Sami people facts for kids
The Sami people (also called Lapps or spelled as Saami) are an ethnic group of people living in Lapland. Lapland is an area in the far north of Europe. Lapland is a part of the countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Sami people live in all of these countries. The number of Sami people in the world is between 80,000 to 135,000.
There are 10 different spoken Sami languages. Six of these can be written.
Lapps
The best known of the Sami people were the Lapp nomads who raised reindeer. The Lapps lived in their cold environment by domesticating the reindeer. The Lapps were able to get everything they needed from the deer. They ate mostly meat, milk, and cheese. Their clothing was made from reindeer skins and wool. Their tents were also made from raindeer skins. The wool clothes were beautifully decorated.
The Lapps protected the herds, moving with them as they migrated from summer to winter pastures. They used reindeer to pull sleds carrying their supplies. During the winter, the herds moved south of where the trees grew. The Lapps lived nearby in homes made of logs or sod. The Lapps were careful not to waste anything they got from the reindeer. Milk was taken from the reindeer to drink or make cheese. Meat was taken for food. The blood was frozen and then used for soup and pancakes. Knives and belt buckles were carved from the bones and antlers. The sinews (tendons) were used as sewing thread. Cleaned-out stomachs were used to carry milk or cheese. Every part of a dead reindeer was used.
Winter clothing was made from layers of reindeer skin. The inside layer would be worn with the fur facing in toward the person's skin. The second layer was worn with the fur facing out. Boots were also made of fur and lined with grass that had been gathered during the short summer. Every evening the grass would be taken out and dried by the fire, so it would be ready to use again the next day. This way, a Lapp could be warm and comfortable in even the coldest weather.
Today only a few of the Lapp people still follow the herds. Those few use modern tools on their ancient migration. They use snowmobiles to herd the reindeer and rifles to kill the wolves that chase them. Even helicopters and radios are used to locate and move the reindeer. Most of the Lapp people now live on small farms in one of the four nations of Lapland. They raise crops and animals, including a few reindeer, to meet their needs. The sale of reindeer meat is an important source of income for the Lapp people.
Sami crafts
Sami crafts are called 'Duodji'. The men make knives, drums and 'guksi' (burl cups) from wood, bone, and antlers. The women use leather and roots to make 'gakti' (clothing). Women also use birch and spruce to weave baskets.
Sami clothing
Sami clothing is called 'gakti' and was originally made from reindeer leather, but now it is usually made from wool, cotton, or silk. Usually, there are different types of clothing for men and women.
Religion and spirituality
Sami shamanism is the main religion of the Sami people. These beliefs are connected to the land, animalism, and the supernatural. There is some practice of bear worship. Sami shamanism is a polytheistic religion. It believes there are many gods. The Sami shaman are called the 'Noadi'. There are some 'wise men' and 'wise women' who try to heal people who are sick. They use rituals and herbal medicine. Some Sami people have changed their beliefs to Christianity. They join either the Russian Orthodox Church or the Lutheran.
Other pages
Images for kids
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A Sámi depicted in art, painting by François-Auguste Biard
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Aleksander Lauréus's painting of the Sámi by the fire
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Homeland of the Sámi people at present
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A Sámi man and child in Finnmark, Norway, circa 1900
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Three Sámi women
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Sámi people in Norway, 1928
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A Sea Sámi man from Norway by Prince Roland Bonaparte in 1884
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A Sea Sámi man from Norway by Prince Roland Bonaparte in 1884
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Sámi family in 1936
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Vindelfjällen
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Suorvajaure near Piteå
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Sámi man from Norway
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Sámi Parliament of Norway
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Mountain landscape in Kvalsund near Hammerfest
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Sámi Parliament in Sweden
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Land near Ylläs
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Kildin Sami Map (green). СААМИ is "Sámi" in Cyrillic
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National Culture Centre in Lovozero
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The port of Murmansk in the Kola Bay
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Krasnoshchelye village on the Ponoi River
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Sámi knives
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Sámi woman from Sweden
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Johan Turi's illustration of reindeer herding from his 1910 book Muitalus sámiid birra (An Account of the Sámi), the first book published in a Sámi language
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Sara Marielle Gaup at Riddu Riđđu
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Sámi people in Härjedalen (1790–1800), far south in the Sápmi area
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Laponian area in Sápmi, UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Kanevka, Ponoy River, Russia's Lovozersky District
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Ájtte Museum of the Sámi people, Jokkmokk
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Log cabin in Utsjoki
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Sámi child, 1923
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Sámi family at spring celebration
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E.W. Borg alphabet book, published in 1859 in Finnish-Inari Sámi
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This map shows the geographic distribution of Sámi languages and offers some additional information, such as number of native Sámi speakers and locations of the Sámi parliaments.
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Sámi traditional presentation in Lovozero, Kola Peninsula, Russia
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Reindeer in Alaska
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Sven-Roald Nystø, Aili Keskitalo and Ole Henrik Magga, the three first presidents of the Sámi Parliament of Norway
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Land rights for grazing reindeer
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Copper etching (1767) by O.H. von Lode showing a noaidi with his meavrresgárri drum
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Noaidi drum
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Sámi mother with her children
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Ad for an 1893/1894 ethnological exposition of Sámi in Hamburg-Saint Paul
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Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, a Sámi writer, musician and artist from Finland
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Agnete Johnsen
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Nils Gaup, a Sámi film director from Norway
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Anja Pärson a Sámi skier from Sweden
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Börje Salming, a retired ice hockey defenceman
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