TRUCOM

The TRC' mandate was to undertake a historical mapping of the Norwegian Authorities’ assimilation policy towards the indigenous Sami, the Kven and Norwegian Finns minorities; examine the repercussions of this policy; and recommend measures to the government aimed at greater equality between the majority population and these minority groups in Norway. The TRUCOM project have generated new knowledge on how mature democracies that have historically pursued an aggressive assimilation policy towards minority groups may organize processes with an aim of reconciliation between the state, the majority population and indigenous/minority groups. 

The objectives of the research project

The overall objective of this project is to study how Norway - a well-established democratic welfare state - attempts to settle the negative effects of long-lasting policies of assimilation and discrimination against indigenous and minority groups through the establishment of a formal truth and reconciliation commission. 

We ask: How and in what ways will the Norwegian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) lay the foundations for truth and reconciliation between the Sami and the Kven/Norwegian Finns on the one hand, and the majority population on the other?

The TRUCOM project  organized the scientific conference Truth and Reconciliation processes in stable Democratic States - who, how and what happens after? in Tromsø 16.-17. October 2023.

The conference discussed the contexts of different TRC processes and their implications on reconciliation, and how the Norwegian TRC positions itself in relation to other TRC processes. The conference focused on TRC processes in mature and stable democracies, a new cluster of TRCs where it is the democratic state itself that have inflicted injustices and abuses on indigenous people and minorities in terms of assimilation and even segregation. This separates these non-transitional commissions from commissions established post war or violent conflicts, and where the whole population have been affected.

The organisation of TRUCOM

The project is organizationally affiliated with Institute for Child Welfare and Social Work at UiT Norway's Arctic University, and is a collaborative project with Chr. Michelsens Institute in Bergen.

In addition to the project group which belongs to several institutes at Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (see the Project group tab), the project has anm Advicory board consisting of Birgitta Fossum, Alejandro Fuentes, Mia Krogh, Veli-Pekka Lehtola, Ronald Niezen og Joanna Quinn