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Statens hantering av forskningsresultat i rättsprocessen med Girjas sameby utgör ett hot mot Sverige som rättsstat och kunskapsnation. Åratal av svensk och internationell forskning underkänns och man använder ett språkbruk som skulle kunna vara hämtat från rasbiologins tid. Nu måste staten ta sitt ansvar och börja agera som en demokratisk rättsstat, skriver 59 forskare.

Inner bark of Pinus sylvestris (L.) used to be an important dietary resource for the Sámi. The bark was harvested in June. In the Lule Sámi language this month is called biehtsemánno meaning ‘pine month’. In Lønsdalen, within Pite-Sámi area in Nordland county, northern Norway, we recorded 107 pine trees with 125 bark-peelings, of which 103 were successfully cross-dated by dendrochronology. The oldest peeling was from 1636, whereas the youngest peeleing was done in the 1880s. The same area also contains many physical cultural remains of the Sámi. We performed archaeological excavations of four hearths which were located between these bark-peeled trees. Radiocarbon datings showed that these settlements were used from the Late Iron Age or Early Medieval to the present time. Thus, the region has been important to the Sámi people for a long time. In this article we argue for a relationship between the many bark-peeled trees and the settlements.