(, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , sjd, Са̄мь е̄ммьне, Saam' jiemm'n'e) is the
cultural region traditionally inhabited by the
Sámi people
The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...
. Sápmi is in
Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
and
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
and includes the northern parts of
Fennoscandia
__NOTOC__
Fennoscandia ( Finnish, Swedish and no, Fennoskandia, nocat=1; russian: Фенноскандия, Fennoskandiya) or the Fennoscandian Peninsula is the geographical peninsula in Europe, which includes the Scandinavian and Kola penin ...
, also known as the "
Cap of the North
The Cap of the North (''Nordkalotten'' in Norwegian and Swedish, or ''Pohjoiskalotti'' in Finnish) is the regions Norway, Sweden, and Finland located north of the arctic circle. It usually consists of the counties Troms og Finnmark and Nordland ...
".
The region stretches over four countries:
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. On the north it is bounded by the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian terr ...
, on the west by the
Norwegian Sea, and on the east by the
White Sea
The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...
.
["Lapland." Encyclopædia Britannica. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2009. Web. 24 November 2009 http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9047170.] The area is historically referred to as Lapland () in English, although the term "Lapp" for its inhabitants is now considered pejorative.
[; ; ] Norwegian Sápmi was historically called ''Finnmǫrk'', a name used for the former county
Finnmark
Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024.
On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbour ...
, now
Troms og Finnmark
Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...
.
Sápmi refers to the areas where the
Sámi
The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...
people have traditionally lived but overlaps with other regions and definitions. In practice most of the Sámi population is largely concentrated in a few traditional areas in the northernmost part of Sápmi, such as
Kautokeino
Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other village ...
and
Karasjok, with the exception of those who have left for the larger cities. Culturally,
Inari is considered one of the centers of Sámi culture, and because of that, it is also widely known as the "capital of
Sámi culture".
The Sámi people are estimated to make up only 2.5% to 5% of the total population in the Sápmi area. No political organization advocates
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...
, although several groups desire more territorial autonomy or more self-determination for the region's indigenous population.
Etymology
Sápmi (and corresponding terms in other Sami languages) refers to both the Sami land and the Sami people. The word "Sámi" is the accusative-genitive form of the noun "Sápmi"—making the name's (''Sámi olbmot'') meaning "people of Sápmi". The origin of the word is speculated to be related to the Baltic word ''*žēmē'', meaning "land". Also "
Häme", the Finnish name for
Tavastia, a historical province of Finland, is thought to have the same origin, and the same word is at least speculated to be the origin of "", the
Finnish name for
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
.
Sápmi is the name in North Sami, while the Julev Sami name is ''Sábme'' and the South Sami name is ''Saepmie''.
In modern
Swedish and
Norwegian, Sápmi is known as "Sameland". In older Swedish it was known as "
Lappmarken
Lappmarken was an earlier Swedish name for the northern part of the old Kingdom of Sweden inhabited by the Sami people. In addition to the present-day Swedish Lapland, it also covered Västerbotten, Jämtland and Härjedalen, as well as the Fi ...
" or "Lappland". Norwegian Sápmi was historically called ''Finnmǫrk'' (not ''Lapland''), a name used for the modern county
Finnmark
Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024.
On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbour ...
that covers key parts of historical Sápmi.
Some English language sources have transferred ''Lapland'' (or Lappland) to areas in Norway notably in the context of tourism marketing. Originally these names referred to all of Sápmi, but subsequently became applied to areas ''exclusively'' inhabited by the Sami.
"
Lappland" (Laponia) became the name of Sweden's northernmost province (''landskap'') which in 1809 was split into one part that remained Swedish and one part falling under Finland (which became part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
). "Lappland" survives as the name of both
Sweden's northernmost province and
Finland's
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothn ...
, also containing part of the old
Ostrobothnian province.
In the 17th century,
Johannes Schefferus
Johannes Schefferus (February 2, 1621 – March 26, 1679) was one of the most important Swedish humanists of his time. He was also known as Angelus and is remembered for writing hymns.See the link below "German Classics"
Schefferus was born in ...
assumed the etymology of the term "Lapland" to be related to the
Swedish word for "running", ''"löpa"'' (cognate with
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
, ''to leap''). The terms "Lapp" and "Lappland" are now regarded as offensive by many Sami people, who prefer the area's name in their own language "" , because over time the term "Lapp" has acquired the pejorative connotation of "silly", "uneducated", "backwards", etc. in the major languages of the Scandinavian countries that include Sapmi.
In older Norwegian, Sápmi was known as "Finnmork" or "Finnmark"; which is now the name of Norway's northernmost county. Northern Norway
Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the lar ...
and Murmansk Oblast
Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) o ...
are sometimes marketed as ''Norwegian Lapland'' and ''Russian Lapland'', respectively.
Geography
Landscape
The largest part of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...
. The western portion is an area of fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...
s, deep valleys, glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
s and mountains, the highest point being Mount Kebnekaise (), in Swedish Lapland. The Swedish part of Sápmi is characterized by great rivers running from the northwest to the southeast. From the Norwegian province of Troms and Finnmark and eastward, the terrain is that of a low plateau with many marshes and lakes, the largest of which is Lake Inari in Finnish Lapland. The extreme northeastern section lies within the tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
region, but it does not have permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
.
In the 19th century scientific expeditions to Sápmi were undertaken, for instance by Jöns Svanberg
Jöns Svanberg (1771–1851) was a Swedish clergyman and natural scientist.
Life
He was born on 6 July 1771 in Ytterbyn, Sweden and died on 15 January 1851 in Uppsala, Sweden.
Career
He entered Uppsala University at the age of 16. He r ...
.
Climate
The climate is subarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Genera ...
and vegetation is sparse, except in the densely forested southern portion. The mountainous west coast has significantly milder winters and more precipitation than the large areas east of the mountain chain. North of the Arctic Circle polar night
The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midni ...
characterize the winter season and midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
the summer season—both phenomena are longer the further north you go. Traditionally, the Sami divide the year in ''eight'' seasons instead of four.
Natural resources
Reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subs ...
, wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
, bear, and birds are the main forms of animal life, in addition to a myriad of insects in the short summer. Sea and river fisheries
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...
abound in the region. Steamers are operated on some of the lakes, and many ports are ice-free throughout the year. All ports along the Norwegian Sea in the west and the Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian terr ...
in the northeast to Murmansk are ice-free all year. The Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast ( We ...
usually freezes over in winter. The ocean floor to the north and west of Sápmi has deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Sápmi contains valuable mineral deposits, particularly iron ore in Sweden, copper in Norway, and nickel and apatite
Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F− and Cl− ions, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common ...
in Russia.
Cultural subdivisions
East Sápmi
''East Sápmi'' consists of the Kola peninsula
The Kola Peninsula (russian: Кольский полуостров, Kolsky poluostrov; sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk ...
and the Lake Inari region and is home to the eastern Sami languages. While being the most-heavily populated part of Sápmi, this is also the region where the indigenous population and their culture is weakest. Corresponds to the regions marked 6 through 9 on the map below.
Central Sápmi
''Central Sápmi'' consists of the western part of Finland's Sami Domicile Area, the parts of Norway north of the Saltfjellet mountains and areas on the Swedish side corresponding to this. Central Sápmi is the region where Sami culture is strongest, and home to North Sami—the most widely used Sami language. In the southernmost part of this subregion, however, Sami culture is rather weak—this is where the moribund ''Bithun'' Sami language is used. The areas around the Tysfjord fjord in Norway and the river Lule in Sweden are home to the ''Julev'' Sami language, one of the more widely used Sami languages. These correspond to the regions marked 3 through 5 on the map below.
South Sápmi
''South Sápmi'' consists of the areas south of Saltfjellet and corresponding areas in Sweden, and is home to the southern languages. In this area Sami culture is mostly visible inland and on the coast of Baltic Sea, and the languages are spoken by few. Corresponds to the regions marked 1 and 2 on the map below to the south-east of region 1 in Sweden.
Lapland
The inner parts of Sápmi are often referred to as Lappi. The name is also found on the Russian side as ''Laplandige'' (the name of a natural reservation) and the Norwegian landscape of Finnmark is sometimes titled the "Norwegian Lapland", especially by the travel industry. ''Lappi-'' appears as a common component of place-names throughout central and southern Finland as well; in many cases, it probably refers to earlier Sami presence, though in some cases the underlying meaning may be merely "periphery" or "outlying district".
"Sides"
Finally, Sápmi may also be sub-divided into cultural regions according to the states' borders, that obviously affects daily life for people no matter their ethnicity. These regions are commonly referred to as "sides" by Sami, for example "the Norwegian side" (''norgga bealli'') or "the Finnish side" (''suoma bealli'').
Languages
Sámi languages
The Saamic languages are the region's main minority languages and also its oldest attested languages. They belong to the Uralic language family, and are most closely related to the Finnic languages. Many Sami languages are mutually unintelligible, but the languages originally formed a dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
stretching southwest–northeast, so that a message could hypothetically be passed between Sami speakers from one end to the other and be understood by all. Today, however, many of the languages are moribund and thus there are "gaps" in the original continuum.
On the map to the right numbers indicate Sámi Languages (Darkened areas represent municipalities that recognize Sami as an official language.): 1. South (Åarjil) Sámi, 2. Ume (Upme) Sámi, 3. Pite (Bitthun) Sámi, 4. Lule (Julev) Sámi, 5. North (Davvi) Sámi, 6. Skolt Sámi, 7. Inari (Ánár) Sámi, 8. Kildin Sámi, 9. Ter (Kill) Sámi. Of these languages the North one is by far the most vital; whereas Ume and Pite seem to be dying languages. Kemi Sámi and Ter Sami are extinct.
North Sami is subdivided into three main dialects: West, East, and Coast. The written standard is based on the Western dialect.
East Slavic languages
Russian is the dominant language on the Russian side of the border and also spoken by recently immigrated minority groups elsewhere in Sápmi. Earlier, a common pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
language was spoken on the northern coast of Sápmi that combined elements of Russian and Norwegian. This language was known as Russenorsk. On the Russian side, there are also speakers of the East Slavic Belarusian and Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
languages.
North Germanic (Scandinavian) languages
Norwegian and Swedish dominate the largest part of Sápmi, including the entire Southern region and most of the Central region. There also used to be minorities speaking Norwegian on the Kola Peninsula. The Scandinavian languages are to a very large degree mutually intelligible, much more so than South Sami and North Sami. The Norwegian dialects spoken particularly in North and Central Norway Sami areas differ very much from the written bokmål
Bokmål () (, ; ) is an official written standard for the Norwegian language, alongside Nynorsk. Bokmål is the preferred written standard of Norwegian for 85% to 90% of the population in Norway. Unlike, for instance, the Italian language, there ...
standard. In Central Sápmi the Sámi dialects have taken the Scandinavian language trait of having a more or less constant emphasis on the first syllable of each spoken word. In the inner and northernmost parts of Sweden and Norway, however, people often speak Norwegian and Swedish close to the written standard, though with a heavy Uralic accent.
Finnic languages
The Finnic (i.e. Baltic Finnic) languages are spoken on the Finnish (Finnish), Swedish (Meänkieli—spoken by the Tornedalians) and Norwegian (Kven) sides of the borders. There also used to be minorities speaking Finnish on the Kola Peninsula. The languages are as mutually intelligible as the Scandinavian languages. Other Finnic languages include Karelian, Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also
*
...
, Livonian, Veps, Votic and Izhoran. Many are mutually intelligible.
Demography
The number of people living in Sápmi is about 2 million, though it is difficult to give the precise number of inhabitants since certain counties and provinces only include parts of Sápmi. It is also difficult to account for the distribution of ethnic groups as many people have double or multiple ethnic identities—both seeing themselves as members of the majority population and being part of one or more minority groups.
Sámi
Different criteria are set when calculating the number of Sámi, but the number is generally between 80,000 and 100,000. Many live in areas outside Sápmi such as Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after ...
, Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Stockholm
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
and Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. Some Sámi people have migrated to places outside the Sápmi vernacular region, such as in Canada and the United States. Many Sámi people have settled in the northern parts of Minnesota.
Russians
About 900,000 people inhabit Murmansk province (oblast'), but parts of this area lie outside Sápmi. About 758,600 of Murmansk's population claim to be exclusively Russian. Ethnic Russians also live elsewhere in Sápmi. The Russian side of Sápmi is ethnically diverse, with particularly big Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
and Belarusian minorities. The Sami are one of the minor minorities in this part of Sápmi.
Norwegians
About 850,000 people inhabit the Norwegian regions of North Norway
Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the larg ...
(fully within Sápmi) and Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
(mostly within Sápmi). However, many of the regions' inhabitants—particularly those of North Norway—are not exclusively Norwegian. Notable minority groups include the Sami, Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
, and Kvens
Kvens (; fi, kveeni; no, kvenar, kvener; sv, kväner; se, kveanat) are a Balto-Finnic ethnic minority in Norway. They are descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Norther ...
.
Swedes
About 700,000 people inhabit the Swedish counties Norrbotten
Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.
Administration
The traditional provinces of ...
, Västerbotten
Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the pro ...
, Västernorrland, and Jämtland
Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the nort ...
. Many of the counties' inhabitants are not exclusively Swedish. Notable minority groups in the former three counties include the Sami, Tornedalians, and Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
.
Finns
13,226 people inhabit the Sami native region of Lapland, Finland
Lapland ( fi, Lappi ; se, Lappi; smn, Laapi; sv, Lappland; la, Lapponia, links=no) is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the region of North ...
. A great portion of these are Sami.
Tornedalians and Kvens
These two ethnic groups, closely related to each other and also the Finns, mainly live on the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian sides of Nordkalotten, respectively. In Sweden, there are two meanings to the word 'Norrbotten'. One is the older 'landskap' Norrbotten, which is much smaller than the modern county, 'län', Norrbotten, which encompasses all of north Sweden from Jävre. Norrbottens län also encompasses the northern part of the 'landskap' Lappland. The modern county Norrbotten has only a small minority of reindeer-herding Sami. The Tornedalians, who have lived, hunted, fished and farmed, mainly south and east of the line of arable climate and land (that line mostly coincides approximately with the border between the two landscapes Lappland and Norrbotten) for 700–1000 years, is a much larger minority. There are also a lot of Tornedalians in the mining district around Kiruna and Gällivare, and the increasingly restrictions on leisure, movement, fishing, and hunting for all but the reindeer-herding Sami minority are controversial and contested in Norrbotten.
Politics
Sámi political structures
Norway, Finland and Sweden all have Sámi Parliaments that to varying degrees are involved in governing the region—though mostly they only have authority over the matters of the Sámi citizens of the states in which they are situated.
Sámi Parliaments
Every Norwegian citizen registered as a Sámi has the right to vote in the elections for the Sámi Parliament of Norway
sje, Sámedigge sju, Sámiediggie sma, Saemiedigkie sms, Sääʹmteʹǧǧ no, Sametinget
, legislature = 9th Sámi Parliament
, coa_pic = Nordsamisk_farge_symmetrisk_stor-01.svg
, house_type = Unicameral
, foundation ...
. Elections are held every four years by direct vote from seven constituencies covering all of Norway (six of which are in Sápmi), and run parallel to the general Norwegian parliamentary elections. This is the Sámi Parliament with the most influence over any part of Sápmi, as it is involved in the autonomy established by the Finnmark Act. The parliament is in Kárášjohka and its current president is Aili Keskitalo from the Norwegian Sámi Association
The Norwegian Sámi Association ( se, Norgga Sámiid Riikasearvi , no, Norske Samers Riksforbund), also known as NSR, is the largest Sámi organization in Norway. The association was founded in 1968.
Purpose
The NSR actively runs cultural, s ...
.
The Sámi Parliament of Sweden
The Sámi Parliament of Sweden ( sv, Sametinget, se, Sámediggi, smj, Sámedigge, sma, Saemiedigkie) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Sweden based in Kiruna. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indige ...
, situated in Kiruna
(; se, Giron ; fi, Kiiruna ) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The city was ...
(Northern Sámi
Northern or North Sámi ( ; se, davvisámegiella ; fi, pohjoissaame ; no, nordsamisk; sv, nordsamiska; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the ...
: ''Giron''), is elected by a general vote where all registered Sámi citizens of Sweden may attend. The current president is Lars-Anders Baer.
Voting for elections to the Sámi Parliament of Finland is restricted to inhabitants of the Sámi Domicile Area. The Parliament is in Inari ( smn, Aanaar), and its current president is Pekka Aikio.
In Russia there is no Sámi Parliament. There are two Sámi organizations that are members of the national umbrella organisation of indigenous peoples, the (RAIPON), and represent the Russian Sámi in the Sámi Council. RAIPON is represented in Russia's Public Chamber by Pavel Sulyandziga. On 14 December 2008 the first Congress of the Russian Sámi took place. The Conference decided to demand the formation of a Russian Sámi Parliament, to be elected by the local Sámi. A suggestion to have the Russian Federation pick representatives to the Parliament was voted down with a clear majority. The Congress also chose a Council of Representatives that were to work for the establishment of a parliament and otherwise represent the Russian Sámi. It is headed by Valentina Sovkina.
Sámi Parliamentary Council
On 2 March 2000, the Sámi parliaments of Norway and Finland founded the Sámi Parliamentary Council, and the Sámi Parliament of Sweden joined two years later. Each parliament sends seven representatives, and observers are sent from the Sámi organizations of Russia and the Sámi Council. The Sámi Parliamentary Council discuss cross-border cooperation, hand out the annual ''Gollegiella'' language development award, and represent the Sámi people abroad.
Saami Council
In addition to the parliaments and their common council, there is a Saami Council
The Saami Council ( se, Sámiráđđi; smj, Sámeráde; sma, Saemienraerie; smn, Sämirääđi; sms, Sääʹmsuåvtõs; sjd, Са̄мь Соббар; sje, Sámerárre) is a voluntary, non-governmental organization of the Sámi people made u ...
based on Saami organizations. This council also organizes interstate cooperation between the Saami, and also often represents the Saami in international fora such as the Barents Region
The Barents Region is a name given, by advocates of establishing international cooperation after the fall of the Soviet Union, to the land along the coast of the Barents Sea, from Nordland in Norway to the Kola Peninsula in Russia and beyond al ...
. This organization is older than the Parliamentary Council, but not connected to the parliaments except that some of the NGOs double as party lists in Sami parliament elections.
Russian side
The Russian side of Sápmi is within Murmansk Oblast
Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) o ...
. ''Oblasts'' are governed by popularly elected parliaments and formally headed by governors. The governors are nominated by the president of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federa ...
, and accepted or rejected by the local parliaments. However, should the parliament refuse to accept the president's nominee, the president is entitled to dissolve parliament and call local elections.
Murmansk Oblast
Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) o ...
covers the Kola Peninsula and is home to Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle and in the Sápmi. It is subdivided into several districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
, of which the geographically largest is Lovozersky District
Lovozersky District (russian: Лово́зерский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Murmansk Oblast, Russia.Law #96-01-ZMO Municipally, it is incorporated as Lovozersky Municipal District.Law #574-02-ZMO ...
. This is also the part of Russia where the Sami population is most numerous and visible.
The Lapland Nature Reserve (russian: Лапландский заповедник, Laplandskiy zapovednik) is a Russian ''zapovednik
Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...
'' (strict nature reserve) in Murmansk Oblast, above the Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...
. Its administrative center is the rural locality
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
of Laplandsky Zapovednik. First established during 1930-1951 and reestablished in 1957, the reserve protects an area of to the northwest of Lake Imandra, including 86 km² of inland water.
Norwegian side
The counties of Norway are governed by popularly elected assemblies, headed by county mayors. Formally, the counties are headed by county governors, but in practice these have limited influence today.
The largest of Norway's landscapes, Finnmárku (Northern Sami
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ...
) or Finnmark ( Norwegian), is in Sápmi and has a special form of autonomy: 95% (about ) of the area is owned by the Finnmark Estate. The board of the Estate consists of equally many representatives from the Sami Parliament of Norway
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise n ...
and Finnmark's county council. The two institutions appoint leaders of the board alternately. The administrative centre of Finnmárku (Finnmark) is Čáhcesuolu or Vadsø, in the far east of the county. The current county governor is Runar Sjåstad from the Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the cent ...
.
Romsa or Troms is southwest of Finnmárku. Its administrative centre is the city after which the county is named, Romsa or Tromsø. Romsa is North Norway's biggest city and Sápmi's biggest city after Murmansk. Current ''fylkesordfører'' is Terje Olsen from the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. A similar solution to the Finnmark Estate, Hålogalandsallmenningen, has been proposed for Romsa county and its southern neighbour Nordlánda.
Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...
covers a long strip of coast that includes both North Sami, Julev Sami, Bithun Sami, and South Sami areas. Its administrative centre is Bådåddjo or Bodø. The current county governor is Mariette Korsrud from the Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the cent ...
.Korsrud Nordlands første
NRK, Retrieved 31 July 2008
The southernmost parts of Norwegian Sapmi lie in
Nord-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...
and partially in
Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the N ...
, and the administrative centres of which are
Steinkjer and
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...
respectively. The latter city is outside Sápmi but well known for being the site of the
first international Sami conference in February 1917. The county governors are
Gunnar Viken (the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
) in Nord-Trøndelag and
Tore Sandvik (
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the cent ...
) in Sør-Trøndelag.
Swedish side
Lapland is a large northwestern
province of Sweden, wholly within Sápmi. The traditional provinces of Sweden are cultural and historical entities; for administrative and political purposes they were replaced by the
counties of Sweden
The counties of Sweden ( Swedish: ''Sveriges län'') are the top-level geographic subdivisions of Sweden. Sweden is today divided into 21 counties; however, the number of counties has varied over time, due to territorial gains/losses and to d ...
(län) in 1634.
Five counties are wholly or partially within Sápmi. ''Län'' are formally governed by the ''landshövding'', who is an envoy of the government and runs the government-appointed ''länsstyrelse'' that coordinates administration with national political goals for the county. Much of county politics is run by the county council or ''landsting'', which is elected by the inhabitants of the county; but the counties' top positions are still determined by those who win the general elections of Sweden.
Norrbotten
Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.
Administration
The traditional provinces of ...
is mostly covered by Sápmi, although the lower
Tornedalen region is often excluded. The administrative centre is Luleå in the Julev Sami area (Norrbotten includes North, Julev and Bithun areas). Current landshövding is
Per-Ola Eriksson of the
Centre Party.
Sápmi covers the interior majority of
Västerbotten
Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the pro ...
, which are Ubmeje and South Sami regions. The administrative centre is
Umeå
Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County.
Situated on the Ume River, Um ...
, and the current landshövding is
Chris Heister from the conservative
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic ...
.
Västernorrland is an old part of Sapmi and still is. There are a lot of Sami in the coast of Baltic Sea (Gulf of Bothnia).
Jämtland
Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the nort ...
is sometimes considered a part of the Sápmi cultural region, and is a South Sami county. The administrative centre is
Östersund
Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...
. Current landshövding is
Jöran Hägglund
Jöran Hägglund (born 29 July 1959) is a Swedish politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that gov ...
from the centre party
Centerpartiet.
Finnish side
Finland is subdivided into
nineteen regions (''maakunta''). The regions are governed by regional councils, which are generally forums of cooperation between the municipalities and not elected by direct popular vote.
Lapland (Lappi) is the northernmost of the regions, which stretches farther south than Sápmi. North Sami, Skolt Sami, and Aanaar Sami are indigenous to the region.
Four municipalities in the northern part of Finnish Lapland constitute the
Sami Domicile Area
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
, ''Sámiid Ruovttoguovlu'', a region that is autonomous on issues regarding Sami culture and language.
Coats of Arms of Sami Communities
Image:Coat of arms of Finnmark county and Troms county.svg, Romsa ja Finnmárku
(Norway)
Image:Nordland_våpen.svg, Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...
(Norway)
Image:Trøndelag våpen.svg, Trööndelage
(Norway)
Image:Lapplands vapen .svg, Lapplánda
(Sweden)
Image:Norrbottens vapen.svg, Norrbotten
Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.
Administration
The traditional provinces of ...
a
(Sweden)
Image:Västerbottens vapen.svg, Västerbotten
Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the pro ...
a
(Sweden)
Image:Jämtlands vapen.svg, Jämtlándda
(Sweden)
Image:Härjedalens vapen.svg, Härjedaelie
(Sweden)
Image:Lapin maakunnan vaakuna.svg, Lappi
(Finland)
Image:Герб Мурманской области.svg, Murmánska
(Russia)
Sports
The region has its own football team, the
Sápmi football team, which is organized by
FA Sápmi. It is a member of
ConIFA
The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA.
Competitions
Women's football
All members of CONIFA are encouraged to in ...
and the host of
2014 ConIFA World Football Cup
The 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup was the first edition of the ConIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA and a successor of ...
. Sápmi football team won the
2006 VIVA World Cup and hosted the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
event.
The
Tour de Barents is a cross-country skiing race held in the region.
Notable places
The following towns and villages have a significant Sami population or host Sami institutions. Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, or Russian toponyms are in parentheses.
North Sámi area
*
Deatnu (Tana) has a significant Sami population.
*
Divtasvuodna (Tysfjord) is a centre for the Lule (Julev) Sami population. The Árran Lule-Sami centre is here.
*
Eanodat (Enontekiö).
*
Gáivuotna (Kåfjord) is an important centre for the Coastal Sami culture, which is host to the
Riddu Riđđu
Riddu Riđđu is an annual Sámi music and culture festival held in Olmmáivággi (Manndalen) in the Gáivuotna (Kåfjord) municipality in Norway. The goal of the festival is to bring forward both Sámi culture and that of other indigenous peop ...
international indigenous festival each summer. The municipality has a Sami language centre, and hosts the Ája Sami Centre. The opposition against Sami language and culture revitalization in Gáivuotna was infamous in the late 1990s and included Sami language road signs being shot to pieces repeatedly.
*
Giron (Kiruna) is the seat of the Swedish Sami Parliament and the largest urban settlement in Swedish Lapland.
*
Guovdageaidnu
Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villages ...
(Kautokeino): About 90% of the population speak North Sami, and several Sami institutions are here. These include: Beaivváš Sami Theatre, a Sami High School and Reindeer Herding School, the Sami University College, the Nordic Sami Research Institute, the Sami Language Board, the Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous People, and the International Centre For Reindeer Husbandry. In addition, several Sami media are based in Kautokeino. These include the Sami language newspaper ''Áššu'' and the DAT Sami publishing house/record company. Kautokeino also hosts the Sami Easter Festival. The Kautokeino rebellion in 1852 is one of the few Sami rebellions against the Norwegian government's oppression against the Sami.
*
Jiellevárri or Váhčir (Gällivare)
*
Johkamohkki (Jokkmokk) holds a large Sami market and festival the first weekend of every February. It is also the location of
Ájtte, Svenskt fjäll- och samemuseum.
*
Kárášjohka (Karasjok) is the seat of the Norwegian Sami Parliament. Also other important Sami institutions including NRK Sami Radio, the Sami Collections museum, the Sami Art Centre, the Sami Specialist Library, the legal office of Middle Finnmark, the Inner Finnmark Child and Youth Psychiatric Policlinic, the Sami Specialist Medical Centre, and the Sami Health Research Institute. In addition, the ''Sápmi'' cultural park is in the township, and the Sami language Min Áigi newspaper is published here.
*
Leavdnja (Lakselv) in Porsáŋgu (Porsanger) municipality is the location of the Finnmark Estate, and the Ságat Sami newspaper. The Finnmarkseiendommen organization owns and manages about 95% of the land in Finnmark, and 50% of its board members are elected by the Norwegian Sami Parliament.
*
Ohcejohka (Utsjoki).
*
Romsa or Tromsa (Tromsø) is the largest city in the Central Sami area and has a
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
that specializes in Sami subjects. It also has a notable and very active Sami population.
*
Unjárga (Nesseby) is an important centre for the Coastal Sami culture. It is also the site for the Várjjat Sami Museum and the Norwegian Sami Parliament's department of culture and environment. The first Sami to be elected into the Norwegian Parliament,
Isak Saba, was born here.
South Sápmi
*
Aarborte (Hattfjelldal) is a southern Sami centre with a southern-Sami language school and a Sami culture centre.
*
Arjeplog
Arjeplog (; Pite Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Arjeplog Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,977 inhabitants in 2010.
It is a popular winter test site for the Asian and European car industries and featur ...
.
*
Snåase (Snåsa) is a centre for the Southern Sami language, and the only municipality in Norway where Southern Sami is an official language. The Saemien Sijte southern Sami museum is in Snåase.
East Sápmi
*
Aanaar, Anár, or Aanar (Inari) is the seat of the Finnish Sami Parliament
*
Lujávri (Lovozero) is the largest settlement of Sami on the Russian side.
See also
*
Cuisine of Lapland
*
Environmental racism in Europe
*
French Geodesic Mission to Lapland
The French Geodesic Mission to Lapland was one of the two French Geodesic Mission carried out in 1736–1737 by the French Academy of Sciences for measuring the shape of the Earth.
One expedition was sent to Ecuador to perform measurements near th ...
*
Inari
*
Laestadian
Laestadianism, also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and temperanc ...
*
Lapland War
*
Laponian area
The Laponian area is a large mountainous wildlife area in the Lapland province in northern Sweden, more precisely in Gällivare Municipality, Arjeplog Municipality and Jokkmokk Municipality.
It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996; t ...
—a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
protecting the Sami homelands in Sweden
*
Lapland Biosphere Reserve
Lapland Nature Reserve (russian: Лапландский заповедник) (also Laplandskiy) is a Russian ''zapovednik'' (strict nature reserve) in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, above the Arctic Circle. Officially established in 1957, the reserve ...
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
A Norwegian Government reportSwedish Sami Parliament web page
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapmi
Lands inhabited by indigenous peoples
Sámi
Historical regions in Russia
Geography of Finland
Regions of Norway
Regions of Sweden
Geography of Northern Europe
Geography of Eastern Europe
Geography of Scandinavia
Regions of the Arctic
Cultural regions
Divided regions