This article looks at some aspects of a truth commission appointedin Norway. The first part outlines the background for the appointmentand discusses some of the arguments put forward, supplemented by quotesfrom the media debate. The second part looks at this debate in abroader context of Norwegian-Sami relations and gives some examplesof Sami communication about the right to be different. Using theconcepts ?redistribution? and ?recognition? it is argued that redistributionhas been an aspect of Norwegian-Sami relations throughout the post-warperiod as part of the emergence of a welfare state, while recognitionhas been a central theme in Sami struggle for rights since the 1970sonwards. By way of conclusion it is suggested that new questionsconnected with redistribution are coming up, not in relation toindividual poverty but in relation to the premises put down fordecisions on resource management. New controversies demonstratethat Norwegian and market economic calculations of profitability maylead to decisions that are out of line with Sami sense of justice.Examples are given of questions that to a lesser degree are coveredby the mandate of the truth commission.
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