The media have often been related to nation-state building and the generation of national sentiment, but because few ethnic minorities can afford to maintain their own media systems, they generally remain relatively powerless. Indigenous land claims, legal settlements that guarantee territorial sovereignty to an ethnic group, are one way of consolidating self-rule and accumulating capital to create a media system. The Inupiat, an indigenous population of the North American Arctic, have successfully settled land claims suits, allowing them a great deal of political and economic independence. They have also developed their own television and print media, encouraging the maintenance of their culture and addressing their concerns in their own language. In contrast, the Samis, an indigenous population of Sweden, have not had the same success in land claims settlements, and have not been free to develop a high level of economic and political autonomy. Hence, the Samis do not run their own media; a brief weekly television show broadcasts news of interest to Samis but few are employed by the station, and a state-run magazine for them prints articles in Swedish, rather than their own language. It is clear that Inupiat devolution--the process of acquiring self government--is at a more advanced stage than Sami devolution because of the land claims variable. (Thirty-one references are included.) (JC)