The Construction of Truth and the Silence of Responsibility : A discourse analysis on the idea of justice and a Sami Truth Commission

Abstract: Throughout history the Sami community have been excluded from Swedish society. They were submitted to discrimination, abuse and the denial of rights. Although the political movement of Sami people is long, we have in recent years seen how a demand for truth and justice is taking more space within the official Sami political movement. The aim of this thesis is to gain a wider understanding of Sami political demands and the idea of justice in Sweden through a Truth Commission. Applying a post-colonial theory and Bacchi’s “What’s the problem?”-methodology I have set out to analyse how the discourse of the idea of justice and a Sami Truth Commission (STC) is being constructed by the Sami political movement, non-affiliated Sami and the Swedish government. The secondary material I have used is earlier research and pre-existing interviews with Sami people. My primary material is documents made by Sami political movement and the Swedish government regarding a STC. The conclusion is that the Sami political movement are constructing the discourse on a STC with a homogenous view of accountability. The non-affiliated Sami is constructing the discourse with a diversity of notion such as accountability, moving on and internal responsibility. The government’s discourse on STC is constructed with non- accountability and silence. However, there is a discourse on the idea of justice and it is constructed with notions of increased participation and to combat racism.