Most of the Sámi population is concentrated in a few traditional areas in the northernmost part of Sápmi, such asKautokeino andKarasjok.Inari is considered one of the centres ofSámi culture.[3][4] In the past, the Sámi settlement reached much farther south, possibly to present-dayOslo in the west and the lakesLadoga andOnega in the east.[5]
Sápmi has never been a sovereign political entity.[5] Since 1970s–1990s, the Sámi have had a limited self-governance in the Nordic states, represented by the Sámi Parliaments. The interstate cooperation is organized by the umbrella organizationSámi Council.
Historically, theScandinavian peoples referred to the Sámi using the exonymsFinns andLapps, terms now considered outdated or pejorative.[6][7] In Scandinavian languages, historical names for the region includeFinnmǫrk,Lappmarken andLappland,[5] and in English, Sápmi has traditionally been calledLapland (/ˈlæplænd/). Today, variations of these names persist in smaller cultural, geographic and administrative designations within each country, such asFinnmark County in Norway,Lapland Province in Sweden andLapland Region in Finland, all of which overlap with Sápmi.[5] The Russian part of the Sápmi is covered byMurmansk Oblast.[8]
Sápmi (and corresponding terms in other Sámi languages) refers to both the Sámi land and the Sámi people. The wordSámi is the accusative-genitive form of the nounSápmi—making the name's (Sámi olbmot) meaning "people of Sápmi". The origin of the word is speculated to be related to the Baltic word*žēmē, meaning "land".[9] AlsoHäme, the Finnish name forTavastia, a historical province of Finland, is thought to have the same origin, and the same word is at least speculated to be the origin ofSuomi, theFinnish name forFinland.
Sápmi is the name in Northern Sámi, the most widely spoken of the Sámi languages. In other languages, the following terms are used:
Lapponia, the first reliable map of the northern regions of both Sweden and Finland (1611), is also an important source for discussions about the early modern history of Sámi peoples.
In modernSwedish andNorwegian, Sápmi is known as eitherSapmi orSameland. In Finnish it is known asSaamenmaa orsaamelaisalue.[10] InOld Norse, it was historically calledFinnmǫrk, a name that later evolved intoFinnmark, the name of Norway's northernmost county.[6] In older Swedish, Sápmi was known asLappmarken orLappland.[11] Some English language sources refer toNorthern Norway andMurmansk Oblast asNorwegian Lapland[12] andRussian Lapland, respectively, especially in the context of tourism marketing.[13][14]
Lappland became the name of Sweden's northernmost province (landskap) which was divided in 1809, leaving one part in Sweden and other under Finland, which became part of theRussian Empire. The nameLappland remains in use for both the Swedishprovince of Lapland and the Finnishregion of Lapland. Finnish Lapland includesPeräpohjola, a region traditionally considered part ofOstrobothnia. Consequently.Lapland andSápmi are not interchangeable in the Finnish context. WhileRovaniemi is located in Lapland, it is not part of Sápmi.[15]
In the 17th century,Johannes Schefferus assumed the etymology of the termLapland to be related to theSwedish word for "running",löpa (cognate with English,to leap).[16] The termsLapp andLappland are now regarded as outdated or offensive by many Sámi people, who prefer the area's name in their languageSápmi, because over time the termLapp has acquired the pejorative connotation of "silly", "uneducated", "backwards", etc. in the major languages of the Scandinavian countries that include Sápmi.[7][17]
The largest part of Sápmi lies north of theArctic Circle. The western portion is an area offjords, deep valleys,glaciers and mountains, the highest point being MountKebnekaise (2,096.8 m [6,879 ft]). TheSwedish part of Sápmi is characterized by great rivers running from the northwest to the southeast. From the former Norwegian county ofTroms and Finnmark and eastward, the terrain is that of a low plateau with many marshes and lakes, the largest of which isLake Inari in Finnish Lapland. The extreme northeastern section lies within thetundra region, but it does not havepermafrost. In the 19th century, scientific expeditions to Sápmi were undertaken, for instance byJöns Svanberg.[18]
The climate issubarctic/tundra and vegetation is sparse, except in the densely forested southern portion. The mountainous west coast has significantly milder winters and more precipitation than the large areas east of the mountain chain. North of the Arctic Circlepolar nights characterize the winter season and themidnight sun the summer season—both phenomena are longer the further north you go. Traditionally, the Sami divide the year intoeight seasons instead of four.
In Inari, the climate is warm-end subarctic, with summer highs of 18 °C (64 °F), and winter lows of −15 °C (5 °F). The average winter sees 131 days of snowfall, with the first flakes falling to the ground in September.[19] Snow cover lasts about two-thirds of the year and may persist past the last flake and even the last frost.
Even without permafrost or a true tundra climate, much of Sápmi is arctic moorland with stunted, scattered trees.
Reindeers,wolves, bears, and birds are the main forms of animal life, in addition to a myriad of insects in the short summer. Sea and riverfisheries abound in the region. Steamers are operated on some of the lakes, and many ports are ice-free throughout the year. All ports along theNorwegian Sea in the west and theBarents Sea in the northeast toMurmansk are ice-free all year. The northern part of theGulf of Bothnia usually freezes over in winter.[20] The ocean floor to the north and west of Sápmi has deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Sápmi contains valuable mineral deposits, particularlyiron ore in Sweden,copper in Norway, andnickel andapatite in Russia.
East Sápmi consists of theKola peninsula and theLake Inari region and is home to the eastern Sami languages. While being the most heavily populated part of Sápmi, this is also the region where the Indigenous population and their culture are weakest. Corresponds to the regions marked 6 through 9 on the map below.
Central Sápmi consists of the western part of Finland's Sami Domicile Area, the parts of Norway north of theSaltfjellet mountains and areas on the Swedish side corresponding to this. Central Sápmi is the region where Sami culture is strongest and home to North Sami—the most widely used Sami language, with around 20,000 speakers as of 2024. In the southernmost part of this subregion, however, Sami culture is rather weak—this is where the moribundBithun Sami language is used. The areas around theTysfjorden fjord in Norway and the riverLule in Sweden are home to theJulev Sami language, one of the more widely used Sami languages. These correspond to the regions marked 3 through 5 on the map below.
South Sápmi consists of the areas south of Saltfjellet and corresponding areas in Sweden and is home to the southern languages. In this area, Sami culture is mostly visible inland and on the coast of the Baltic Sea, and the languages are spoken by few. Corresponds to the regions marked 1 and 2 on the map below to the southeast of region 1 in Sweden.
The Saamic languages are the region's main minority languages and its oldest attested languages. They belong to theUralic language family and are most closely related to theFinnic languages. Many Sami languages are mutually unintelligible, but the languages originally formed adialect continuum stretching southwest and northeast, so that a message could hypothetically be passed between Sami speakers from one end to the other and be understood by all. Today, however, many of the languages aremoribund and thus there are "gaps" in the original continuum.
On the map to the right numbers indicate Sámi languages. Of these languages,Northern Sámi is by far the most vital; whereasUme Sámi andPite Sámi are critically endangered.[21]Kemi Sámi has been extinct for over a century.[22][23]
North Sami is subdivided into three main dialects: West, East, and Coast. The written standard is based on the Western dialect.
It is difficult to give estimates of inhabitants since Sápmi is not precisely defined. It is also difficult to account for the distribution of ethnic groups as many people have double or multiple ethnic identities—both seeing themselves as members of the majority population and being part of one or more minority groups.
The number of Sámi is generally estimated to be between 80,000 and 100,000.[24] Many live in areas outside Sápmi such asOulu,Oslo,Stockholm andHelsinki. Some Sámi people have migrated to places outside the Sápmi vernacular region, such as Canada and the United States.
Groups of Sámi people have settled in the northern parts ofMinnesota.[25]
The Sami are a small minority in the Russian part of Sápmi.
Norway, Finland and Sweden all have Sámi Parliaments that to varying degrees are involved in governing the region—though mostly they only have authority over the matters of the Sámi citizens of the states in which they are situated.
Every Norwegian citizen registered as a Sámi has the right to vote in the elections for theSámi Parliament of Norway. Elections are held every four years by direct vote from seven constituencies covering all of Norway (six of which are in Sápmi) and run parallel to the general Norwegian parliamentary elections. This is the Sámi Parliament with the most influence over any part of Sápmi, as it is involved in the autonomy established by theFinnmark Act. The parliament is in the village ofKárášjohka and its current president isSilje Karine Muotka from theNorwegian Sámi Association.
TheSámi Parliament of Sweden, situated inKiruna (Northern Sami:Giron), is elected by a general vote which all registered Sámi citizens of Sweden may attend. The current president is Lars-Anders Baer.
In Russia, there is no Sámi Parliament. Two Sámi organisations are members of the national umbrella organisation of Indigenous peoples, theRussian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), and represent the Russian Sámi in the Sámi Council. RAIPON is represented in Russia'sPublic Chamber byPavel Sulyandziga. On 14 December 2008, the first Congress of the Russian Sámi took place. The Conference decided to demand the formation of a Russian Sámi Parliament, to be elected by the local Sámi. A suggestion to have the Russian Federation pick representatives for the Parliament was voted down with a clear majority. The Congress also chose a Council of Representatives that was to work for the establishment of a parliament and otherwise represent the Russian Sámi. It is headed byValentina Sovkina.[27]
On 2 March 2000, the Sámi parliaments of Norway and Finland founded the Sámi Parliamentary Council, and the Sámi Parliament of Sweden joined two years later. Each parliament sends seven representatives, and observers are sent from the Sámi organisations of Russia and the Sámi Council. The Sámi Parliamentary Council discuss cross-border cooperation, hands out the annualGollegiella language development award, and represents the Sámi people abroad.[28]
In addition to the parliaments and their common council, there is aSaami Council based on Saami organisations. This council also organises interstate cooperation between the Saami, and also often represents the Saami in international fora such as theBarents Region. This organisation is older than the Parliamentary Council, but not connected to the parliaments except that some of the NGOs double as party lists in Sami parliament elections.
The Russian side of Sápmi is withinMurmansk Oblast.Oblasts are governed by popularly elected parliaments and formally headed by governors. The governors are nominated by thepresident of Russia and accepted or rejected by the local parliaments. However, should the parliament refuse to accept the president's nominee, the president is entitled to dissolve parliament and call local elections.
Murmansk Oblast covers the Kola Peninsula and is home to Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle and in the Sápmi. It is subdivided into severaldistricts, of which the geographically largest isLovozersky District. This is also part of Russia where the Sami population is most numerous and visible.
TheLapland Nature Reserve (Russian:Лапландский заповедник, Laplandskiy zapovednik) is a Russianzapovednik (strict nature reserve) in Murmansk Oblast, above theArctic Circle. Its administrative centre is therural locality ofLaplandsky Zapovednik. First established between 1930-1951 and reestablished in 1957, the reserve protects an area of 2,784 km2 (1,075 sq mi) to the northwest ofLake Imandra, including 86 km2 of inland water.
The counties of Norway are governed bypopularly elected assemblies, headed by county mayors. Formally, the counties are headed bycounty governors, but in practice, these have limited influence today.
The largest of Norway's landscapes,Finnmárku (Northern Sami) or Finnmark (Norwegian) county, is in Sápmi and has a special form of autonomy: 95% (about 46,000 km2 [18,000 sq mi]) of the area is owned by theFinnmark Estate. The board of the Estate consists of many representatives from theSami Parliament of Norway and Finnmark's county council. The two institutions appoint leaders of the board alternately. The administrative centre of Finnmárku (Finnmark) isČáhcesuolu or Vadsø, in the far east of the county. The currentcounty governor isRunar Sjåstad from theNorwegian Labour Party.
Romsa (or Troms) county is southwest of Finnmárku. Its administrative centre is the city after which the county is named,Romsa or Tromsø. Romsa is North Norway's biggest city and Sápmi's biggest city afterMurmansk. The currentfylkesordfører isTerje Olsen from theConservative Party. A similar solution to the Finnmark Estate,Hålogalandsallmenningen, has been proposed for Romsa County and its southern neighbourNordlánda.
Nordland covers a long strip of coast that includes both North Sami, Julev Sami, Bithun Sami, and South Sami areas. Its administrative centre isBådåddjo or Bodø. The current county governor is Mariette Korsrud from theNorwegian Labour Party.[29]
The southernmost parts of Norwegian Sapmi lie inTrøndelag county (mostly the northern part of the county). The administrative centre isSteinkjer. The largest city in Trøndelag isTrondheim. Trondheim is outside Sápmi but is well known for being the site of thefirst international Sami conference in February 1917. The county governor isFrank Jenssen from theConservative Party.
Lapland is a large northwesternprovince of Sweden, wholly within Sápmi. The traditional provinces of Sweden are cultural and historical entities; for administrative and political purposes they were replaced by thecounties of Sweden (län) in 1634.
Five counties are wholly or partially within Sápmi.Län is formally governed by thelandshövding, who is an envoy of the government and runs the government-appointedlänsstyrelse that coordinates administration with national political goals for the county. Much of county politics is run by the county council orlandsting, which is elected by the inhabitants of the county; but the counties' top positions are still determined by those who win the general elections of Sweden.
Norrbotten County is mostly covered by Sápmi, although the lowerTornedalen region is often excluded. The administrative centre isLuleå in the Julev Sami area (Norrbotten includes North, Julev and Bithun areas). Current landshövding isPer-Ola Eriksson of theCentre Party.
Sápmi covers the interior majority ofVästerbotten County, which are Ubmeje and South Sami regions. The administrative centre isUmeå, and the current landshövding isChris Heister from the conservativeModerate Party.
Jämtland County is sometimes considered a part of the Sápmi cultural region and is a South Sami county. The administrative centre isÖstersund. Current landshövding isJöran Hägglund from the centre partyCenterpartiet.
Finland is divided intonineteen regions (maakunta), each governed by regional councils. These councils serve as cooperative forums for municipalities rather than being elected through a direct popular vote.Lapland (Lappi,Lappland) is the northernmost region, extending further south than Sápmi and encompassingSouthern Lapland (Peräpohjola,Nordbotten), historically regarded as the northernmost part ofOstrobothnia. The administrative centre isRovaniemi. North Sami, Skolt Sami, and Aanaar Sami are Indigenous to the region.
Four municipalities,Anár (Inari),Eanodat (Enontekiö),Ohcejohka (Utsjoki) andSoađegilli (Sodankylä) in the northern part of Finnish Lapland constitute theSami Domicile Area,Sámiid Ruovttoguovlu, a region that is autonomous on issues regarding Sami culture and language. Ohcejohka is the only municipality in Finland with a Sami majority.[30]
The following towns and villages have a significant Sami population or host Sami institutions. Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, or Russian toponyms are in parentheses.
Gáivuotna (Kåfjord) is an important centre for the Coastal Sami culture, which is host to theRiddu Riđđu international Indigenous festival each summer. The municipality has a Sami language centre and hosts the Ája Sami Centre. The opposition against Sami language and culture revitalization in Gáivuotna was infamous in the late 1990s and included Sami language road signs being shot to pieces repeatedly.
Giron (Kiruna) is the seat of the Swedish Sami Parliament and the largest urban settlement in Swedish Lapland.
Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino): About 90% of the population speaks North Sami, and several Sami institutions are here. These include Beaivváš Sami Theatre, a Sami High School and Reindeer Herding School, the Sami University College, the Nordic Sami Research Institute, the Sami Language Board, the Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous People, and the International Centre For Reindeer Husbandry. In addition, several Sami media are based in Kautokeino. These include the Sami language newspaperÁššu and the DAT Sami publishing house/record company. Kautokeino also hosts the Sami Easter Festival. The Kautokeino rebellion in 1852 was one of the few Sami rebellions against the Norwegian government's oppression of the Sami.
Johkamohkki (Jokkmokk) holds a large Sami market and festival the first weekend of every February. It is also the location ofÁjtte.
Kárášjohka (Karasjok) is the seat of the Norwegian Sami Parliament. Other important Sami institutions include NRK Sami Radio, the Sami Collections Museum, the Sami Art Centre, the Sami Specialist Library, the legal office of Middle Finnmark, the Inner Finnmark Child and Youth Psychiatric Policlinic, the Sami Specialist Medical Centre, and the Sami Health Research Institute. In addition, theSápmi cultural park is in the township, and the Sami language Min Áigi newspaper is published here.
Leavdnja (Lakselv) inPorsáŋgu (Porsanger) municipality is the location of the Finnmark Estate and the Ságat Sami newspaper. The Finnmarkseiendommen organisation owns and manages about 95% of the land in Finnmark, and 50% of its board members are elected by the Norwegian Sami Parliament.
Romsa or Tromsa (Tromsø) is the largest city in the Central Sami area and has auniversity that specialises in Sami subjects. It also has a notable and very active Sami population.
Unjárga (Nesseby) is an important centre for the Coastal Sami culture. It is also the site for the Várjjat Sami Museum and the Norwegian Sami Parliament's Department of Culture and Environment. The first Sami to be elected into the Norwegian Parliament,Isak Saba, was born here.
Snåase (Snåsa) is a centre for the Southern Sami language and the only municipality in Norway where Southern Sami is an official language. The Saemien Sijte southern Sami museum is in Snåase.
^abcdBerg-Nordlie, Mikkel; Dankertsen, Astri; Winsvold, Marte (14 January 2022).An Urban Future for Sápmi?. New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 31–32.ISBN978-1-80073-265-0.
^abBerg-Nordlie, Mikkel (7 November 2021),"Finnmǫrk",Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian Bokmål), retrieved5 December 2021
^abAnderson, Myrdene (November 1983). "The Saami People of Lapland: Four Recent Works on the Interplay of History, Ethnicity and Reindeer Pastoralism".Nomadic Peoples.14 (14):57–58.JSTOR43123201.;"The Lapp or Sami people".Yokmok. Retrieved26 December 2019.At present, the Scandinavian media use no other term than Sámis. Institutions and the media use the word Sámi. The term "lapp" is considered pejorative.;"Saamis or Lapps".SURI. Retrieved26 December 2019.They call themselves saam´ or saam´lja (on the Kola Peninsula), sabme, sabmelas^ (pl. sabmela at). Other nations have called them Fenn (Finn) and since the 12th century, Lapp (e.g. the form Lop' appears in Old Russian Chronicles at about 1000 AD). The use of the name Saam has been propagated in Russia since the 1920s and inScandinavia within the last decades. The Saamis themselves consider the name Lapp pejorative.
^Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel; Dankertsen, Astri; Winsvold, Marte (14 January 2022).An Urban Future for Sápmi?. New York: Berghahn Books. p. 43.ISBN978-1-80073-265-0.
^"Stereotypes have fueled a tourism boom in Europe's icy North. Can things change?".National Geographic: Travel. 3 February 2021. Archived fromthe original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved5 December 2021.The Sámi Homeland in Finland is one part of Sápmi, a large, diverse area that encompasses northern Norway, Sweden, and Russia's Kola Peninsula. While the northernmost regions of Sweden and Finland are both called Lapland, the entire Sápmi area has been imprecisely referred to as "Lapland" and promoted as an "untouched wilderness", despite the long presence of people living and working there.
