Lapland and the Sámi People

We flew on a short flight into Ivola, the northernmost airport, and got on a bus to the hotel. Our new guide is taking over from our previous Finn. He will travel with us through the rest of the tour, onto the ship, the train, and into Oslo. But that is in the future…

The day after arriving in Ivola, we rode the bus to Inari, the capital of the Sámi people and the location of Siide, the official museum of the Sámi people, where we had an excellent tour by a local Sámi guide.

Our adequate guide told us a bit about the area on the bus ride, with the local input from our friendly bus driver:

There are several mines in the area, which were sought after by Norway and Germany throughout the years. The mines produce metals, minerals, and radioactive substances.

In 1944, at the end of World War II, Germany had to retreat (they had been holding the mines that are in this part of the country at the time). As they withdrew, the Germans burned everything as they went, leaving no structures behind, including traditional Sámi buildings. So stomach-turning that humans from many parts of the world have chosen to take actions like this!

Inari is one of four Sámi provinces. There are 7,000 Inari Sámi people, with 10,000 native Sámi in total. Lapland is the region where the Sámi people live, extending from the Norwegian Sea mostly above the Arctic Circle: the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and a small area of Russia, too. The Finnish government support the Sámi in preserving their culture. Yay!

There are about 100,000 reindeer in the area, a big industry for the region and the Sámi people. I saw only one reindeer (which was in the road, staring straight at the bus) and had a glimpse of another in the trees to the side of the road. This is the time of year for the round-up, when the Sámi gather their herds, select the ones for slaughter (and for sale) and drive the rest up into the mountains for the winter months. The Sámi use all parts of the reindeer, from nose to tail, hide, hair, and bone. We had the chance to meet a Sámi woman, a wonderful artist, and a very hard worker! She made new reindeer-hide boots every year for her family, for example, among other items. These are items that are always made by hand and always used within the culture and never sold. Beautiful traditional works of practical art.

The Sámi Museum Siida in Inari, Finland:

Exhibit at the Sámi Museum Siida, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
Display at the Sámi Museum Siida, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
Display at the Sámi Museum Siida, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
This art work built into the floor of the Sámi Museum Siida was created with objects common to the region, signifying the seasons and the available natural resources, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
Display at the Sámi Museum Siida. The comb-looking items on the left are looms used to make the beautifully ornate belts worn by the Sámi people. Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.

The Open Air Museum at the Sámi Museum Siida in Inari, Finland:

An outdoor kitchen, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
The interior of an outdoor kitchen, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
A hearth in a cabin with a cleverly engineered design to keep fingers from being burned when heating up the kettle, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
View of two rooms in a cabin, including the ‘tent’ over the bed, likely to both keep off insects in the summer and to contain body heat in the winter for a more comfortable sleep, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.
One view of the Open Air Museum section of the Sámi Museum Siida, showing aspects of the cultural and architectural heritage of the Sámi people, Inari, Finland, 5 October 2023.

Author: Erica K Swift

I have written since I was an elementary school bookworm in Colorado. After college, I traveled to Northern Cyprus, Turkey, and Germany before discovering a home in Alaska. I have self-published children's books, am actively pursuing a publisher for my most recent set of books, and am continuing to write when I am not teaching at a local elementary school.