The Saami Council is demanding that Square Enix remove the Far Northern Attire set of cosmetics from FFXIV. The President of The Saami Council, Ćslat Holmberg, states that this is because elements from the outfit are the property of SĆ”mi culture. To use them in Final Fantasy XIV without consulting the SĆ”mi people is infringing upon their rights. Holmberg states that this is not about sensitivity, nor is it about whether or not the depictions of SĆ”mi culture is appropriate or not. To use SĆ”mi cultural attire without consultation is breaking intellectual property laws. The agreement that the SĆ”mi people have with entertainment companies state that ātheir collective and individual elements, music, language, stories, histories, and other traditional cultural expressions are property that belong to the SĆ”mi.ā According to Holmberg, Square Enix should be more than aware of intellectual property laws, including ones surronding the SĆ”mi. Thus it has no excuse for releasing the Far Northern Attire without first communicating with the group. Another issue is that SĆ”mi clothing traditions have significant meaning and context when it comes to the SĆ”mi identity. The Saami Council believes that allowing 41 million FFXIV players to dress themselves in their clothing would ācontribute to the erosionā of the culture. The SĆ”mi people have collaborated with media and entertainment companies in the past. In its letter, it specifically references Walt Disney Animation Studios. The Frozen franchise draws inspiration from SĆ”mi culture, and representatives spoke to actual SĆ”mi people when making the first one. Verddet, a SĆ”mi group, helped to provide consultation when Disney was working on Frozen 2. The Saami Council reiterates that it is happy to collaborate with entertainment companies. However, there are proper procedures in place. Since the matter at hand has to do with indigenous rights to their own culture and properties, Holmberg hopes that this will lead to more discussion surrounding the usage of it across multiple industries. Final Fantasy XIV is readily available on the PS4, PS5, and Windows PC.
![saami ffxiv](https://www.siliconera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/saamifarnorthernattire02172023.png?fit=1200%2C675)
Saami Council Urges Square Enix to Remove Far Northern Attire From FFXIV
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Published: Feb 17, 2023 07:00 am