The Sámi people

We are in the Scandinavian mountains. And … What’s that? It’s some sort of… tent? Let’s go inside. In here, the bonfire burns brightly, and Elin invites the others to try… reindeer meat.

Elin is a Sámi, and she has guests in this special tent, the goahti. The Sámi people are an indigenous nation that has been living in this area for thousands of years. They call their land Sápmi. Sápmi spans parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. In Sápmi, the Sámi languages are spoken.

Sámi is not one single language, but a group of 9 different ones. There are some similarities, but they are different languages. A Swedish Sámi who speaks Southern Sámi cannot understand the Sámi spoken on the Kola peninsula in Russia. In Sweden, the Sámi languages are recognised as minority languages, and in certain municipalities in Sweden, Finland and Norway, Sámi is an official language. This means laws and decisions made by authorities must be written in the local Sámi language.

Elin doesn’t live in the goahti; she works there. When the work day is over, she returns home. And, just like most Sámi today, she lives in a modern house in a town or a village. There, their children go to school, and that’s where most people work, as carpenters, lawyers, nurses or something else. But Elin has a job connected to the Sámi traditions.

Elin receives tourists on the mountain, and tells them about Sámi life. Her workmate, Ola, brings tourists on bird hunts. And when the outings are finished, the tourists can buy Sámi craftswork in a small shop run by Elin’s sister, Ylva. Crafting is an important part of the Sámi tradition. Ylva sells bags, guksi, knives and lots of other things.

They also sell reindeer meat in the shop. Reindeer keeping is crucial to the Sámi culture, and has developed over thousands of years. Originally, Sámi hunted wild reindeer, but today they keep large herds of thousands of reindeer that graze in the mountain terrain. It’s a modern business. The reindeer keepers use snowmobiles and communication radios when they gather their reindeer before the slaughter.

About 10% of the Sámi people work with reindeer keeping today. Elin has another duty alongside her work. Sometimes she goes to this building. It’s time for a meeting, and Elin takes a seat on the third row. This is the Sámi parliament.

Elin is a member. The members of the Sámi parliament are elected, just like in other parliaments. Today they will discuss the construction of a new mine, in the middle of a reindeer keeping area. The mining company wants to mine a metal found in the ground, but the mine would affect the surrounding nature and the reindeer. Both mining and reindeer keeping are important businesses, and sometimes the two interests collide.

The task of the Sámi parliament is to look after the interests of the Sámi nation in this matter. Elin is happy to be able to contribute, and proud to be a member of the Sámi parliament. But here, on the mountain, she likes it the best. Close to nature. She loves the forest, the vastness and the silence.

And here, she feels the connection to her Sámi ancestors.