Sami history

The Sami people (also Sámi, Saami) are an indigenous people of northern Europe inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. The traditional Sami life style, dominated by hunting, fishing and trading, was preserved until the Late Middle Ages, when the modern structures of the Nordic countries were established.

The Sami have lived in relative co-existence with their neighbors for centuries, but for the last two hundred years, especially during the second half of the 20th century, there have been many dramatic changes in Sami culture, politics, economics and their relations with their neighboring societies. During the late 20th century, modern conflicts broke out over the construction of a hydroelectric dam, the reaction of which created a reawakening and defense of Sami culture in recent years. Of the eleven different historically attested Sami languages (traditionally known as "dialects"), nine have survived to the present day but with most in danger of disappearing too.

It is possible that the Sami people's existence was documented by such writers as the Roman historian Tacitus. They have on uncertain grounds, but for a very long time, been associated with the Fenni. However, the first Nordic sources date from the introductions of runes and include specifically the Account of the Viking Othere to King Alfred of England.

The area traditionally inhabited by the Sami people is known in Northern Sami as Sápmi, and typically includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia. Previously the Sami have probably inhabited areas further south in Fennoscandia. A few Stone Age cultures in the area have been speculated to be associated with the ancestors of the Sami.

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