Sami people – the indigenous
people of the north
A single people in four countries
• The Sami people live in four countries:
Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The
total population in these four countries is
estimated at approx. 80,000, of whom
around half live in Norway. Slightly under
half of these people talk Sami. I Norway, the
Sami people live in almost all parts of
Northern Norway, and in Trøndelag and in
Femundsmarka in Hedmark.
Political status
• The Sami Parliament is the Sami people’s representative body in
Norway and has appreciable authority on issues concerning culture,
cultural heritage, reindeer farming and education. It also applies its
influence on financial and business policy. The Sami language is
used in nine municipalities, two counties and a range of state
institutions. The language is official in Norway, but is not accorded
the same prominence as Norwegian. Previously, the Sami people
owned land and water communally, but the Norwegian state
considered this state-owned land. Today, however, the Norwegian
authorities consider the land and water in Finnmark to belong to the
people of Finnmark. Similar transfers of ownership have been
proposed for large areas in the rest of Northern Norway. For
additional information, see www.sametinget.no.
Bures boahtin!
The language
• The Sami people speak a language that is a member of the Uralic linguistic
group along with languages such as Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian.
Norwegian and other Indo-European languages are not related to the Sami
tongue.
The different languages
• A total of nine different but closely related Sami languages are spoken in
the Sami region. Today, three of these dialects are in active use in Northern
Norway. Sami people from the south of Northern Norway can talk
effortlessly to their nearest Sami neighbours in Sweden, but cannot
communicate with Sami people from the far north. The dialect boundaries
do not follow the linguistic borders, however, as most of the dialects are
spoken in multiple countries. The Sami language is currently the major
language in inner Finnmark and is also used in small communities in most
parts of Northern Norway as well as in some environments in the Northern
Norwegian towns.
•
The kindergarten and school is one of our most important social institutions.
It is rooted in the past and would equip us for the future. The school and the
teacher transmits knowledge, culture and values ​from one generation to the
next. Competence primary community resource. Focus on school and
education is therefore crucial that the Sami community to be developed in
line with the Sami people's own visions, priorities and framework
All Sami children have an individual
right to Sami education in schools.
Challenges:
• Three out of five choose to use Norwegian
although it would be possible to use Sami.
• Lack of supply, learning materials, Sami
teachers ++