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The Sami vs. Outsiders

By Káre (Kimmi Woodard)

Early History:

According to historians, the proto-Sami were said to have inhabited most ofScandinavia and Northwest Russia. We first hear of them in the year 98 AD from theRoman historian Tacitus in his book Germania. At that time, they were called “Fenni.”Tacitus described them as a primitive hunting tribe who roamed the forests nearGermany. In the second century A.D, Ptolemy of Alexandria spoke of a tribe inScandinavia called the “Phinnoi.” And then in 555 AD the Greek historian Procopius indescribing a war between the Romans and the Goths referred to a people called the“Skridfinns” who inhabited Scandinavia. And then once again in 750 AD PaulusDiaconus mentions a people called the “Skridfinns” who kept animals resembling deer.In the 9th and 10th centuries the Swedish Vikings are thought to have introduced the name“Lapp.” This name then spread throughout Scandinavia, to the Finns, the Russians andlater to the Germans, Hungarians, Estonians and other groups. Today, the Sami prefer thename Sami, and their land is called Sapmi.

Viking Age:

Trade:

In the Viking Age there was a tremendous amount of trade (called the Finn Trade)along the coast of the Gulf of Finland and Bothnia. This area brought seasonal visits fromFinns, Russians, and Scandinavian merchants, which eventually attracted the attention ofthe emerging nation states. It was during this early period that the Finns colonized thesouthwest corner of Finland. And in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, there was alsoemigration into Sweden. As the Swedes, Finns and Norwegians pushed northward, Sapmisteadily decreased in size. In this early period we learn that the Sami merchants firsttraded with the Vikings, and later they traded with the travelers from northern Europe.According to the article “Important Years in Same History,” because of this early culturalcontact, the Sami people advanced from a Stone Age society to a society that eventuallydeveloped its own monetary system; their currency was named tjoervie. The culturalcontact not only benefited the Sami but other groups as well. The contact was often mutually beneficial. For example, it was quite common during this early period for different cultures to borrow words from one another. The Sami language, for instance, has hundreds of loanwords of Scandinavian or Germanic origin, as well as many from Finnish. Similarly, the Scandinavians and Finns have many words from each other.

Another benefit of the cultural contact was the flourishing enterprise in trade. Thefur trade, for instance, attracted a large number of foreign travelers. As the followingexample will illustrate, the Sami people were highly respected as merchants andcraftsmen.

Good Cultural Relations:

In the 8th and 9th centuries, the Norwegians began to settle along the coast ofFinnmark, and this continued through the Viking age and into the Middle Ages. In thebeginning, the Norwegians were mostly traders who settled with their families. But astime progressed more and more of them moved into Sapmi. During this early timerelations were cordial between the Sami and the early Norwegians; the contact was oftenmutually beneficial. They intermarried and engaged in commerce. According to GutormGjessing (in his bookChanging Lapps), “North-Norwegian culture has always beensubjected to Sami influences. And whilst Ottar…learned how to keep reindeer from theSames, the sea-Sames of Nordland at least learned how to keep animals from theNorwegians…” According to Gjessing, the Sami were superior boat makers. In fact,Gjessing conjectures that they built the majority of the whaling boats that frequented theNorth-Norwegian coast. Unlike other periods in their history, the Sami and theNorwegians had amicable relations. There is evidence that they looked upon each otheras equals. In this early period the Sami frequently exported boats to Norwegianprovinces. A burial mound, dated from the 10th century, for example, contained aNorwegian man who, according to Scandinavian custom, was buried in a boat. Thetwenty-four to thirty foot long boat was sewn together with reindeer sinew, a Samicustom that dates from the Viking Age to the 18th century. There is also the example ofthe Norwegian King who hired Sami craftsmen to build a fleet of boats. While the boatswere being built, the King lived with them at their winter settlements. The King said thefollowing:

It was pleasant in the earth-dwelling when happily we were drinking, and the son of a King merrily could walk between the benches. There was no lack of fun at the merry drink. Men rejoiced with each other as anywhere else.

For Gutorm Gjessing, this example illustrates that the Norwegians looked upon theSami as their equals. He writes: “The episode of King Sigurd Slembe…illustratesexcellently how natural the association between the Sami and the Norwegians was.”Gjessing thinks that the natural contact between the two groups may be because of thehigh esteem that each had for the other, for, unlike the later periods, the Sami andNorwegians were roughly on the same “technical” level. Gjessing’s explanation isreasonable, for people tend to associate more freely with their perceived equals. Actually,though, the Sami were superior craftsmen, hunters, and all around fishermen. TheNorwegians bought many of their necessities from the Sami, such as, clothing, shoes,skin costumes, and blankets. So economically, the Sami were better off. The disparitieswere not as great as today’s differences.

In addition to trade, the Nordic people and the Sami also intermarried, for theskeletons of Sami burials show a strong mixture of Nordic and East Baltic ethnic groups.It was not until the 13th century that things changed drastically between the two groups,for it was at that time that Norwegian colonization began on a large scale.

Middle Ages:

Cultural Change:

The Middle Ages brought more cultural contact between the Sami and other groups.This contact sometimes brought about changes in the Sami culture. One example of thiswas their change from an economy based on hunting and gathering to a pastoraleconomy. There were several reasons for this.

According to Soviet scholar V. A. Snireljman (in Lennart Lundmark’s article “TheRise of Reindeer Pastoralism”), “The transition to a pastoral economy was made only under the influence of extreme conditions.” The extreme conditions to which he refers were the combination of the following: the increase in the Sami population; the increase in taxation; and the decrease in game, especially the reindeer.

First, let’s examine the reason for the increase in the Sami population. At the timewhen taxes were low (latter half of the 16th century), the Swedish government gave theSami a large food supply—i.e., butter, flour––in payment for their furs. Lundmark thinksthat there is a direct relationship between the increase in food supply and the increase inthe Sami population. He writes, “[T] he result of the increased supplies of food was asteep rise in the Saami population…[T] heir population expanded from 100 families…tomore than 200 families…” Further, he states that there was a similar development inother parts of Sweden.

Next, there is the issue of taxation. In the 17th century the Swedish governmentneeded more food for the army, so it demanded that the Sami pay taxes in the form of 55kilograms of dried pike (or 200 kilograms of fresh pike) and one reindeer calf. This was asharp increase from the 7-10 kilograms of dried pike (or 30-50 kilograms of fresh pike)that was required in the latter half of the 16th century. The increase caused many SwedishSami to cross into Norway because they were unable to pay the new taxes.

And then finally there is the issue of the decrease in game. Lundmark mentionsseveral reasons for this. They are: 1) the increase in trade; 2) the state’s use of Samiland;3) and the increased use firearms. Gutorm Gjessing (in his bookChanging Lapps)believes that the increased use of firearms was a major reason for the decline in thereindeer, which, he thinks, ultimately led the Sami to change their economy from huntingand gathering to reindeer herding.

According to Gjessing, in Finnmark the Sami and Norwegian hunters increasinglycompeted for the wild reindeer. When the use of firearms became widespread – evenamong the Sami – the wild reindeer became scarce, and this caused an economic crisisfor the mountain Sami. Because of this, their culture changed from one of keeping smallherds of tamed reindeer to that of nomadic reindeer herding. Gjessing writes, “Grantedthat all this is correct, we are confronted by…the phenomenon that nomadic reindeeractivities …is in reality a product of culture contact. The process possibly could betermed ‘indirect acculturation’.” Gjessing supports his argument by pointing to the factthat the forest Sami of Sweden and southern Norway, who did not have the same problem, continued to keep a small herd of reindeer. This traditional method continued until the Norwegian-Finnish border closed in 1852. This then forced the Kautokeino Sami to immigrate to Karesuando, Sweden in order to get pasture for their herd. According to Gjessing, this brought about a cultural change for the Sami in Sweden – thatis, they became nomadic reindeer herders as well.

As plausible as Gjessing’s conjecture may seem, it is not entirely accurate, for thecultural change to which he refers affected a small number of Sami – the forest Sami. Onthe other hand, Lennart Lundmark’s explanation seems to be more credible, since hetakes into account a number of factors, all of which affected a large number of people.So the combination of the increase in taxation, the increase in the Sami population,and the decline in game forced the Sami to resort to the more strenuous practice ofreindeer herding. This new practice then spread into other areas.Cultural contact also brought about a change in Sami society’s ideas of justice. AsSwedish-Finnish social forms became more widespread, individual Sami began to appealmore and more to Swedish-Finnish courts to resolve disputes; this was done even whenthe conflicts were within the Sami community. The result was that traditional Samijustice, which was often taken into account by the 17th century Swedish-Finnish courts,was soon forgotten.

Taxation:

It was also during the Middle Ages that the emerging nation states began to vie fordominion over Samiland. One of the primary ways that they showed dominion wasthrough taxation. They taxed the inhabitants. This proved to be quite lucrative for theemerging states, for the Sami were excellent hunters.

In the 13th century the King of Sweden decreed that birkarls (traders) were to taxthe Sami with whom they traded. In the Kola Peninsula, the Karelians and the Novgorodsdid the same. Later, the Norwegians and Muscovites followed suit. At times the Samiwere forced to pay taxes to as many as three states simultaneously, which often totaledmore than their combined resources. The reason for the double and triple taxation wasthat the nation states had not yet agreed upon their respective national boundaries.

In addition to the tax, a tax collector could also impose a fine if he thought thattaxes had been paid to his competitors. According to author Eeva Minn (in her book TheLapps), some Sami tried to flee to other countries. She writes: “Plagued by this excessivetaxation they tried to flee from their persecution but they were pursued even into foreigncountries and punished.” But when the Treaty of Strömstad (which was an agreementbetween Norway and Sweden on new boundaries) was signed in 1751 the Sami wereobligated to pay taxes to only one country, either Norway or Sweden. In addition, itassured neutrality on the part of the Sami in case of war.

Increased Immigration:

Along with the taxation, the nation states also encouraged their citizens toimmigrate to Sapmi. This was done to strengthen their power base in the areas. Forexample, the Russian government encouraged immigration to the Kola Peninsula. In1868 they offered new immigrants an exemption in taxes; an exemption from militaryservice; and unlimited freedom in trade and business. As expected this brought anincrease in Russian settlers to the area. At the same time, though, the Russiansencouraged the Kola Sami to give up their nomadic lifestyle. They offered them certainprivileges if they acquiesced. Many accepted the offer. Those that did eventuallyintermarried and gave up their Sami language. According to the article “Kola Lapps,”several Sami villages became completely “russified.”

The Russians were not the only nation state to encourage immigration intoSamiland, for Denmark-Norway and Sweden-Finland also did this. In 1673, for example,Sweden decreed the Lappmark Proclamation, which offered tax relief in exchange forresettlement. And in 1751 the Danish-Norwegian government not only encouragedimmigration to Finnmark, but it also deported its life-term prisoners there. Again thereason for all this was because the nation states wanted sovereignty over Samiland.

Although the offer of incentives played a major role in increasing the immigrationto Samiland, there were other reasons as well. Many immigrants came to Samilandbecause of its bountiful resources. In the 14th and 15th centuries (Changing Lapps) the fishbusiness along the Finnmark coast attracted large numbers of immigrants from thesouthern districts. And increasingly Finnmark began to be populated by Finns. A small number of them came to escape Ugedei Khan’s Mongol domain of the 13th century. But itwas not until the 18th century, during the Scandinavian wars, that a large number of themactually began to emigrate to Finnmark. War and economic depression forced largenumbers of them to flee their land. And in 1860 the Komi were hit by plague, whichbrought many of them to Russia. In all areas of Sapmi foreigners came in search of a newlife. Not surprisingly, the Sami did not welcome this encroachment. Their response wasto move to different areas. For example, in Finland they moved north in the face ofFinnish colonization, and in Sweden and Norway they moved south. There came a time,however, when there was nowhere else to move, for the foreigners were on all sides ofthem.

Increased competition:

One may wonder why the Sami people did not do more to stop the encroachment ontheir land. The answer is that there was not a lot that they could do. They are a small,non-violent people. They had little choice but to retreat, but as the following example willshow, they also complained to authorities.

From the books Lapps To-Day and Lapps in Sweden, we learn that the Sami beganto complain about Finnish encroachment into Kemi Lappmark in 1500. And in 1602, theypersonally complained to Duke Karl who later published a letter favoring the protectionof the Sami people. But in 1670 the Provincial Governor, Johan Graan, a Samidescendant, insisted that the Sami and the farmers could live side by side since theyearned their living differently. The reasoning was that since the reindeer and the farmanimals subsisted on different foods–lichen and hay, respectively–they, meaning theSami and the farmers, should be able to share the same area. The Lappmark Proclamationof 1673 was in keeping with this view. But among the problems was that both thereindeer and farm animals needed the swamps: The farmers needed the hay from theswamps, and the Sami needed the swamps as pasturage for the reindeer. In addition, boththe Sami and the farmers subsisted on hunting and fishing, which caused a depletion ofthe wildlife. For the Sami, another issue was that the farmers acquired their grassland byditching, which drew water from the lakes. Further as the Finnish farmers moved into Kemi Lappmark, they cleared the forests, which destroyed the traditional Sami lifestyle.So clearly they could not live in the same area.

Different notions of Territory:

What the authorities failed to realize was the intensely different ideologies each hadabout land. The agriculturalists believed that nature was something to be controlled. Theypracticed the slash and burn, which meant a loss of pasture for the reindeer. In addition,they believed in land ownership. In contrast, the Sami were nomadic hunters and herders;they were accustomed to following the migrations of the reindeer, so the idea of landownership was foreign to them. Further they believed that man must live as one withnature, not spoil it. When the nation states came along they discounted the Sami’shistorical and cultural connection to the land. Scott Forrest, author of “Territoriality andState-Same Relations,” believes that the different notions of territory explain much of theconflict over land use. According to Forrest, “‘Western’ or ‘modern’ views of territoryare characterized by fixed, exclusive, geographically bounded space. Exact borders aredefined…The Sami are a pastoral nomadic people, and these absolute notions of territoryare not suitable for a lifestyle based on reindeer husbandry, which requires…seasonalmigration, and flexible and adaptive land uses.” So in effect the nation states viewed theSami as nomadic people, and as such, they had no ownership rights to the land. TheSwedish King Gustaf Vasa, for example, declared that lands with nomadic inhabitants“belong to God, to us, to the Swedish Crown and to no one else.”

Early Rights to the Land:

In The Lapps in Sweden, we learn that between the 16th and 19th centuries recordsshow that the Sami people in southern Lappmark had private land, with carefully definedlimits. In return they paid tax on the land to the Swedish crown. Not only that, the landwas hereditary. Each new owner had to have his right to the land recognized by the court.This changed in the 19th century, for land approval passed from the courts to countyadministration. At the start, the county administration accepted the idea that tax-payingSami had the right to the land, but this changed when they realized that by legitimizing this right, it would, in fact, conflict with Sweden’s colonization efforts. Consequently, theSami people were ultimately denied ownership rights.

Conflicts:

In Sweden the worst conflict was not over land, but rather forced labor. In the 17thcentury, silver and iron ore were discovered in the mountains of Sweden. The Samipeople were forced to work in the mines and (with the use of their reindeer) transport theore. Those who refused or attempted to flee were punished. Conditions were so bad thatthe provinces of Pite and Lule were depopulated. The Sami people were treated as slavelaborers. Swedish troops were called in to prevent the Sami villagers from fleeing. It isnot surprising then that the Sami look upon this as one of the worst acts committedagainst their people.

Besides the issue of land, there was also conflict over the wildlife. Early on theSami were given exclusive rights to hunt the beaver, but in 1747, the court ruled that theFinns and the Sami had equal rights to the beaver. It was because of the farmers thatseveral species of wildlife, including the beaver, were brought to the brink of extinction.In Sweden, the Sami parliament is trying to appeal both a 1994 law that allows non-Samito fish in lakes previously reserved for them, and a law that allows small game hunting intheir territory.

In Russia, the Sami were encouraged to give up their nomadic lifestyle, and acceptthe collective farming ideology of the 1930’s. Those who refused were sent to Solovetsconcentration camp. Stalin’s collectivization of the farmers lead to agriculturaldisruption, and the famine in 1932-1933

The 19th and 20th Centuries:

More Immigration:

The 19th century brought more cultural conflict, due largely to the increase inimmigration. The Kola Bay and Murman coast, for example, attracted a large number ofimmigrants because of the abundance of fish in the Arctic Ocean. Most of theimmigrants, however, did not present a problem for the Kola Sami. This was not true forthe Komi immigrants. According to Karl Nickul in his book The Lappish Nation, the Komi (Zyryans) were the only immigrants who conflicted with the Kola Sami. Unlikeother immigrants, the Komi had a highly developed reindeer economy. Nickul writes:“Not only were the Komi competing …in reindeer raising…they were also highlyadaptable, energetic and unscrupulous and they showed great group solidarity.” Thiscultural contact brought about some changes in the Sami method of reindeer breeding, fortheir system was to set the reindeer loose after calving, to build reindeer barns, and tomilk the reindeer. In the 1930’s the Sami adopted the Komi system of watching over theherds all year long.

Border Disputes:

The 19th century also brought back the old issue of border disputes. The dispute this timewas over the different grazing periods of the Finnish and Norwegian reindeer; that is,Norway’s reindeer grazed on Finnish land eight months of the year, while Finland’s reindeergrazed on Norway’s land only four months. Their solution was to close their borders to eachother. This in effect nullified the Strömstad Treaty, which was beneficial to the Finnishreindeer herders, but for the Sami herdsmen, this was against customary practice. The reasonfor this is that traditionally Sami reindeer were allowed to graze freely across different areas ofSamiland; there were no borders. For the Sami, the border closures brought about majorconsequences. Many Sami families were forced to move from Utsjoki into Inari in order tohave access to the Finnish border; this increased the number of reindeer in Inari by five times.Similarly, many families also moved to Sweden in order to have access to Finland’s Enontekioarea, which, at the time, already had a large number of foreign reindeer. The outcome of thiswas that certain areas became too crowded, and this led to a massive slaughter of reindeer. Theborder closures presented other problems. For example, the Sami of Finland were cut off fromthe Arctic Ocean. Likewise, the Skolt Sami of Patsjoke lost the west bank of the PatsjokeRiver. And in the 20th century the Treaty of Dorpat between Finland and Russia, brought abouta cut in ties between the Skolt Sami of the Suenjel and their siida in the east, the NuettjaurSami.

War/Revolution:

Border disputes were not the only issues affecting the Sami people. They were alsoaffected by wars and revolution. For example, the Russian Revolution of 1917 broughtabout the end of the Pomor Trade. For the sea Sami, this trade was extremely important.According Gjessing in Changing Lapps the cessation of this trade brought a crisis in thelives of the sea Sami, for the Pomor trade benefited them not only economically butsocially as well. The author states, “This is one of the most important reasons why manysea-Samis have been unable to cope with financial competition today.” Unlike the Bergentradesmen, the Russian (Pomor) merchants did not care whether the fish were caughtduring the spring or summer. So the Sami merchants were able to unload their catches.Also, because the trade was based on an exchange basis, the sea Sami were able toexchange their fish for the products that they needed. The Sami were also less dependenton the commercial houses, which allowed them to trade with anyone. When the PomorTrade ended, the sea Sami and other merchants were unable to sell their fish. Thegovernment did offer relief, but the Norwegian fishermen got the larger share because ofthe erroneous argument that the sea Sami’s economy was supported by their farming,while the Norwegians depended solely on the fishing industry. Consequently, the Samifishermen received little if any assistance.

Another issue was WWII. During WWII, some of the Sami of Norway wereevacuated to Finland and Sweden. When they returned, they discovered that the majorityof their homes and fixed property had been destroyed. With the help of Finland andcharitable organizations, they were able to rebuild.

The Assimilation Policy:

Religious Conversion:

The nation states’ assimilation policy brought about the most profound changes inSami culture by far. One of the principal factors in this was the church. According toGjessing in Changing Lapps Christian missionary work started among the Sami as earlyas the 13th century, but it was not until 1700 that aggressive conversion efforts began. In1716, missionary Thomas von Westen, for example, is said to have converted over athousand Sami in his first journey to Finnmark. Eeva Minn (in her 1955 book TheLapps) asserts: “As a rule the Lapps readily accepted the Christian religion, and today they are at least as good Christians as their southern neighbors.” The author provides noevidence to substantiate this claim. Clearly, she does not consider the possibility that theirconversion to Christianity may have been coerced. In contrast, Robert Bosi in his bookThe Lapps says, “This missionary zeal the Lapps found irksome. They retreated before itfarther and farther into their mountains.” In the 17th century a special law was created thatordered the Sami to dispose of their drums and other religious symbols and attend church.Most continued to hide in the mountains, and those that did come, came by force. Manypeople were killed. Anders Nilsson, for example, was burned alive after he refused togive up his drum. Bosi writes, “[T] he old magicians who claimed the power to speakwith the Spirits of the lakes and of the great rivers were burned alive–with their drums.”This occurred in 1692 at Arjeplog.

Like the other nation states Russia also built churches and sent missionaries toSamiland. The Stroganoff family, for example, built the first monastery in the KolaPeninsula in 1500. But from Roberto’s 1960 book The Lapps we learn that the Kola Samikept a lot of their beliefs and practices. The Russian missionaries were not as demandingthat the Sami give up religious symbols. According to Karl Nickul in his book TheLappish Nation, Jacob Fellman said:

The Lapps have always been better treated in Russian Lapland than in Sweden and Norway. The right of the Russian Lapps to the water and land, earlier given them, has been recognized, nor are they punished for their pagan beliefs or witchcraft by death or banishment; on the other hand, little or nothing has been done to teach them; they have been left in their spiritual darkness, or to seek enlightenment wherever they can find it.

By far the most influential religious movement to affect the Sami people wasmovement created by Lars Levi Læstadius. Læstadius was born in Jäckvik, Sweden in1800. He grew up in Kvikkjokk, Luleå’s Lapland. His movement awakened a people whowere falling apart both morally and socially, for alcohol abuse and reindeer theft wasbecoming more and more prevalent. According to Gutorm Gjessing, “[T] he vices introduced by traders and other Scandinavians – primarily, drunkenness and theft –disappeared almost completely.” Further it “had a strong culture-preserving and sociallycohesive function, and greatly contributed to the maintenance of Samish social structure.”

Boarding Schools:

Along with the churches, boarding schools were another factor in the assimilationprocess. In fact, they took over for the churches. Sami boarding schools, which began inthe 19th century, did not allow the use of the Sami language. The first teachers weremissionaries and clergymen. This was true in all the nation states. In the early schoolsthe policy was that the Sami language should be used in the education process. But whenthe boarding schools started, each country’s respective language was used. In Norway,Thomas von Westen, the “apostle to the Lapps,” wanted to have the Sami language usedin both churches and schools, and for a while the Sami language was used. However, in1773 the government decreed that only Dano-Norwegian was to be used. This lasted until1830 when the clergyman Niels Vibe Stockfleth convinced the authorities to use the Samilanguage in textbooks. In 1879 the law mandated that instruction be given in the child’snative language. However, this did not happen because of the 1860’s teacherinstructions, which constantly decreased the use of the Sami language in the Samidistricts. So in effect, the 1879 law was ignored. Then in 1880 the diocese of TromsØdecreed that, except as a guide in religious instructions, only Norwegian was to be used.And then in 1936, the authorities again forbade the use of Sami language in schools.

In Sweden among the first teachers were the “catechists” who were sent out toinstruct the Sami during their migrations. In 1913, “goatte schools” were established.Like the “catechists,” these schools were to travel with the Sami on their migrations.According Nickul (in The Lappish Nation), the purpose was to have the schools conformas much as possible to the Sami lifestyle. Yet, the authorities insisted that the language ofinstruction be Swedish. Not surprisingly in Finland and Russia they too forbade theteaching of the Sami language. In 1937 the Russian government decreed that Samilanguagebooks would be reprinted in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Clearly the authorities were unsure of what direction to take. It would have helpedhad they consulted the parents, for all were unanimous in the view that the Sami language should be used. But again they did not consult the parents. This is just one of the manyexamples of where the nation states have totally disregarded the opinions of the Samipeople. Nowadays, we know that before learning a new language, the pupil first needs afirm grasp of his native language.

Ecological Damage:

Nature has always been revered in the traditional Sami culture; this is no less truetoday. The issue of environmental abuse–like the destruction of the land and wildlife– isanother example of the conflict between the nation states and the Sami people. InFinnmark, for example, the Norwegian government proposed the construction of a dam inthe Alta-Kautokeino watercourse as part of a hydroelectric power scheme. The problemwas that this watercourse flowed through several areas in Sapmi. To the Sami itsconstruction was seen as an infringement of their natural resources, since it involved theconstruction of a road across important grazing and calving areas. In addition, there wasconcern over the potential for ecological damage, such as the salmon spawning areas orthe wildlife and vegetation along the Alta River. This mobilized an unprecedentednumber of people. Many held hunger strikes, and others had sit-down strikes; and thenthere were others who chained themselves together and lay in front of constructionmachines; there were even some who committed violent acts, such as the sabotaging ofconstruction machinery. One Sami man fled with his family to Canada in order to avoidlegal prosecution. The protesters (both Sami and non-Sami) also got support from anumber of environmentalists from different countries. The dam construction sparked oneof the biggest acts of civil disobedience in Finnmark. Even though the Alta dam wasultimately built, the controversy brought other Sami issues into the public arena.

The biggest ecological damage to affect the Sami was not in Norway, though. In1983 the Chernobyl nuclear disaster poisoned fish, meat and vegetation. According to thearticle “Important Years in Same History,” in Sweden alone 73,000 reindeer had to bedestroyed. At the time, the Swedish government recompensed its farmers and reindeerherders for the extra work and cost associated with the fallout, and then seven years afterthe accident, the government once again made remunerations, because radio cesiumlevels found in carcasses continued to be above safe limits.

In the article “Kola Lapps,” we learn that industrial pollutants–such as, apatite,nepheline, copper, aluminium, nickel, and others–have significantly damaged the qualityof life in the Kola Peninsula. The areas of Kirovsk, Monchegorsk, Nikel, andKandalaksha are inundated with these chemicals.

Some Last Thoughts:

Today the Sami continue to have conflict with the nation states over the samehistorical issues. Nowadays the Sami have their own parliaments, though currently, theyhave only consultative powers. Ole Henrik Magga, president of the Sámediggi inNorway (Harald Gaski’sSami Culture in a New Era) thinks that the Sami parliament is inthe process of becoming more influential. Currently, the Sami parliament has no vetopower in matters concerning the Sami people. This is one of the things that Ole HenrikMagga would like to see changed. The Sami continue to strive for cultural autonomy andcontrol over their natural resources.

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