The saami call them self "One people" because the things they have in common, things such as: Their language, their means of livelihood, their culture and history. The land of the Sami is called Sápmi and are divided between four countries, Norway, Finland, Russia and Sweden. Each country sees it´s part of Sápmi as it own.

Sápmi is populated by approximately 85,000 sami. About 20,000 lives in Sweden, 45,000 in Norway, 10,000 in Finland and in the Russian kola penninsula there are about 2000 sami. Ever since the end of the last ice age the Samis ancestors have lived in Sápmi. The people who lived there then and who were the predcessors of the Sami people, were hunters and food.gatherers, and later on fishing and reindeer herding were added.

In Sweden reindeer herding is a Sami right, and according to the reindder herding legislation it is only the sami who have the right to carry on reindeer herding. 

There are two forms of reindeer herding: forest reindeer herding and mountain reindeer herding. The forest Sami villages carry on reindeer herding in the forest area all year around, while the mountain Sami villigaes migrate with the herds from winter grazing areas in the interior on both sides of the Swedish - Norwegian border.

The Sami are Scandinavia´s indigenous people. When Sápmi, or Samiland was colonized many of the old reindeer grazing areas disappeard and with them some of the history forming the sami cultural inheritance was also lost. The damages from taxation, racism, and ruthless exploitation need time to heal. Therefore, it´s important from the Swedish perspective, to remember another history that is not focused on the Vikings or heroic kings.

The oldest signs of human beings in Sápmi belong to the so called Komsa culture of which archeological remains have been found along the coast of the Artic Ocean. The Komsa culture has got its name from the Komsa mountain in Alta district and started at about 9000 B.C, that is during the Old Stone Age. The first discoveries were made at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Sami religion contains many gods who steered the powere of nature in differing ways. The will of these gods was interpreted by sami shamans called Noaid. However, the arrival of Christian missionaries brought with  it the edict that man´s consciousness could be ruled by only one god. Withe the support of the King the church condemned the Sami faith as magic and idolatry. When the Sami refused to submit they were made examples of. In the spring of 1693, a Noaid named Lars Nilsson was burned in the square at Arjeplog. He was the last Noid to be burned.

If you would like to know more about the Sami history or  about the Sami today, then visit "Sametingets homepage" there you will find much more information about the Sami.

The wave file down bellow is a traditional sami folk song, just click the link to here it.  Sami music is called Jojk and is improvised while singing and can express feelings of sorrow, hate or love.

"Traditional  Sami Jojk song"

[ Sápmi, Samiland, is often referred to as "Europe's last wilderness" ]