An indigenous language conflict exists in Tajikistan between the dominant Tajik ethnicity and the minority Pamiri population. A loose association of several dozen languages, the term ‘Pamiri’ describes these related dialects from the Iranian language family and the ethnicities that speak them. Isolated in Tajikistan’s autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan region, the Pamiris did not develop a written form of their language until the 1920s and remained undisturbed until their assimilation into the Soviet Union in 1929 [Ilolov, M., Ilolova, P., & Yusufbekov, S., 2015]. A Pamiri push for independence during the late 1980s led to a separatist movement that plunged the country into a bloody civil war in 1992. As a result, Pamiris were targeted by the Tajik government and, although peace accords were signed in 1997, tensions remain between the Pamiri minority and Tajik majority [Sobiri, 2017]. Today, the Tajik government does not recognize the Pamiri ethnicity or language, complicating the Pamiris’ ability to use their language in schools, government, and legal affairs. 

The Sámi indigenous minority group has inhabited the Scandinavian Peninsula since approximately 8000 BCE. In Norway, the Sámi lived largely isolated lives until the end of the Middle Ages, as Norwegian settlers and missionaries began to move north. Early missionaries encouraged the use of Sámi language, and for the most part the Sámi were left alone; however, in the mid-19th century there was a rise in Norwegian nationalist sentiment which discouraged the use of languages other than Norwegian. By the start of the 20th century, full rights could only be gained in Norway by speaking Norwegian, leading to a decline in the Sámi language and forced adoption of Norwegian in schools. A gradual shift post-World War II led to protection of Sámi language in schools and media, as well as legal protection of Sámi lands, culture, and an autonomous parliament since 1989. Tensions still exist in some parts of Norway, but Sámi culture and language remain supported by the Norwegian government. 

The conflict of the Basque people, or Euskaldunak, is a long-standing issue of autonomy that has spanned multiple centuries and transcends national borders. It has basis in the autonomy that the Basque people have held for much of their modern history, from the Kingdom of Navarre to the fueros system that guaranteed them rights above what many other Spanish citizens had. It also has basis in the preservation of Basque culture, for which many modern organizations exist.

As movements of national unity grew, the Basque people found themselves constrained by various attempts by the Spanish government to nationalize them. Even as Franco actively suppressed the population, the fervor for self-governance separate from the Spanish state, and even independence, has reigned in the Basque spirit and will continue to remain. The conflict has largely ended with the disarmament and disbanding of the ETA, a notable Basque terrorist organization, but cultural tensions and unforgotten hatred still remain.