Sámi people

The Sámi are Indigenous to Sápmi, a region extending across northern Norway, Sweden and Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Sápmi predates the borders of these modern states; Sámi communities today live in all four countries and also in other places through migration. The Sámi are not a single uniform community, and identities, local traditions and language use vary across the region.

Sámi languages belong to the Uralic language family. Nine Sámi languages are spoken today, with different languages associated with different parts of Sápmi; they are not simply interchangeable dialects of one language. All face varying degrees of endangerment, while education, cultural work and community initiatives support revitalization. Sámi cultural expression includes distinctive oral traditions, music such as yoik, handicrafts and contemporary artistic practice, with substantial local variation.

Reindeer herding is an important and widely recognized Sámi livelihood, but it does not describe the work or identity of every Sámi person. Traditional livelihoods also include fishing, hunting, gathering and handicrafts. Sámi people work in many other occupations as well, and customary practices have adapted to modern conditions. Access to land and grazing areas has been affected by state policies and competing uses such as forestry, mining and other development.

Over time, state expansion and national policies restricted Sámi access to land and pressured Sámi languages and cultural practices. In Sweden, for example, the state recognized the Sámi as an Indigenous people in 1977, and Sámi is also one of the country's official national minority groups. Political arrangements differ among the countries: Finland has a Sámi Parliament that represents Sámi interests in matters including language and culture, while the Saami Council is a cross-border Sámi organization with member organizations in Finland, Russia, Norway and Sweden. Questions of cultural survival, language, land and self-determination continue to shape Sámi public life.