer att ge exakt noll kommentarer,likes och engagemang.Noll läsare på en bloggtext som denna.

Men.

Jag får acceptera att jag är gammal och i all min hype kring TikTok, Roblox och sociala media så är detta min kulle att dö på. 

Men så länge jag behåller min integritet och min passion… Så kanske det inte är så dumt ändå.

Och kanske kommer folk börjar läsa längre texter igen och det är något jag alltid kommer att hoppas på.

Why we must learn more about today's gamers

I never expected myself to work in the gaming industry and handle community management. 

Even though I am a journalist at the end of it all, I was never one to stand in front of the camera or be in the centre.  I focused on myself as a digital editor, researcher, producer, and social media specialist.

Those roles all included a lot of interactions on social media with media consumers. From the angry ones and the spammers to the ones that always were nice and the ones that just wanted to share their stories.

These were adults and one thing I learned there is that being an adult on the internet is not an automatic success for behaving nicely.

When I started working in the gaming community, the community were mostly young adults who were passionate about games. They were the happy ones, the angry ones, the sad ones and the lonely ones. Just like the adults but the main difference was that this crowd also felt a bit like the underdogs. Gaming was, and is, after all, a hobby that is often looked down upon. 

Overall, this crowd was a bunch of happy nerds with lots of passion, opinions and more importantly, happy to chat and hang out with other gamers. 

Then, I started to work with the Roblox community.

Holy damn, that has been a ride! I was a complete novice in Roblox games and had no idea about the crowd. 

Nor was I fully aware of how big Roblox is among kids and that everyone plays.

The Roblox community are WAY younger than any community I´ve managed before.

And they are absolute chaos on Discord where the focus is less on hanging out with other gamers but on getting the most items to min-max their gaming.

For me that comes from a world of console gaming and PC, I´ve never felt so old and behind my time. I got a very healthy wake-up call in realizing that this is most likely how my parents felt when I started with video games....)

NGL, this is 100% me some days at work.

The road of learning about Roblox and its community has been a wild ride and in this time, I am so happy to have taken this journey. The Roblox community are a chaotic one but they are also so damn passionate, happy, wonderful and creative. They love to talk, to be informed and to give input on the games we make.

And I never felt so down with the kids when I talked to the kids in the park on the daily dog walk and answered their questions on what I do for work: "Well, I work with Roblox games."

Because everybody plays and their enthusiasm to discuss and talk about their favourite games makes my day.

This is the new generation of gamers but I feel that we, the adults, are making the same mistake with the Roblox generation that our own parents once did with us Pc-, and console gamers.

We do not take their Roblox gaming seriously (perhaps because it is not real games, what do I know?) and we do not listen to them. 

I feel that I have repeated the same advice for parents for 20 years now:

"Talk to your kids and teenagers about their gaming, show an interest."

That is still true and parents should take a bigger interest in their kid's gaming.

But in addition, all of us ( the older gaming generation) perhaps need to take a step down from our high horse and look at what the kids are playing these days, exchange top games to play and learn from that.

The gaming community is wonderful and vast and there is room for all kinds of games, from PC to mobile.

So let´s listen to the new generation of gamers and not only get them to play our games but ask what they and their friends are playing in school. 

And then, we join and learn from them

Vita mördare får empati när rasismen normaliseras.

Rädsla
Ilska
Trötthet

Det är så många känslor som snurrat runt i mitt huvud efter skolskjutningen på Risbergska i Örebro tidigare i Februari. Så många gånger jag velat sätta mig ned och skriva men så många gånger jag bara känt en sådan ilska, trötthet och frustration att jag bara låtit bli.

Men nu är huvudet klart. Tomt och trött men klart.

När jag fick reda på att det varit en skolskjutning i Örebro så blev jag iskall av rädsla. 

Huvudet fylldes av tankar som:

"Åh gud, är det möjligt?"
"Vad är det som händer i Sverige, vi har inte så mycket vapen att tillgå??"
"Hoppas ingen skadas eller dör! Herregud."

Ju längre timmarna tickade iväg och siffrorna ramlade in med att det fanns skadade, det fanns döda så växte en annan rädsla i mig.

Den att gärningspersonen kunde vara rasifierad eller icke-nordisk. Vara mörkhyad, vara av annan religion, vara... Ja, det som vissa ser som "inte svensk nog."

Och om gärningsmannen var detta, vad skulle det innebära för alla oss rasifierade i Sverige?

Bästa Tänkvärt satte senare samma dag ord på många av tankarna jag hade.

"När ett sådant fruktansvärt brutalt dåd sker är det inte enbart frustration och sorg som uppstår. När det börjar spekuleras på sociala medier om vem gärningsmannen är och hur han ser ut så uppstår det även stor oro för vissa grupper i landet.

🥀 Oro över hur media kommer att skriva om händelsen när gärningsmannen avslöjas då narrativet ofta skiljer sig beroende på gärningsmannens etnicitet.

🥀 Oro över att hela folkgrupper eller religioner kommer att skuldbeläggas då muslimska eller icke-vita gärningsmän ofta leder till generaliseringar om deras bakgrund.

🥀 Oro över ökade hatbrott och trakasserier då liknande händelser har tidigare lett till våld och hot mot specifika grupper.

🥀 Oro över att narrativet påverkar den politiska debatten då vissa politiska aktörer kan använda händelsen för att stärka rasistiska agendor.

🥀 Oro över att offren och deras anhöriga hamnar i skuggan av en politiserad debatt då fokus kan hamna mer på gärningsmannens bakgrund än på de drabbade.

🥀 Oro över att psykisk ohälsa bara lyfts fram selektivt då vita gärningsmän ofta beskrivs som ensamvargar medan icke-vita demoniseras.

🥀 Oro över att extremistgrupper får ny ammunition då högerextrema kan använda dådet för att sprida rasistisk propaganda.

🥀 Oro över att vi fastnar i en upprepande cykel av rasistiska narrativ då samhället riskerar att återigen befästa skadliga stereotyper."

Jag hade all denna oron samtidigt som jag kände den största sorg över alla de som drabbats, de döda och de skadade, deras familjer och alla de som tvingats gömma sig under timmar på skolan.

För det går att ha flera tankar i huvudet samtidigt.

Under de oklara timmarna så satt jag desperat och sökte efter all info jag kunde hitta om gärningspersonen. Jag var så rädd för vad följderna kunde blir för alla oss rasifierade om det skulle vara så att gärningsmannen också var rasifierad. 

Det skulle göras politik av det, skulle bli nya förslag om visitationszoner, om vilka som skulle bedömas vara äkta svenskar. Om vilka som skulle kunna utvisas direkt och vilka som hade rätt till medborgarskap.

Jag letade desperat information för att jag ville vara beredd.

Nu visade sig gärningsmannen var en helt vanlig, kritvit svensk man med en supervanligt svenskt namn.

Och det talas om en ensam galning, en missförstådd ensam man som föll mellan stolarna i Sverige och som samhället borde hjälpt. Det talas om hans autism som en förklaring till dådet (rent jädra skitsnack att ens våga försöka sig på den vinkeln) och hur han drevs av desperation över att hämnas på ett samhälle som svikit honom.

Det är vad som lyfts upp. 

Inte mycket om att han kunde gått in på skolan nästgårds och skjutit omkring sig men valde att åka över halva stan för att skjuta på en skola där merparten är rasifierade.
Inte mycket om att han hördes skrika på en video att "Ni ska ut ur Europa!"
Inte mycket om att en majoritet av hans offer är rasifierade.

Det är inte retoriken som drivs här och jag är så arg för det är en spark i ansiktet på alla oss som levt med rasismens normalisering i Sverige under så många år.

Jag började se det på allvar efter valet 2014 och varje val, varje jävla år sedan dess har varit en steg framåt för rasism och polarisering mellan olika grupper.

Hur gruppen etniska vita svenska ställts mot de som inte "ser ut som svenska", alltså de med annan hudton, de med annan religion och alla de som inte passar in i bilden av svenskhet. Vi rasifierade.

Jag kommer kanske få mycket skit för att jag skriver detta. Genom att dra in hudfärg och etnicitet som grund till den värsta masskjutningen och terrordådet i svensk historia så gör jag politik av en tragisk händelse.
Igen, det går att hålla två tankar i huvudet. Det är en ofattbart tragisk och hemskt händelse och de familjer som förlorat något står med en sorg som aldrig kommer att gå över. Det är vidrigt bortom alla gränser. 

Men ilskan kvarstår i sorgen över att retoriken nu handlar om en ensam vit galning som “utan synligt motiv” gick in och sköt människor på en skola i Örebro.

Retoriken hade varit en helt annan om gärningsmannen varit rasifierad.

För vi ser det nu svart på vitt: Vita mördare får empati, rasifierade mördare blir redskap för att piska upp en hatretorik och polarisering mellan olika grupper i samhället.

Rasismen är så normaliserad i Sverige att ingen riktigt skäms över när bisarra i en sådan retorik är mitt framför näsan på den.

Jag tänker inte säga att det är dags att vi skärper oss för den tiden är förbi. Jag ville inte heller låta hatet och rädslan ta över. Men jag tänker repetera något jag skrev i  en gammal bloggpost från 2014:

"Avslutningsvis vill jag fråga er nu, kära vita människor. När kommer ni att stå vid min sida?
Är det när någon skriker n-ordet efter mig?
Är det när när någon spottar mig i ansiktet och vrålar att jag ska ska åka hem till mitt eget land?
Är det när någon slår mig medvetslös för att jag inte passar in i bilden av en blond och blåögd svensk?
När är det tillräckligt allvarligt för att ni ska bry er?"

Nu har vi haft en masskjutning av en vit svensk man som medvetet gick efter rasifierade, oavsett hur vi vrider och vänder på detta. 

Har rasismen och polariseringen gått tillräckligt långt för att ni ska bry er nu?

Democracy is not something we "have", it is something we DO

So, another election in the US have come and gone. 

No one should be surprised that the election went as it did but of course we had hope, I had hope, that perhaps, it would go the other way.

Now, it did not happend

And my heart is so heavy.....I look at four years of a new downward spiral and brace myself for it's outcome.

Yes, I do not live in the US.

But it would be naive to say that an election in the worlds most powerful and influential country does not affect the rest of the world. It will affect Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the rest of Europe in many ways, from our view on human rights, to how we work against climate change to war efforts.

Personally, I fear an increase in hate, racism, LBTQ+ violence, fewer rights for women and reproduction rights and more war. So much more war. Such a smaller world.

When did we change solidarity and reason for silence and hate?

I keep on asking myself how and why but I know why and the knowledge makes me so numb, and tired and drives me deeper into a flight or fight mode.

"People like what I have to say. They believe in it. They just don't like the word Nazi, that's all." - Storm (The Boys).

To all my friends in the US: hugs, support and I'm here to listen.

To all my friends all over the world who are PoC, LBTQ+ and women, we... just have to do this.

I keep on saying this... That is is ok to be afraid, to cry and to feel that all is lost. That feeling is ok to have. I myself was just a pile in the sofa playing BG3 and dreaming of a world where I did not have to brace myself up for being a woman of color.

But after that, from today and onwards. I will stand up, take a deep breath and continue to fight cause this is not the end.

It feels superhard right now but we need to push on and organize. For ourself and for everyone around us.

As a dear friend and rolemodel said yesterday. "Democracy is not something we "have", it is something we DO"

So let's work to uphold that, build our communities around us, organize and hold eachothers hands during the years to come.

Sámi and how to be a good ally.

Today, I'm lending this platform to 3 amazing Sámi streamers.

VikingTrash from Norway, Basiliisk från Sweden and NieTheGhoul from Norway.

They have all streamed for years and are speaking regularly about their Sámi heritage and the rights of the Sámi people.

Listen to them here.

Art by Finnish artist Ukko, made for the Sámi national day on the 6th of February

How do you relate to your Sàmi heritage?

VikingTrash: My mother is Sámi, my dad is from West Coast Norway where I am born and raised. My mother is from a Sea Sámi family in the very North of Norway, brought up speaking Northern Sámi and was raised around various sámi traditions. 

VikingTrash

So even if I was brought up in the south I have been surrounded by the culture because of my mom and also because I have always visited my family in Finnmark every summer and some winters.

I try not to use "half sámi" when explaining it because I think blood quantum is silly and was once told by a relative that "either you´re sámi or you´re not" which helped me feel more sure about my heritage. I think a lot of indigenous people struggle with the feeling of "not being indigenous enough".

Basiliisk: Me and my mother just recently started exploring our heritage from our Sàmi family, and it started to become an important part of our lives.

My middle name is named after my mum´s grandmother, who funnily enough was a writer and I coincidentally became one as well, so in one way one could say I’m carrying on that heritage.

My grandfather loved (to try) yoiking for me when I was a child, which made me love that kind of music till today, and taught me how to carve and eat dried reindeer, which is also a big favourite of mine till today.

NieTheGhoul

NieTheGhoul: For me, it's not something I often think about as it is just as much a part of my identity that makes up who I am. 

For a long time, my family denied being Sámi due to how the Norwegian government had assimilated the Sámi People into Norwegian culture. My grandfather was born and raised in a goahti and spoke Sámi, but we were not Sámi. 

Sadly he passed away when my father was 15 so I never got to meet him. When I turned 18 I started reclaiming this as a part of my family's narrative and saw all the cultural things that related to the Sámi heritage. Both me and my father are actively trying to reclaim this part of our identity and I still feel a sort of unexplained grief in everything we lost. 

The language being one.

How do you feel being Sàmi is being received in your community?

Basiliisk: Well,one of my mods (moderators on stream) got really interested in my heritage, asking questions to learn more about it and wanting to try Sàmi art for my sake.

My boyfriend has become really interested as well, looked up a lot of information, and even wants to plan something for the national day.

I also got some plans for overlays and such for my streams to show it off even more.

VikingTrash: I don´t think most of my community even knew until maybe a year or two ago. 

That is my fault entirely, I haven´t talked about it a lot until recent years as I took being indigenous for granted. 

It has always been just a normal thing for me, it´s always been in my life and I didn´t consider it sacred until I saw Native American creators highlight how important it is to preserve indigenous traditions, stories and culture. It opened my eyes to the fact that I have a platform I can use to celebrate the culture and also educate. It also made me realize that I should be even prouder of being indigenous and talk about it more, not only because it´s important but because it´s my identity and if people want to get to know me then that´s an essential part. 

When I opened up to my community about it I got a lot of love, and was met with a lot of curiosity and overall positivity. Most didn´t even know Sámi people existed and I´m happy to make sure they know we´re here.

NieTheGhoul: I feel like a lot of people do not know what it is, but they find it very interesting. Most people are very respectful when asking questions as well. 

Most problems arise when I meet someone else from the Nordics because then, and often without meaning to, I can get sort of casual racism. Like trying to crack jokes about reindeer or joiking. Most people are pretty supportive and respectful though!

How would you describe being Sàmi for someone living outside the Nordic?

NieTheGhoul: I honestly would just explain it as being the indigenous people of the Nordic. Like how Native Americans are to the US. 

We have faced a lot of the same struggles (I am lucky to have met indigenous friends from the entire world after I started streaming) and also come with our own culture and customs that are different to the other people in the areas we live in.

Basiliisk

Basiliisk: Being Sámi is different for everyone. I do have a lot of family still living in Northern Sweden, where they herd reindeers still today. 

Now they live in modern houses compared to how they lived before;which was more or less Sàmi huts. 

My grandfather used to tell me how they sat there with the fire going in the middle of the hut, where they for example carved reindeer meat.

But it isn’t all nice and relaxing. Sadly, there’s a lot of hate against us, subjected to discrimination by the governments in the Nordic countries, which obviously needs to change.

VikingTrash: I agree, I think being Sámi is different for everyone, and for me probably a bit different since I am not raised in Northern Norway. 

First of all, Sámi people are the indigenous people in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. We have a rich culture with old traditions and multiple languages. There are Sámi people who have reindeer, there are some who are fishers and many have more regular 9-5 jobs. 

We are very different, but what we have in common is an ancient heritage that goes back thousands of years. 

For me being Sámi means trying to protect, love and cherish our history and culture. I´m trying to be more aware and educate myself. I also finally have my own gákti(traditional dress for sámi people) on top of my Luhkka(It´s like a poncho, handmade by a Sámi woman and gifted by my mother, sister and grandma) and I´m trying to practice some Northern Sámi phrases. 

In my adult years I have also come to appreciate my grandmas cooking even more, I didn´t realize a lot of the food she makes is pretty traditional sámi dishes.

What do you feel can be done more to highlight Sàmi culture?

Basiliisk: We need to showcase the heritage of the Sàmi even more, make it a normal thing without discrimination happening towards our people. Highlight it in even more things; games, movies, stories, news and many other things. We got one step in the right direction with our national day in the Nordic countries, but more needs to be done.

NieTheGhoul: I think it must start in the Nordics. In Norway at least a lot of people are only taught a very old-fashioned and stereotypical view of the Sámi people. Just continuing to educate and to talk about it and get representation and not being sold in as something exotic being that is completely other is important.

VikingTrash: I want Sámi/Sápmi to be included more when people talk about indigenous people, most people don´t even know we exist and I want to do something about that. I love how there is more awerness and support of indigenous people and I´d like for us to also have a seat at the table. 

I overall want people to be better at raising indigenous voices, hear them and value them. 

I´m very happy companies(mostly in the Nordics) are wanting to highlight us on the Sámi National Day, but we need more global exposure overall all year round if people are going to learn about us. 

This is why I cherish and celebrate being Sámi every day now and not just on February 6th. We are indigenous every day, all year round for the rest of our lives and it matters.

VikingTrash, Basiliisk and NieTheGhoul, what are your 3 best pieces of advice for people that want to be a great ally here?

1. Listen to the people you're trying to be an ally to.
2. Do research and do your own (don’t expect marginalized people to do the work for you).
3. Use your privilege and voice to lift up marginalized voices, and don’t speak over or for us.

If you want to learn more about Sámi culture, here are some links!

• Saami Council
• Samer  (In Swedish)
• Sametinget
• Sametinget (In Norwegian)
• 10 ways to support Sàmi

Movies:

Klaus Kautokeinoopprøret Ellos eatnu Pathfinder Sameblod

Sameblod ger regissören nya utmaningar | Fria.Nu (article written by yours truly about the work with Sameblod)

The Sámi flag.