The Sami Siida of North America () is a loosely organized group of regional communities, primarily in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, who share the

Sámi 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 ...

culture and heritage from the arctic and sub-arctic regions of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and the

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. This area has traditionally been referred to using the

endonyms An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...

and ''Samiland'' as well as the

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

''Lapland''. Individuals within the North American

Siida A is an organisation of humans traditionally present in Sámi people, Sámi societies consisting of several families of reindeer herders whose reindeer graze together. s traditionally encompassed more resources than reindeer, but after changes ...

are immigrants, descendants of immigrants, or are supporters of the Sami culture, although may not have any family lineage from Sápmi.

Purpose

The North American Siida often performs educational shows, Sami community get-togethers, and related events over the course of the year, often with other Scandinavian events such as

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American Swedish Institute The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West, Minneapolis, Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the histo ...

, and the Norwegian-American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad (NABF). The Siida also hosts a larger gathering approximately every two years called the "Siiddastallen." Within the NABF, the Siida has a strong representative status as a separate ''Lag'' under that organization, as a part of the ''Lapmark Lag''. The Siida also serves as a cultural ‘storehouse’ to disseminate and exchange knowledge between individuals about Sami culture and provide moral support for a cultural identity that is spread out over an entire continent. The Siida also acknowledges individuals who are considered ‘ elders’ within the community because of their cultural knowledge, and who are sought after for this reason. The Siida also maintains an observer seat on the International

Saami Council The Saami Council is a voluntary, non-governmental organization of the Sámi people made up of nine Sámi member organizations from Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Since the founding of the Nordic Saami Council in 1956, among the first indi ...

Siida structure

There are some differences between the Scandinavian Siidas and the North American Sami Siida. The Scandinavian Sami

siida A is an organisation of humans traditionally present in Sámi people, Sámi societies consisting of several families of reindeer herders whose reindeer graze together. s traditionally encompassed more resources than reindeer, but after changes ...

system covers a whole range of Sami culture and economic interests, such as pastoral rights for reindeer herding, geography, and varied economic agreements, and describes a legal definition of varying degrees within each of the Scandinavian countries. Within North America, these legal definitions of “siida” do not apply. Rather it is a group of individuals and families who have chosen to identify and show support for the Sami culture and the immigrant issues that are inherent to the North American Sami. The Siida was started in February 1996 and the '' Arran'' newsletter, based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, is the official publication of the Siida. It is published four times a year.

Elected Council Chairs

* Anja Kitti-Walhelm, 1996–2000 * Cari Mayo, 2000–2005 * Marlene Wisuri, 2005–2011 * John Edward Xavier, 2012–2016 * Mervi Maarit Salo, 2016–present

References

{{Reflist

External links

Sámi Siida of North America

Sami Cultural Center
Sámi-American history Sámi culture Sámi-language terms

Purpose

Siida structure

Elected Council Chairs

See also

References

External links