Sápmi (area)

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Sápmi


(In Detail)

National anthem

Sámi soga lávlla

Languages

Sami languages, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian

Area

ca. 388,350 km²; (150,000 sq. mi)

Population
- Sami
- Kvens
- Finns
- Norwegians
- Russians
- Swedes
- Total

About 70,000
About 10,000
About 185,000
?
?
?
2, 317,159

Independence

None¹

Time zone

UTC +1 to +3

¹ Integrated parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia respectively, but with varying degrees of autonomy for the Sami population.

Sápmi (also known as Sapmi, Sameland, Saamiland and even Lapland) is the name of the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people.

Sápmi is located in Northern Europe and includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia. It spans over four countries: Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. With the fall of the Soviet Union and increasing internationalization, co-operation across borders is becoming more important and existing county and national borders less important both for the Sami aboriginal population and the non-Sami population. A majority of the current population of this region has at least some Sami ancestry, yet most identify with their respective nation-state ethnicities.

1 Name
2 Area
- 2.1 Administrative divisions
3 Climate
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Name

For more details on this topic, see Sami people.

The common english spelling for the region is Lapland. But in official Sami contexts the Northern Sami word Sápmi is often used, also in english. In Norway and Sweden the region may also be called Sameland or Samiland.

In historical texts the Swedish name "Lappland", the Swedish name Lappmarken, the Norwegian name Finnmark,^[1], and the Sami Sabme have also been used. Finnmark is based on the same Germanic word "finn" which today is used about Finns and in earlier times also about the Sami people. Sabme is the old spelling for Sápmi.

Many provinces, counties and place names in the region carry "Lapp" or "Finn" based names. Examples include the Finnish Lapland Province, Swedish Lapland (not in administrative usage anymore), and Finnmark county in Norway. The present-day Finnmark is sometimes titled as the "Norwegian Lapland", especially by the travel industry.^[2] The Russian language uses the Лапландия ("Laplandia") form.

Finns living in the Lapland Province, covering an area much larger than the Finnish Sami area, use the name Lappi for the land. This name is also used for the Swedish Lapland. Noteworthy is that in Finland the official Sami name for the province is also Lappi.^[3] The word Lappi- appears as a common component of place-names throughout central and southern Finland as well; in many cases it probably refers to earlier Sami presence, even though in some cases the underlying meaning may be merely 'periphery' or 'outlying district'. The northernmost part of the province where the Sami people are the most numerous, is officially called Saamelaisten kotiseutualue (Sami Domicile Area) and protected by special minority laws.

[edit] Area

The area covered by Sápmi lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle. The western portion is an area of fjords, deep valleys, glaciers, and mountains, the highest point being Mount Kebnekaise (2,111 m/6,926 ft), in Swedish Lapland. Farther east, the terrain is that of a low plateau, containing many marshes and lakes, the largest and most important of which is Lake Inari, in Finnish Lapland. The extreme eastern section lies within the tundra region.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Sápmi spans four countries, where the main territories lie in the following counties or provinces.

Sami Domicile Area in the Lapland Province in Finland
Finnmark - a county of Norway
Nordland - a county of Norway
Nord-Trøndelag - a county of Norway
Troms - a county of Norway
Murmansk - an oblast of Russia
Jämtlands Län - a county of Sweden
Norrbottens Län - a county of Sweden
Västerbottens Län - a county of Sweden

[edit] Climate

The climate is subarctic and vegetation is sparse, except in the densely forested southern portion. The mountainous west coast has significantly milder winters and more precipitation than the large areas east of the mountain chain. Sápmi contains valuable mineral deposits, particularly iron ore in Sweden, copper in Norway, and nickel and apatite in Russia. Reindeer, wolf, bear, and sea and land birds are the main forms of animal life. Sea and river fisheries abound in the region. Steamers are operated on some of the lakes, and many ports are ice-free throughout the year. All ports along the Norwegian Sea in the west and the Barents Sea in the north east to Murmansk are ice-free all year. The Gulf of Bothnia usually freezes over in winter.

[edit] Trivia

It is also said to be the home of Father Christmas (also known as Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus). The Sápmi location in which he is supposed to live is Korvatunturi, Finland.