ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the official status of a Sami person in Finland and how that status is connected with the right to vote in the elections of the Finnish Sami Parliament. It explains the complexity related to Sami identity and its historical roots, according to which the formal indigenous Sami recognition is granted in Finland. Act of Sami Parliament, a Sami person in Finland is defined under the Sami Act as a person who has the right to vote in the elections of the Finnish Sami Parliament. The Finnish Sami Parliament is the self-governing body of the Sami from within what is now Finland, as legislated at the beginning of 1996. It is the supreme political body of the Sami in Finland. It is an independent legal entity of public law, which, due to its self-governance nature, is not a state authority or part of the state public administration. It functions under the administrative sector of the Ministry of Justice.
