Sámi of Scandinavia

Below are resources related to Dikka Storm's “Sámi of Scandinavia” chapter of Native Nations: The Survival of Indigenous Peoples, 4th Edition, edited by Sharlotte Neely and Douglas W. Hume.

Agencies & Organizations

Discussion Questions

  • Explain the cultural changes that have occurred among the Sámi due to external forces on them.
  • Describe the threats to Sámi cultural survival by outsiders in their recent history.
  • Since its founding in 2000, the Sami Parliamentary Council (as well as the individual Sami parliaments of Norway, Sweden, and Finland) has worked to promote Sami interests. Review some of the actions of the Sami Parliamentary Council and how successful those actions have been.

Documentary Films

Further Reading

Contemporary Sámi People

Sámi Parliament of Norway, 2013-2017
Sámi Parliament of Norway, 2013-2017 (Sámediggi Sametinget [CC BY-SA])

Sámi Community Groups

Sámi Community Area Map
Reconstructions of Sámi community areas in older times. Most of the map was originally published by Filip Hultblad (1968) in "Övergång från nomadism till agrar bosättning i Jokkmokks socken". It shows the situation in the 16th (Sweden and Norway) and 17th (Finland) centuries. The part covering the Kola peninsula was originally published by Karl Nickul in "The lappish nation" from 1977 and shows the situation in the beginning of the 19th century. (See page for author [Public domain])

Sámi Ethno-historical Photograph

Sámi Family Portrait
A Sámi indigenous northern European family in Norway around 1900. The picture was probably taken in 1896 around the Kanstadfjord near Lødingen, Nordland. The adults on the left are Ingrid (born Sarri) and her husband Nils Andersen Inga. In front of the parents are Berit and Ole Nilsen. The lady on the right is Ellen, sister of Ingrid. In front of Ellen are the children Inger Anna and Tomas. The children of Inger Anna are reindeer herders still today (circa 1900). (See page for author [Public domain])

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