A Sami Perspective on the Rights of Nature: Indigenous Wisdom in European Environmental Discourse

In the Arctic—where climate change hits four times harder than anywhere else—Stefan Mikaelsson shares a bold proposition: granting legal rights to nature can shield indigenous defenders from racism and violence. In this compelling episode of The Rights of Nature: A European Journey, Mikaelsson speaks from deep experience, offering sharp insights into legal strategy, ecological principles, and the enduring fight for indigenous sovereignty.

Listeners will learn why Mikaelsson places more trust in UN institutions than the European Union, how two fundamental ecological laws reveal the hidden costs of resource extraction, and why transnational solidarity may be key to survival as climate pressures intensify.

For Lumen and other forward-looking sustainability initiatives, this conversation is a reminder: the long game of environmental justice demands not only innovation, but ancestral knowledge, legal imagination, and cross-border alliances.

🎧 Listen here: Spotify – A Sami Perspective on the Rights of Nature