2.3.1 Who they are
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
2.3.1 Who they are
The Sami people are one of the aboriginal peoples of the Fennoscandian
area, (meaning here: Scandinavia, Finland, eastern Karelia and Kola
peninsula) and for long they lived more or less disconnected from the
European civilization.
They are often referred to as Lapps but they themselves prefer to be
called Sami (Saamelaiset/Samerna) because Sápmi is the name they use
of themselves and their country. There is also a very old name vuowjos
which has been linked to the Sami.
The Sami languages (there are several of them) are Finno-Ugric
languages and the closest relatives to the Baltic-Finnic languages
(Finnish, Estonian).
Sami people live nowadays in an area which spreads from Jämtlands Län
in Sweden through northern Norway and Finland to the Kola Peninsula in
Russia.
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