Sami flag
Encyclopedia
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...
, the indigenous nation
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
and 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...
of the Russian Federation. The flag is also sometimes used to represent the territory of Sápmi, the traditional area of Sámi inhabitance.
First Sámi flag
The first, unofficial Sámi flag was designed by Coast Sámi artist Synnøve Persen from PorsáŋguPorsanger
Porsanger or Porsáŋgu or Porsanki is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lakselv...
in 1977. It was used as a national symbol in the demonstrations against the planned Alta Dam
Alta controversy
The Alta controversy refers to a political controversy in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s concerning the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta river in Finnmark, Northern Norway.-Key events:...
; an event which triggered a new era in Sámi politics and has attained strong symbolic significance. The flag was a tricolor structured in a way suggesting the Nordic cross applied on the flags of f.ex. the Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
countries. The colours (blue, red and yellow) are commonly used on gákti
Gakti
Gakti or gákti, as it is written in Northern Sámi, is a piece of traditional clothing worn by the Sámi in northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The gákti is worn both in ceremonial contexts and while working, particularly when herding reindeer...
s - the traditional Sámi garb.
Second Sámi flag
The first official Sámi flag was recognized and inaugurated on August 15, 1986 by the 13th Nordic Sami Conference in ÅreÅre
Åre is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,260 inhabitants in 2005. It is however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the municipal industry is based on tourism, most notably the downhill...
, Sweden
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....
. The flag was the result of a competition for which more than seventy suggestions were entered. In the end, one new design was considered against the existing, unofficial flag - and came out winning. The design was submitted by the Coast Sámi artist Astrid Båhl from Ivgubahta/Skibotn
Skibotn
Skibotn is a village with approximately 700 inhabitants in Storfjord municipality, located on the southeastern shore of the Lyngen Fjord in the Northern Norwegian county of Troms. The village area is located at the crossroads of the highways E6 and E8...
, in Tromssa/Troms county
Troms
or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
, 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...
.
The basic structure of Persen's flag was retained, but Båhl added the colour green - which is popular on many South Sámi gáktis
Gakti
Gakti or gákti, as it is written in Northern Sámi, is a piece of traditional clothing worn by the Sámi in northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The gákti is worn both in ceremonial contexts and while working, particularly when herding reindeer...
. These four colours have been known since then as "the Sámi (national) colours". She also added a motif which derived from a sun/moon symbol appearing on many shaman's drums. While drawings on shaman's drums were only made in red (using an extract of the sacred Alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
tree), the motif on the flag uses both blue and red - the first representing the moon, the latter representing the sun. Pantone colour formula is: red 485C, green 356C, yellow 116C and blue 286C.
Children of the Sun
The motif was chosen with the poem "Päiven parneh" ("Sons of the Sun") in mind.The poem was written down by the South Sámi Protestant priest Anders Fjellner (1795-1876), from a joik heavy in elements from Sámi mythology. The poem describes the Sámi as "sons and daughters of the sun", through the union between a female "giant" (an unidentified mythological entity) who lives in a "House of Death" far in the North, and the Sun's male offspring with whom she elopes. The Sámi are also referred to as "offspring of the Sons of the Sun" in the Sámi national anthem.
Official status
Seventeen years after its adoption by the Sámi Council, in 2003, the Sámi flag received official status in Norway, the country with the largest Sámi population. It is now compulsory for municipalities in Norway to fly the flag on February 6, the Sámi National DaySami National Day
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,...
.
The Sámi Council earlier had full ownership to the flag and other national symbols, but since the 18th Sámi Conference they now share that ownership with the Sámi Parliamentary Council. The joint committee of national symbols also has the duty right to determine new national symbols in accordance with international principles of heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
. The flag itself does not conform to the rule of tincture
Rule of tincture
The first rule of heraldic design is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour . This means that Or and argent may not be placed on each other; nor may any of the colours be placed on another colour...
.
Sami flag days
- February 6 - The Sami National DaySami National DayThe 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,...
, to commemorate the first Sámi conference in TrondheimTrondheimTrondheim , 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...
, 1917. - March 25 - The AnnunciationAnnunciationThe Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
- June - MidsummerMidsummerMidsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
- August 9 - The United NationsUnited NationsThe 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...
' international indigenous people day. - August 15 - The Sami flag was recognized on August 15, 1986.
- August 18 - The Saami CouncilSaami CouncilThe Saami Council is an umbrella organization for Sámi organizations in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Saami Council was founded during the 2nd Sámi Conference held in Karasjok, Norway on August 18, 1956 as the Nordic Saami Council. After the first Russian Sámi organization was accepted...
was formed in 1956. - August 26 - The Swedish Sami Parliament was inaugurated in 1993.
- October 9 - The Norwegian Sami Parliament was formed in 1989.
- November 9 - The Finnish Sami Parliament was formed in 1973.
- November 15 - The composer of the Sami "National Anthem", Isak SabaIsak SabaIsak Mikal Saba was a Sami teacher and politician. On October 11, 1906, he became the first Sami to be elected to the Stortinget, and he was the representative of Finnmark for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1907 to 1912.Isak Saba wrote the text to Sámi soga lávlla, which the Sami Conference made...
, was born November 15, 1875.
Sámi Parliaments
The logo of the Sámi Parliament of SwedenSami Parliament of Sweden
The Sami Parliament of Sweden is the representative body for people of Sami heritage in Sweden. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sami people.-History:...
features a circle in the four Sámi colours, while the Sámi Parliament of Finland
Sami Parliament of Finland
The Sami Parliament of Finland is the representative body for people of Sami heritage in Finland. The parliament consists of 21 elected mandates...
features a circle and the three colours of the first Sámi flag. The Sámi Parliament of Norway
Sami Parliament of Norway
The Sami Parliament of Norway is the representative body for people of Sami heritage in Norway. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sami people....
's current logo does not incorporate elements of the flag.
Finnmark Estate
Finnmárkuopmodat, the autonomous entity established by the Finnmark ActFinnmark Act
The Finnmark Act transferred about 95% of the area in the Finnmark county in Norway to the inhabitants of Finnmark. This area is managed by the Finnmark Estate agency....
has a logo that according to the entity's website "gets it colours from the Sámi and the Norwegian flag, as a symbol that the Finnmark Estate feels related to and responsible for both Sámi, kvens and ethnic Norwegians. (...) The circular shape... refers both to the Sámi flag's sun-symbol and to the solid and safe envelopment of a circle. (...) It is opened up to allow the Northern Lights a gateway into the Norwegian and the Sámi flag's colours."
Russian Sámi Organs
The elected Council of Plenipotentary Representatives of the Sámi of Murmansk Province uses a symbol heavily inspired by the flag: two reindeer horns joined like a crescent, the upper half red and the lower half blue, between the halves are two stripes in yellow and green. The official Centre for Indigenous People in Murmansk Province, under which the official Council of Indigenous Peoples under the [Provincial] Government operates, uses a logo also inspired by the flag: a circle, left half blue and right half red, at the centre of which is a brown lávvuLavvu
Lavvu is a temporary dwelling used by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. It has a design similar to a Native American tipi but is less vertical and more stable in high winds. It enables the indigenous cultures of the treeless plains of northern Scandinavia and the high arctic of Eurasia to...
, a blue line symbolizing water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, and a multicoloured line symbolizing the Aurora Borealis, the colours of the latter being from left to right red, yellow, green and blue.