Sami National Day
Encyclopedia
The Sami National Day falls on February 6 as this date was when the first Sámi congress was held in 1917 in Trondheim
, Norway
. This congress was the first time that Norwegian and Swedish
Sámi
came together across their national borders to work together to find solutions for common problems.
In 1992, at the 15th Sámi Conference
in Helsinki, a resolution was passed that Sámi National Day should be celebrated on February 6 to commemorate the 1st Sámi congress in 1917. Sami National Day is for all Sámi, regardless of where they live and on that day the Sámi flag
should be flown and the Song of the Sami People is sung in the local Sámi language
. The first time Sami National Day was celebrated was in 1993, when the International Year of Indigenous People was proclaimed open in Jokkmokk
, Sweden by the United Nations
.
Since then, celebrating the day has become increasingly popular. In Norway
it is compulsory for municipal administrative buildings to fly the Norwegian flag, and optionally also the Sami flag
, on February 6. Particularly notable is the celebration in Norway's capital Oslo
, where the bells in the highest tower of Oslo City Hall
play the Sámi soga lávlla as the flags go up. Some larger places have taken to arranging festivities also in the week around the Sami National Day.
Through pure synchronicity
, this date also happened to be when representatives of the Sámi of the Kola Peninsula
used to gather annually, meeting with Russian bureucrats to debate and decide on issues of relevance to them. This organ, called the Koladak Sobbar, has been dubbed the 'first Sámi Parliament' by the researcher Johan Albert Kalstad. This did not influence the choice of the date as the Sámi People's Day, since the people present did not know about it - the Koladak Sobbar only existed during the late 19th century, and was only 'rediscovered' by Kalstad in the current Millennium.
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. This congress was the first time that Norwegian and Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Sámi
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
came together across their national borders to work together to find solutions for common problems.
In 1992, at the 15th Sámi Conference
Sámi Conference
The first international Sámi Conference was officially opened in Jokkmokk, Sweden on August 31, 1953 and closed four days later on September 3. Since then, the Sámi conferences have come to be important venues for the Sámi across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia to come together and discuss...
in Helsinki, a resolution was passed that Sámi National Day should be celebrated on February 6 to commemorate the 1st Sámi congress in 1917. Sami National Day is for all Sámi, regardless of where they live and on that day the Sámi flag
Sami flag
The Sami flag is the flag of the Sámi people, the indigenous nation of the Nordic countries and the Kola Peninsula of the Russian Federation. The flag is also sometimes used to represent the territory of Sápmi, the traditional area of Sámi inhabitance....
should be flown and the Song of the Sami People is sung in the local Sámi language
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
. The first time Sami National Day was celebrated was in 1993, when the International Year of Indigenous People was proclaimed open in Jokkmokk
Jokkmokk
Jokkmokk is a locality and the seat of Jokkmokk Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 2,976 inhabitants in 2005. The Sámi name of the place means "River's Curve", due to the meandering river that runs through it...
, Sweden by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Since then, celebrating the day has become increasingly popular. In Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
it is compulsory for municipal administrative buildings to fly the Norwegian flag, and optionally also the Sami flag
Sami flag
The Sami flag is the flag of the Sámi people, the indigenous nation of the Nordic countries and the Kola Peninsula of the Russian Federation. The flag is also sometimes used to represent the territory of Sápmi, the traditional area of Sámi inhabitance....
, on February 6. Particularly notable is the celebration in Norway's capital Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, where the bells in the highest tower of Oslo City Hall
Oslo City Hall
Oslo City Hall houses the city council, city administration, and art studios and galleries. The construction started in 1931, but was paused by the outbreak of World War II, before the official inauguration in 1950. Its characteristic architecture, artworks and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, held...
play the Sámi soga lávlla as the flags go up. Some larger places have taken to arranging festivities also in the week around the Sami National Day.
Through pure synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner...
, this date also happened to be when representatives of the Sámi of the Kola Peninsula
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
used to gather annually, meeting with Russian bureucrats to debate and decide on issues of relevance to them. This organ, called the Koladak Sobbar, has been dubbed the 'first Sámi Parliament' by the researcher Johan Albert Kalstad. This did not influence the choice of the date as the Sámi People's Day, since the people present did not know about it - the Koladak Sobbar only existed during the late 19th century, and was only 'rediscovered' by Kalstad in the current Millennium.
See also
- Sámi soga lávlla (Northern SámiNorthern SamiNorthern or North Sami is the most widely spoken of all Sami languages. The speaking area of Northern Sami covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland...
version) - Sää´msooǥǥ laull (Skolt SámiSkolt SamiSkolt Sami is a Uralic, Sami language spoken by approximately 400 speakers in Finland, mainly in Sevettijärvi, and approximately 20–30 speakers of the Njuõˊttjäuˊrr dialect in an area surrounding Lake Lovozero in Russia. Skolt Sami used to also be spoken on the Neiden area of Norway,...
version) - Säämi suuvâ lavluu (Inari SámiInari SamiInari Sámi is a Uralic, Sami language spoken by the Inari Sami of Finland. It has approximately 300 speakers, the majority of whom are middle-aged or older and live in the municipality of Inari. According to the Sami Parliament of Finland 269 persons used Inari Sami as their first language. It is...
version) - Sami flagSami flagThe Sami flag is the flag of the Sámi people, the indigenous nation of the Nordic countries and the Kola Peninsula of the Russian Federation. The flag is also sometimes used to represent the territory of Sápmi, the traditional area of Sámi inhabitance....