In 1968, the Norwegian government produced plans for the construction of a hydroelectrical power station in Altaälven (Alta river). When the project, which included building a 110 m high dam that would put the entire Sami village Masi under water, reached the public, massive protests broke out and marked the beginning of a long complex conflict.

Sami people living by the river, with support from EJOs and others, argued that damming the river would lead to highly negative consequences for the reindeer herding (a traditional practice of the Sami people). Arguments brought forward were also that it would severely affect the salmon fishing as well as the agriculture in the area.

The protests started in 1970 and continued until 1982. A multitude of protests took place: land was occupied, Sami people hunger struck and occupied the office of the Norwegian Prime Minister in Oslo as well as put up a camp outside the Norwegian Parliament, the Pope was contacted for support, and three Sami people threatened with self-immolation.

On the 12th of January in 1981 the Norwegian government sent 10% of the total police force of the country (600 police) to a place called Nollpunkten (Point Zero) where protesters camped to hinder construction machines from reaching the place where the dam was to be built. This was the largest police operation in Norway since World War II. 30 years after the conflict, the Norwegian government confessed that they were very close to sending military forces to remove the protesters from the occupied land.

On the 19th of March 1982 three Sami people attempted to blow up a bridge crossing the Tverr River, leading to one of them losing an arm and an eye.

Several times the case of building the power station faced retrial in court but in the end the project was carried out, with the exception that the Masi village remained unaffected by the construction. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

The Alta river conflict refers to a series of massive protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s concerning the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta river in Finnmark, Northern Norway. The dam that was built in the Sautso canyon is 110 meters high. The hydro power station produces approximately 655 GWh per year. The original plan was that it would produce 1,400 GWh per year but this changed in 1970 since the plan to flood the village of Masi was met with strong resistance.