Sami People’s Day (Sami national day)
On 6. February 1917 the first National Sami Meeting was held in Trondheim, with representatives from both northern and southern settlement areas, and from Sweden as well as Norway. In her opening speech, Elsa Renberg said:

"It is an undeniable fact that small nations take second place to the other, larger, nations. It is mainly our own fault that our nation has not advanced more than it has. We have not stood together, we have never understood that we have to act together as one people."

This assembly was later regarded as the beginning of the process of organizing all Sami – a people divided between several nations – and February 6 was therefore chosen as the Sami national day.

The Sami flag was officially recognized by the thirteenth Sami Conference in Åre, Sweden, in 1986. The flag’s circle comes from the sun-moon symbol; the moon is blue and the sun red. This symbol goes back to old Sami legends, in which the Sami are presented as the sons and daughters of the sun. At the same Sami conference, Isak Saba’s "Sámi Soga Lávlla" (Song of the Sami Night) was chosen as the Sami national anthem.

Sámi soga lávlla:   SamiSogaLavlla.mp3 (457k)   SamiSogaLavlla.rm (240k)   SamiSogaLavlla.wav (453k)   Text: Isak Saba   Melody: Arne Sørli   Artist: The Dimitri Chorus ©1998: Sámediggi   (+358 16 671 267)   PL39, 99780 Anár   Finland Sámeskuvlastivra   (+46 971 442 00)   Box 155, Jåhkamåhkke   Sweden Sámi Oahpahusráddi   (+47 784 84 200)   Box 143, N9520 Guovdageaidnu   Norway

The northern lights in Sami tradition

Traditionally, the northern lights were seen as possessing a supernatural power which could be called upon during disputes. Such ideas have always been common among peoples living in the areas where the northern lights are seen most frequently.

Northern light symbols are found on the Sami shamanistic drum. The phenomenon has several different names in Sami. It is, for instance, known as Guovssahas, which means "the light which can be heard". The Sami traditionally associated the northern lights with sound.


You can take part in a northern lights safari on the internet at this link:

http://www.northern-lights.no/norsk/

Northern lights research is available at: http://www.unis.no

At the University of Tromsø there is an international research team specializing in research on the northern lights. Some of their many publications can be found HERE.

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Important Sami institutions

The Sami Parliament was set up in 1989 as a representative body for the Sami population of Norway. The Sami are an indigenous people, and thus fall into a different category from other ethnic minorities in Fennoscandia. In the autumn of 2000, the Norwegian Sami Parliament moved into new premises in Karasjok.

http://www.samediggi.no/

The Nordic Sami Institute is a Sami research institution whose aims are to strengthen and develop the Sami language, culture and society. The NSI is located in Guovdagaidnu/Kautokeino.

http://www.nsi.no/

The activities of the Sami University College build on the unique location of the college in western Finnmark. This is the only college in which Sami is the working language, but the faculty and students are bilingual. The Sami University College specializes in language and language development, sustainable development, Sami education and cross-cultural communication.

http://www.samiskhs.no/

The Centre for Sami Studies at the University of Tromsø works to initiate and support research into Sami issues and recruit Sami students to the world’s northernmost university.

http://www.uit.no/ssweb/

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Museums and Nature Houses

Samiid Vuorka-Davvirat / De Samiske Samlinger, Karasjok
Samiid Vuorka-Davvirat is the National museum for Sami culture. The museum has the responsibility of collecting, preserving, exhibit and mediate Sami cultural history, from a Sami point of view. The museum has a collection of 3500 pieces. In the exhibition you can find Sami costumes from different periods and area - pieces of art and duodji from different periods, references to traditional religion, traditional hunting methods etc. In the exhibition outside the museums building you find traditional trapping systems for wild reindeer, a farmhouse from 1870, the traditional goathi and one of the mountain lodges from 1870.

http://www.museumsnett.no/norsk/museer/museum.html?instnummer=641

Varanger Sami Museum is located in Varangerbotn in the municipality of Nesseby. The museum is the main museum for sea-Sami cultural history in Finnmark. Mortensnes Cultural Site Area, which is affiliated with the museum, contains the remains of gammes (turf huts), tent circles and burial sites, and demonstrates how Sami settlements have developed of over the last 10,000 years. The site also features a grakse rock, a sacrificial rock surrounded by 13 stone circles. Historical sources indicate that the rock used to be rubbed with cod liver oil or grakse, presumably in order to ensure a good catch.

http://www.museumsnett.no/vsm/

Stabbursnes Nature House functions as a visitors centre for Stabbursdalen National Park. A nature house is a small museum dealing with the natural surroundings and wildlife of the area. This nature house is affiliated with Stabbursnes Nature Reserve and Stabbursdalen National Park. The landscape of this area has been shaped by ice and glacial rivers and contains the world’s northernmost pine forest. This is also an important wetland area for birds. 23 species of duck, 25 species of wading bird, and 12 species of gull have been observed in the area. The nature house provides guided theme walks dealing with the bird and plant life of the area.

http://www.museumsnett.no/stabbursnes/index.htm

Alta Museum
Alta Museum is located in Hjemmeluft, on the outskirts of Alta, along the E6 in the direction of Tromsø. The museum was European Museum of the Year in 1993. Its number one attraction is Northern Europe’s largest Stone Age rock carving site. The rock carvings are 2,500 – 6,200 years old and are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Inside, the museum features historical exhibits which concentrate in particular on the period of the German occupation of Finnmark. The museum also has a souvenir shop and a café overlooking Altafjorden.

East Sami Museum, Neiden
East Sami Museum was established as a department of the Sámiid Vuorká-Dávvirat, the Sami Collections, on 12 July 1999. The museum’s objective is to strengthen East Sami culture and raise East Sami self-awareness. It aims to work with and promote East Sami cultural history and traditional knowledge. The museum is presently being developed and is not yet open to the general public.

East Sami Museum, Neiden, has been chosen as the Sami millennium site. Its programme will therefore present East Sami culture and tradition through language, handicrafts, music, art, theatre, food, history and religion. There will also be a focus on Neiden as a cultural crossroads, and on collaboration and contact across the eastern national border.

http://www.museumsnett.no/norsk/museer/museum.html?instnummer=976

The Museum of Reconstruction in Hammerfest
The museum’s exhibition presents the dramatic events of World War II: forced evacuation, burning and reconstruction. See how the people – with optimism, determination and a strong belief in the future – created their new homes.

http://www.museumsnett.no/gjenreisningsmuseet/Innledning.htm

Tromsø University Museum
Tromsø University Museum is a regional museum as well as the university museum for the University of Tromsø. In addition to its focus on regional flora and fauna, the museum has a large exhibit on Sami institution-building, or "Becoming a Nation", and a collection of artefacts representing traditional and historical Sami ways of life.

http://www.imv.uit.no/

photo: Hálddetoppen
(Alta Kommune)

photo: The bar at the Ice Hotel, Alta
(Michal Aase)

Hálddetoppen
Hálddetoppen is 900 meters above sea level and was the world centre for northern lights research at the beginning of the last century. On the old path to the top you can feel the history of the place. The walk to the top is well worth taking, but you should be in relatively good physical shape and allow approximately 3 hours for the walk. At the top of the mountain you will find the old mansion where the families of several of the northern lights researchers lived. The mansion burned during the war and has been partly restored. The northern lights observatory has been rebuilt and modernised, and now contains beds for overnight guests and a fully equipped kitchen. The observatory can be rented through Alta Museum. Phone: +47 78 45 63 30.

Sautso, or Alta River
Sautso is Northern Europe’s largest canyon and clearly worth a visit. It can be reached on foot and there are boat trips on the river arranged by Cavzo Safari, which depart from Maze in the summer season.

The ice hotel
In the winter, the Northern Lights Igloo is built 15km from the centre of Alta.

http://www.alta-friluftspark.no/iglooen/inngang.htm

It contains sleeping alcoves covered in reindeer hides, a bar, and a sitting room decorated by ice sculptors of repute. You can book an exotic overnight stay or visit the hotel in the day-time for a refreshing experience.

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Sami Culture procurement

photo: The "Vølundda muitalus" show
(Harry Johansen - VISOT)

Sami Theatre
Beaivvás Sami Theatre performs in the Sami language and bases its productions on historical/mythical material as well as on more contemporary issues. The theatre’s productions have a reputation for being important and innovative.

http://www.beaivvas.com/

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Festivals

photo: Mari Boine in consert at The Easter Festival
(Per Chr. Biti)

The Easter Festival in Karasjok and Kautokeino is an annual event with a long history. Easter was the time of year when people from different parts of Sápmi (the Sami settlement area) convened in the reindeer towns of Karasjok and Kautokeino. They celebrated the end of a long winter, the religious holiday, and last but not least, it was a time for weddings. Today’s Easter celebrations are still religious in character, but this is also the time for Sami cultural events. The Sami Grand Prix (a music contest along the lines of the Eurovision Song Contest), which takes place in Kautokeino on Easter Friday, is undoubtedly one of the highlights. Another major attraction is the annual reindeer race. Visitors are encouraged to enter in the "tourist class", an event that brings out smiles all round. This is a must – and don’t forget to bring your camera!

The festival also includes a large number of concerts, theatre performances and exhibitions, covering a range of different activities, from youthful techno-parties, to the mystical performances of the Beaivvá_ Theatre – which often performs in beautiful sets made of snow with the northern lights as a dramatic backdrop – to modern and traditional art. Here you find all the dramatic diversity Sápmi has to offer.

http://www.saami-easterfestival.org
http://www.koas.no/indexN.html

Pictures from the Easter Festival are available at the following address:

http://www.itek.norut.no/project/olar/paaskef.html

Riddu Riddu Sea-Sami cultural festival enjoys a great international appeal and brings together both young and old for a magnificent cultural event in late July/early August. The programme changes from year to year, but the festival’s popularity keeps increasing. Several thousand people from all over Fennoscandia now visit the event.

http://home0.c2i.net/riddu/

Nordkappfestivalen (the North Cape Festival) takes place in Nordkapp Municipality. Events include cabaret, dance and music performances, in which a large number of local people perform. There is also a food festival featuring delicious dishes made from fish and seafood.

http://www.kulturskolen.no/nordkapp/festivalen.htm

The Varanger Festival is quite a large jazz festival. There are about 35 events each year. The festival includes concerts, club evenings, jazz cruises on the Coastal Steamer, seminars, a street parade, activities for children and teenagers, hikes, pictorial art and theatre performances.

http://www.varangerfestivalen.no/

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Other attractions

Sami music

http://www.transjoik.com/norsk.html : Transjoik
http://www.jus.uit.no/ansatte/somby/juigosatNO.html : Ande Somby
http://www.jienat.com/engindex.html : Jienat - Marit Hætta Øverli & Andreas Fliflet

Older Sami documentary films:

Read about Sami language films (in America)
Watch old films about the Sami
Norsk Folkemuseum – the Sami collection

Finnmarksløpet (The Finnmark Race)
The longest sled-dog race in Europe, which is over 1,000km long, follows the old postal route across the Finnmark Plateau in March each year. This is one of the longest wilderness races in the world, and it attracts international participation and interest.

http://www.finnmarkslopet.no

Pictures from Finnmarkløpet are available at the following address:

http://www.itek.norut.no/project/olar/finnmark.html

photo: Juhls' Silvergallery, Kautokeino

Juhls' Silver Gallery
Kautokeino
The home of fine craftsmanship. Finnmarks's first silversmith (established in 1959) offers traditional and exclusive modern jewellery made on the premises. International art and handicrafts are presented in a beutiful, special and unique setting. This is an architectural attraction, developed by Frank and Regine Juhls themselves for 43 years. Free admisson and guided tour. Simple café.
Opening times: daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peak season: June 10 - Aug 10, 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

  Web: www.juhls.no

Europe’s northernmost point
The North Cape has been visited and claimed for centuries. Ultima Thule, or the end of the world, has always held a magical attraction for travellers, even today. A visit to the North Cape can be combined with a glimpse into the lives of the people of the coast, or you can visit the magnificent Gjessværstappan, where dozens of white-tailed sea eagles can be seen hovering above, keeping an eye on the visitors. Honningsvåg, a modern fishing port, is also worth a visit.

http://www.nordkapp.com/no/serverdig.html

If you would like more information about Norway’s northernmost counties, try the following links:

http://www.finnmark-f.kommune.no/
http://www.finnmark.net/
http://www.finnmarkdagblad.no/
http://www.finnmarken.no/
http://www.infonuorra.unginfo.no/ (Kautokeino)
http://www.infonuorra.com/ (Karasjok)

Om du ønsker innsyn i flere av de nordlige fylkene finner du disse innslagene her:

The Northern Lights Route is a University of Tromsø website which provides information about the history and traditions of the Northern regions. This cultural route is also part of a larger European project, which traces the cultural routes of earlier times.

http://www.ub.uit.no/northernlights/

The Green Arctic
More information about the Northern regions can be found at this address:

http://www.nord-trondelag-f.kommune.no/arktis/gen.html

Sami media
This link gives access to Sami language newspapers:

Min Áigi www.minaigi.no
Assu www.finnmark.net/assu/
Sagat www.sagat.no

Other Sami news links:

www.samipress.net
www.samiradio.org

Listen to Sami language news at:

http://www.nrk.no/nettradio/

Other Sami links:

http://www.kautokeino.com/
http://www.infonuorra.com/
http://www.saamiweb.org

The weather in western Finnmark – try:

http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/Kautokeino_NO_c.html ,og
http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/Karasjok_NO_c.html

Fishing statistics for the Finnmark river systems:

http://www.finnmark.net/fiske/statistikk.htm

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