Rally Sweden is entering its fourth year with an Umeå base. Its move north in 2022 solved a key problem: a lack of snow, which had become a recurring theme during recent editions in long-time host region Värmland.
But with that move came a new balance to strike. Reindeer herding is a big deal in Västerbotten. Lapland’s most iconic mammal need wide and peaceful stretches on which to graze.
Rally cars aren’t known for being quiet and unobtrusive. And so begins the complicated balancing act between organizing Rally Sweden and heeding the requests of the Sámi people who herd the reindeer.
Reindeer movement affecting Sweden’s World Rally Championship round is nothing new. The Örträsk test was canned in 2022 after unexpected reindeer movements. Fast forward to 2025 and the issue is similar, though not identical: local Sámi are appealing for stages nine and 12 (Vännäs), 15/18 (Umeå) and 16/17 (Västervik) to be called off.
Three reindeer suffering unexpected, potentially deliberate, deaths on the week of the rally has further heightened tensions.
Who are the Sámi?
Sámi are the European Union’s only recognized indigenous population. Their ancestry in northern Norway and Sweden is believed to trace back all the way to the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BC), with reindeer herding among their leading means of self-sufficiency. Their semi-nomadic lifestyle in the snowy Laplands is a stark contrast to daily life within the framework of Western capitalism – which in turn can lead to disagreements.
Over time Sámi have gained greater recognition in Swedish society. A Swedish Sámi Parliament was established in 1993 and this year, a Sámi truth commission will deliver a verdict to the Swedish national government on the negative consequences of historical policy decisions related to the Sámi people. It’s similar to a commission in Canada which investigated the impact of legislative decisions directed towards the indigenous population there.
A court case between landowners and Sámi reindeer in Västerbotten county also set a landmark legal precedent in Sweden. Three villages were collectively sued by 104 landowners in 1998, arguing that the herders didn’t have the right to let their reindeers graze on their property due to insufficient recent use. The district court initially sided with the Sámi villages in 1997, followed by 14 years of appeals. The Sámi were eventually victorious in Sweden’s Supreme Court.
Where does the disagreement stem from?
From the outset, Sámi villages have considered running a rally event inside reindeer herding territory problematic. The Swedish Sámi Federation, a lobbying group for Sámi interests, made their position known while the rally was still waiting for permits to run its planned 2025 itinerary. It urged “the [Västerbotten] county administrative board to thoroughly investigate proposed conditions in favour of reindeer husbandry, in cases where permits are to be granted.
“Furthermore,” its statement continued, “SSR urges Rally Sweden to review its working methods and how the organization deals and interacts with Sámi villages.”
On January 24 the required permits were granted by Västerbotten county’s administrative board, much to the chagrin of the Ran Sámi village: “It has been very clear to us throughout the process what the outcome would be,” read a press statement from Silja Jonsson Marklund, the village’s chairwoman. “However, it is extremely regrettable that Swedish authorities are not living up to the responsibility imposed on them.
“The County Administrative Board is making it impossible to conduct reindeer husbandry in parts of our grazing areas. We are being forced to move away from the areas that the rally intends to occupy, which will have devastating consequences for the reindeer herders of Ran.”
Västerbotten County’s chief legal officer doesn’t see it the same way. Concerns highlighted by the Sámi representatives were put to Per Lundström by SVT, Sweden’s national broadcaster. He made clear that if there was a danger of reindeer and rally cars crossing paths, stages will be cancelled – but it would be on safety grounds, not to protect vast swaths of grazing land.
“A special section must be cancelled if it cannot be carried out safely due to reindeer in connection with the section,” Lundström told SVT. “If traffic safety cannot be ensured, the section must not be carried out.”
Further tensions were raised when Marklund wrote andopen letter to Umeå Municipality, asking what it would do to “alleviate the damage that the municipality has inflicted on Ran Samí village and our reindeer herders through this process”.
“Human rights are being put out of play within Umeå municipality with this year’s implementation of the WRC event,” continued Marklund’s letter, “and the municipality should take action.”
There was little interest from the council in replying to such discourse; Umeå municipal councillor Hans Lindberg refused to comment, while business director Pete Juneblad simply told SVT: “We are obliged to respond to Ran’s letter.”
On Friday, February 7, the Ran village then filed appeals against the permits for three stages: Vännäs, Västervik and Umeå – the latter in its full-length configuration, not the shorter Sprint variant. If successful, it could mean three Saturday stages disappear and, crucially, all of Sunday’s running might be called off.
Part of that appeal references not only the special stages themselves, but also the liaison sections encroaching on grazing areas.
“In addition to the grazing areas where a special stage is located becoming unusable for reindeer herding during the time in connection with the rally, the transport routes also pose a major problem,” read the appeal filed to Sweden’s transit agency. “The cars in question are very loud and drive at very high speeds, which causes major disruption to the reindeer grazing lands that the cars pass through.”
The dead deer controversy
An already tense situation became further complicated by the unexplained deaths of three reindeer on the outskirts of Umeå on the Sunday before rally week.
Local police declared the area where the reindeer carcasses were discovered a crime scene, with deliberate unlawful killing of the animals considered a primary line of enquiry from the outset.
Reindeer herder Johan Andersson spoke with SVT after the incident took place, expressing dismay at the incident and suggesting it was likely a deliberate act.
“I can see for myself that there is evidence of bullet holes and they have not died naturally and not by any predator either, in my judgement,” Andersson told SVT.
The facts still need to be established via police investigation – but unfortunately some members of the Sámi community are already jumping to conclusions, including Maidi Eira Andersson, a board member of the Ran Sámi village.
“It’s terrible that an event like a rally can drive people to do something like this,” she told SVT. “I’ve never experienced a hate crime like this against Ran Sámi village”
What’s next?
The protests filed against permits for the three aforementioned special stages remain pending. The Swedish transit agency, Transportstyrelsen, is on the receiving end of those appeals and faces a race against time to hear them before the rally begins – it remains unclear whether a decision can be reached in time.
“It is impossible to say, but we will address the issue with the highest priority and handle it urgently,” Martin Andersson, the agency’s press manager, told SVT.
If the appeal is unsuccessful or not heard in time, there will be no need for modifications – the rally will continue as planned.
A clause is in place for those permits that “the special section may not be carried out if there are reindeer on or adjacent to the road,” though as highlighted by Lundström, the Västerbotten county’s chief legal officer, this criteria is yet to be met.
In a statement issued last month, Rally Sweden event director Erik Åström said: “Rally Sweden visits Umeå and the surrounding area for about one week each year, with four actual competition days. During that week, we want to work closely with landowners and reindeer herders to ensure everything runs smoothly during the event, as well as in the planning before and the restoration of roads and other areas after the rally. Without this collaboration, it simply wouldn’t work. But above all, we must be accepted by those from whom we borrow the land.”
DirtFish has reached out to Rally Sweden for fresh comment.
