Indigenous narratives as enablers of policy change: the Saami Council’s productive engagement for improving EU policies

Abstract This article focuses on how the Saami Council productively engages with the EU through its narratives in order to bring about change in EU policies and to navigate uncertainties threatening their future existence. Based on an emotion discourse analysis and narrative analysis of Saami Council’s documents that focus on the European Union, the article finds that narratives have worked in two different aspects to enable the Saami Council to motivate the Sámi communities from the emotional states of fear, anger, resentment and disappointment to productively engage with the European Union. Working internally, their narrative has instilled hope in communities that a better future is possible. Facing outward, their narrative has demonstrated that the negative consequences of the green transition on their lands is a new form of colonialism, demanded respect for their internationally recognized rights in EU policies and underlined the significance of their inclusion in EU policy-making structures.