The historical situation of the Sami people

The Sami people are descendants of the nomadic people who have lived in northern Scandinavia for thousands of years. When the Finns entered Finland around 100 AD, the Sami people's settlements were probably scattered throughout Finland. Today they are limited to the northernmost part of the country. In Sweden and Norway they were likewise driven north. The origins of the Sami people are unclear; some scholars place them among the ancient Siberians; others insist that they were mountain people and came from central Europe. Reindeer breeding has always been the economic basis of the Sami people. Although the Sami people have hunted reindeer for a long time and kept a few as pack and decoy animals, large-scale herding only began a few centuries ago. The Sami people who herd reindeer live in tents or thatched houses and migrate with their herds in groups of 5 or 6 families. They supplement their food by hunting and fishing along the way.

However, this nomadic life has actually disappeared. When the herders' families live in permanent modern houses, the remaining herders are alone with their reindeer. Today, a unit of reindeer is herded jointly by people, but each animal is owned by an individual. Many Norwegian Sami are coastal fishermen, while others in other areas make a living from farming, forestry, freshwater fishing, and mining, or are employed in government, industry, and commerce in towns. The Sami people are becoming increasingly involved in the professional, cultural and academic world of Scandinavia.

The Skolt Sami of Finland (and perhaps the Sami of Russia) believe in the Russian Orthodox Church; most others are Lutherans. Shamans are very important in non-Christian Sami society, and some shamanic healing rituals are still held today. At least in most northern Sámi communities there is a strong form of evangelical Congregationalism (Laestadianism), and the local congregations are de facto autonomous.

The Scandinavian countries have continuously tried to assimilate the Sami people, and have long banned the use of the Sami language in schools and public places. However, in the second half of the 20th century, people began to pay attention to the problems of the Sami minority, and efforts to maintain the traditional Sami society and culture through the use of the Sami language in schools and the protection of reindeer grazing grasslands were increasingly recognized. Today there are Sami political and cultural associations in every Scandinavian country, as well as several Sami-language newspapers and radio programs.

Total population: 80,000-100,000

Main areas: Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia

Languages: Sami, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian

Religious beliefs: Laestadianism, Lutheranism, Orthodox Christianity, Shamanism

The area cultivated by the Sami people is often simplified and compared with the Rabland area, but the Sami The area cultivated by the people was much wider than the Labland Province of Sweden in history, and they called the area they cultivated Sápmi. After this time, the Sami people were enlightened by the Christian faith and were included in the feudal country. Therefore, the first church was built in Labland in 1603. An iron mine pit was dug in Nasafj?ll in 1635, and the Sami people were forced to work in the mine. Anyone who dared to violate it would be tortured. Therefore, many people wanted to escape from this area. Government authorities Then the army was sent to stop the "immigration of labor".

In 1673, the colonization of today's Labland area officially began. The government sent immigrant settlers to areas where the Sami people lived, and gave the settlers the right to use the land and water of the Sami people, and even required the Sami indigenous people to Return their use rights; due to uncontrolled hunting by this group of settlers, the number of animals has rapidly decreased, even causing food shortages and hunger among some Sami people. And Christianization led to radicalization: these Sami people who were unwilling to change their religion and still insisted on believing in their original religion were punished with death, and even areas that devoutly believed in the Sami religion were destroyed. From 1720 to 1729, some Sami people migrated to specific areas ordered by the Swedish king. In 1751, by decision of the king, the law on Labland was established, through which the hunting rights of the settlers and the Sami indigenous people were divided. There was a Sami translation of the New Testament in 1755, and a translation of the Old Testament in 1811.

The difficult period for the Sami people began after 1809. The northern border between Finland and Norway was determined, which had a negative impact on the Sami people from 1852 onwards: due to the religious wars that occurred on the national border, the national borders were closed, that is, Said: The reindeer herds that the Sami people relied on for subsistence were cut off, leaving them food starved. Between 1860 and 1920, attempts were made to enact laws or regulations to influence and improve the situation of the Sami people, but they also exempted many restrictive laws for later settlers. The first Sami Conference (German: Sámi –Konferenzen) was held in 1917 and 1918, and the Sami were identified as an official ethnic minority. Some people want to break away from their previous fate, integrate into Swedish or Norwegian society, or make some extra money by raising reindeer. In 1952, there was the first radio program dedicated to the Sami people in Sweden; it was not until the 1970s that "Norwegianization" was launched in Norway, and Sami was first recognized as a language. In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident occurred. 73,000 reindeer were injured by radiation in Sweden. As a result, the Sami people lost an important source of nutrition. Even though the government promised compensation, what they received was far less than what they needed. In the 1980s, the Sami Power Council and the Cultural Council were established in Norway. A Sami Parliament (called Samething) was composed of the Power Council and finally elected representatives in 1989. In Sweden in 1933, the Sami people also elected parliamentary representatives. In 1997, King Harald V of Norway publicly apologized for his past treatment of the Sami people. In 2000 the Sami national foundation had 75 million NOK (equivalent to 10 million euros), which must be used to strengthen the Sami language and culture, as well as to compensate for the harm and unfairness caused by repression.