Irja Seurujärvi-Kari

Irja Seurujärvi-Kari (born 21 March 1947, Utsjoki) is a Finnish Sámi politician and academic.

[1] Her doctoral thesis is notable for having been the first to be submitted in any of the Sámi languages at the University of Helsinki.

[2] Seurujärvi-Kari has held various research and teaching (secondary and higher education) positions, most notably as the only Lecturer in Sámi language and culture at the University of Helsinki since 1986.

Her research interests include Sámi language, culture and identity politics, as well as wider indigenous peoples rights and issues.

In 1998, Seurujärvi-Kari received an honorary knighthood from the Order of the White Rose of Finland.