Last month I went to visit my brother and family in Sweden and also traveled to Tromsø, Norway, in search of the Northern Lights. Tromsø is located 250 miles above the Arctic Circle and is in the geographical area of the Indigenous Sami people who live in what is now northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Sami have ten language groups who live in similar areas denoted by latitude. On our first night in Tromsø we traveled by bus out to a Sami outpost where 350 reindeer were wintering. The Sami are traditionally reindeer herders, and this herd spends the winter in lowlands and when it warms up goes up to the nearby mountains. Climate warming has caused a cycle of freezing and thawing making it difficult for the reindeer to get at the lichen which is their usual food. The herd we visited was being fed food pellets and tourism helps sustain that.

The Sami settlement had a tipi-like structure which is portable, as they travel with their reindeer herds. We gathered there around a fire to hear their history and learn about their culture. It also had a log building with a huge fire pit where we were served a delicious dinner of either reindeer or vegetable stew and fresh salmon salad.

After having the chance to feed the reindeer, take a ride in a reindeer sleigh, and enjoy dinner we settled around the fire in the tent to learn about the Sami people. Two young Sami women spoke to us. They were in Tromsø to attend college. The speaker described their history as a dark story. As she began the history it sounded all too familiar.

In 1860 the Norwegian government began a program of Norwegianization. The government decided that the Sami people should no longer practice their religion, speak their language, or claim lands. This practice went on for one hundred years. Their religion was close to nature, and they worshipped spirits. Now the children were sent to church schools where they were not allowed to speak their language. They could not claim their lands unless they changed their last names to Norwegian names. 

Norwegianization persisted through the 1960s with similar results as in North America. In the 1960s the government wanted to build a dam and flood a major Sami settlement. Now the people organized and rallied against the dam. They had had enough. The protests led to the government not flooding their community, but they still built the dam. Now that they were organized, they kept advocating for their rights. Eventually the Norwegian government admitted it had mistreated their people. They built schools where the children could learn the Sami language and they protected Sami lands. Amazingly, the speaker said that most of the ten dialects of Sami are still being spoken. Although these two women are pursuing engineering and human services degrees in Tromsø, they are very tied to their people and often travel the five hours home to be with their families and to participate in celebrations. Both are fluent in the Sami language.

In 1989 the Sami people created their own parliament which is an advisory group to the Norwegian government in any matter affecting the Sami. They also designed their own flag with a circle symbolizing the sun and moon, so important to the Sami people.  The flag bears the important colors of the Sami: red, blue, yellow and green. The flag is flown on important days such as October 9th, when the first Sami Assembly was organized, and August 19, the United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous People.

We also learned a bit about the Sami culture. Life revolves around the reindeer herds and they spoke of their love for their animals. Reindeer meat sustains them, and they make use of every part of the animal. We saw coats and blankets made from reindeer skins. The antlers provide utensils, buttons and jewelry.  The skins are tanned to make clothing and jewelry. The women explained that the decorations on their clothing signified who they were, which group of Sami and whether they were married or single. The presentation concluded with one of the woman singing some traditional songs. I was most struck with how they conveyed emotion through their vocal music.

When we first stepped off the bus, I thought this is going to be so tourist oriented and I was skeptical. However, it turned out to be an informative and meaningful evening. We didn’t see the aurora borealis on our sleigh ride as it was cloudy and snowing, but I felt well satisfied. The next two evenings we chased the lights by ferry and minivan, and we were treated to dim showings of the lights. You could not see them with your naked eye, but when you held up your camera you could see a green glow.

Photos of the Aurora Borealis by Nancy Kraus