The truth commission's report on the situation of the Sami is submitted to the Minister of Culture

- Today should not be the only day when Sweden listens to the truth. It must be the day when Sweden takes responsibility for it.

The words are said by Mirja Fjellgren Utsi, Tyra Fjellgren and Ella Kristofferssons in a fiery speech. They all sit on the board of Sáminuorra, the Sami national youth organization. They represent the future.

- A historic day like this only becomes truly historic if it leads to real change. Truth by itself does not create reconciliation. Acknowledgment alone does not create redress, a report does not change our lives, but action does.

Applause thunders against the ceiling in the large auditorium on the Mittuniversitetets campus in Östersund. Audience stands up. A visibly moved Marianne Gråik, chairman of the board of the Sámi Parliament and party leader of the Sámiland Party, hugs the trio.

But there is an awareness that promises of change today may be forgotten tomorrow.

In her own speech, Marianne Gråik highlighted that assimilation of the Sami is still ongoing in Sweden. Sami children enter Swedish schools and come out with weaker or no Sami.

- Therefore, the expectations are high. The Sami people stand at the crossroads and wait. What does Sweden do when the truth about its political consequences is on the table?

The speeches during the ceremony are interspersed with testimonies that the Sami have submitted to the Truth Commission. About how knowledge has disappeared, how children discovered that their parents were exposed to the racial biology institute's abuse and or the sadness that a mother feels when her daughter does not learn Sami because there are no teachers who know the language on site.

The testimonies have been compiled in a narrative volume and was one part that the Truth Commission handed over to Minister of Culture Parisa Liljestrand (M).

The second was the final report, which is over 1,100 pages long and contains 71 calls and several proposals to move forward with reconciliation work. The measures include everything from making knowledge of the Sami language a mandatory part of teacher training courses to changes in the environmental code.

When DN asks Parisa Liljestrand, the minister does not want to answer whether Sweden should apologize for the injustices against the Sami, but is clear that the work going forward will be the responsibility of the next government.

- At the moment we are a transitional government and we neither should, can nor should we think about that kind of vision going forward, but it is up to the next government to do so. I still think it is important to be here today and mark the government's presence, she says.

The testimonies made the strongest impression.

- The people who historically carry traces and scars from the state's actions, but above all how it still affects today. It's not a question of history, this is a question of the here and now. I see how the youth generation looks to the future in their speeches, says Liljestrand.

The demands to establish a Truth Commission were made by Sáminuorra already in 2008. Eighteen years later, it has been implemented. One of the testimonies was read out by Hugo Bengtsson from the youth organization. After the ceremony, he describes his feelings as mixed.

- You can only hope that it will not just be words in a document and that this will actually become action. They may not implement all suggestions and measures. But I hope that it can be a starting point and that the work will not be so sluggish.