The Sámi rights to lands , waters and resources were strengthened after 1990 , when Norway recognized the Sámi as an indigenous people by adapting the ILO convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries . The convention states that rights for the indigenous peoples to land and natural resources are recognized as central for their material and cultural survival . In addition , indigenous peoples should be entitled to exercise control over , and manage , their own institutions , ways of life and economic development in order to maintain and develop their identities , languages and religions , within the framework of the States in which they live
ILO convention 169
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989
Finnmark Act