Sevettijärvi (

Skolt Sámi Skolt Sámi (, , ; or , , ) is a Sámi languages, Sámi language that is spoken by the Skolts, with approximately 300 speakers in Finland, mainly in Sevettijärvi and approximately 20–30 speakers of the (Notozero) dialect in an area surround ...

: Čeʹvetjäuʹrr, and ) is a village in the municipality of

Inari, Finland Inari (; ; ; ; Norwegian language, Norwegian and ) is Finland's largest Municipalities of Finland, municipality by area (but one of the most sparsely populated), with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major source ...

approximately north of downtown Inari. Neiden in

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 ...

is approximately away. The village's green, yet stark terrain opens up as Neiden approaches. The village is built on what used to be the

sea floor The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

during the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. The rocky shores of the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s between Sevettijärvi and Neiden draw the attention of passers-by. These shores are referred to as the “devil’s fields” by locals. Sevettijärvi and its surrounding areas are one of the main areas where the

Skolts The Skolt Sámi or Skolts are a Sámi people, Sámi ethnic group. They currently live in and around the villages of Sevettijärvi, Keväjärvi, Nellim in the municipality of Inari, Finland, Inari, at several places in the Murmansk Oblast and in t ...

live. The majority of Sevettijärvi's 350 residents, approximately 90%, are Skolt, although there are a few Finns who have moved north living in the village. A few Inari and Northern Sámi and some foreigners (French, Dutch) also live in the area.

History

Sevettijärvi was founded when a total of 51 Skolt families were evacuated there from

Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...

after the wars in 1949. Before that, a few Sámi families had been living in the area, e.g., the Aikios, Kittis, Sarris, Holmbergs, Högmans and Kaarrettis. At the same time, a school, a health centre and a chapel were built. A merchant from Inari built a shop in the center of the village. The first road passable by car to Sevettijärvi was built at the end of the 1960s. Prior to that, people used Bombardier

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

s, reindeer and skis to get around in winter and walked, biked or went by boat in the summertime.

Sites

The village has an old Skolt cottage, which was moved to Sevettijärvi from Kirakkajärvi and currently serves as a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

dedicated to the traditions of the Skolts. In addition, it has an Orthodox church that previously served as the parish's chapel. The fjeld Jänispää rises out of the ground approximately north of Sevettijärvi. A

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

hangs over the

Näätämö River Neiden (also: , , , and , previously also ) is a village area in the Sápmi (area), Sápmi area along the Finland–Norway border with about 250 inhabitants. Neiden, situated along the Neiden River, actually consists of two villages 12 kilometer ...

at Lake Opukas, an approximately hike from Sevettijärvi.

Notable people

Veikko Feodoroff Veikko is a male Finnish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Veikko Aaltonen (born 1955), Finnish director, editor, sound editor, and production manager * Veikko Asikainen (1918–2002), Finnish footballer * Veikko Ennala (1922 ...

, member of the Sami Parliament (Finland)Saamelaiskäräjien kokous
Samediggi.fi. "Veikko Feodoroff ..Sosiaali- ja terveyslautakunta, varajäsen" * Tiina Sanila-Aikio (born 1983), Skolt musician and politician

References

External links

Villages in Inari, Finland {{Lapland-geo-stub

History

Sites

Notable people

See also

References

External links