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The Sámi (/ ˈ s ɑː m i / SAH-mee; also spelled Sami or Saami) are the traditionally Sámi-speaking indigenous people inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula in Russia.
Archeological evidence suggests that people along the southern shores of Lake Onega and around Lake Ladoga reached the River Utsjoki in Northern Finnish Lapland before 8100 BC. [8] However, it is not likely that Sami languages are so old.
The region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.To the north, it is bounded by the Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, and White Sea. [2] [3] Lapland (/ ˈ l æ p l æ n d /) has been a historical term for areas inhabited by the Sami based on the older term "Lapp" for its inhabitants, a term which is now considered outdated or pejorative. [4]
The Sami religion differs somewhat between regions and tribes. Although the deities are similar, their names vary between regions. The deities also overlap: in one region, one deity can appear as several separate deities, and in another region, several deities can be united in to just a few.
Sámi reindeer herders of the Lapland-Yukon Relief Expedition, 1898, Seattle. The government was once again forced to find new forms of food in Alaska, after the discovery of gold and the Klondike Gold Rush brought more people to the region than the already strained and sparse infrastructure could sustain. [2]
Sámi people from Karasjok painted by Johan Fredrik Eckersberg in 1852.. The origin of the Sámi has been of research interest since at least the early 17th century. Initially, the Sámi were grouped together with ethnic Finns, due to the relative similarity between the Sámi languages and Finnish.
Location of the Sami Domicile Area in Finland. The Sámi homeland of Finland (Saamelaisten kotiseutualue in Finnish, Sámiid ruovttuguovllu in Northern Sámi, Samernas hembygdsområde in Swedish, sometimes officially translated as Sámi Domicile Area) is the northernmost part of the Lappi (Lapland) administrative region in Finland, home of approximately half of Finland's Sámi population.
Adopted in April 1988, Article 110a of the Norwegian Constitution states: "It is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to create conditions enabling the Sami people to preserve and develop its language, culture and way of life". The Sami Language Act went into effect in the 1990s.