ArticleJokkmokk, Norrbotten, Sweden7 min read
Meeting Sápmi: Sámi Culture With Respect
How to visit Europe's only Indigenous homeland well
Average rating 4.5 out of 5
4.52 reviews
Sápmi stretches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia's Kola Peninsula. Here is how to spend your money and your curiosity in ways the Sámi themselves welcome.
One people, four countries
The Sámi have lived across the north of Fennoscandia for thousands of years, long before the borders that now divide their homeland. Sápmi has its own flag, its own national day on 6 February, nine living languages and parliaments in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Reindeer herding remains central to the culture and the economy, although most Sámi today work in every other job you can think of, too.
Tourism has not always been kind to the Sámi. For decades visitors were sold costumes and rituals by people with no connection to the culture, and some of that still goes on. The good news is that Sámi-owned experiences have never been easier to find: family reindeer farms that welcome small groups, Sámi guides, duodji handicraft studios and museums run by Sámi institutions.
We are not a tourist attraction. We are people who happen to live in a beautiful place and are happy to share some of it.A reindeer herder near Kautokeino
Good habits
- Choose operators that are Sámi-owned or work directly with a herding family
- Buy duodji with the Sámi Duodji authenticity label, not souvenir-shop imitations
- Ask before photographing people, and never photograph reindeer marks or herding work without permission
- Do not wear a gákti as a costume; it carries information about family and home
- Learn a word or two: buorre beaivi means good day in Northern Sámi
Jokkmokk in February
If you can time a winter trip for the first week of February, go to the Jokkmokk winter market in Swedish Lapland. It has been held every year since 1605 and is part trade fair, part festival and part family reunion. There are reindeer races on the frozen lake, a parade of herders leading their animals through town, stalls of knives, leather and silverwork, and evening concerts of joik, the Sámi song form that describes a person or place rather than singing about it. Book accommodation a year ahead; the town of three thousand swells tenfold.
The Ájtte museum in town is the best introduction to Sámi life in Sweden, from mountain herding to the forest Sámi of the lowlands, and it stays open late during the market. Dress for minus twenty-five, carry cash for the smaller stalls and leave time simply to wander the market lanes and listen. If you buy a knife, buy it from the person who made it.
Where to learn more
About this story
Ethan NorthwindAuthor
Northwind ToursPublisher
Reviews
Write a reviewAverage rating 4.5 out of 5
2 reviews- ZDZanele Dlamini5 out of 5 stars21 Sept
Wonderful writing about a place that is easy to get wrong. The sauna-then-sea tip made our trip.
- TTTara Traveler4 out of 5 stars29 Jul
Helpful and well paced. We added a night because one stop deserved more time.
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