Sami reaches deal with Disney on culture heritage

The ethnic Sami community in northern Finland reached a deal with the U.S. production house Disney on their culture heritage, and is pleased that the results of its cooperation with Disney in portraying a correct picture about the Sami culture.

The Samis had contacted Disney following the culturally inconsiderate description of Samis in Disney's "Frozen" in 2013. The contact had led to a legal agreement with the U.S. production house, Finnish newspaper Kaleva reported on Thursday.

The results will be seen in the way Samis are dealt with in Frozen 2 shortly, it was reported.

Following an initiative by Piia Nuorgam, a lawyer of Sami background, the deal had been arranged through the Sami ethnic representation systems in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Kaleva quoted Nuorgam as saying that this was the first time the Samis, as a grouping, had entered a commercial agreement on their cultural heritage.

Nuorgam admitted that it was challenging to combine "a commercial princess story" and the rights of an original people. "But now we were able to learn how to negotiate commercial cooperation that benefits the original peoples."

Frozen 2 will premier in the U.S. in November. A Sami language version will be published on Christmas Day, and Sami organizations will be listed in the acknowledgments of Frozen 2, according to Kaleva.