America and Sweden have some simularities. The one that is the least flattering however is how they have treated their native people. In American, the American Indians were victims and in Sweden, it is the Sami (the people of the eight seasons) that have been the victims. For as long as anyone knows, the Sami have lived in an area that extends across 4 countries. It consists of the Kola Peninsula in Russia, northernmost Finland, the coastal and inland parts of Norway and parts of Sweden. The region is called Samiland. The original Sami area was larger, but they have gradually been forced back.
Traditionally the Sami are reindeer herders. Families would live in their "Låvvu" (similar to a tepee) during the warm months maintaining their herd of reindeer and travel to another location in the winter. And just like our indians, each Sami "tribe" have their own traditional style of dress (Gåkti) and their own language. The migration paths their herds follow today are the same paths their ancestors took hundreds of years ago. Today the total Sami population is estimated 70,000. While more modern Sami live in cities there is an estimated 10,000 are still involved in reindeer husbandry. Many Sami also make handicrafts which include beautiful sweaters, knives, jewelry, etc. From what I have been told, one of the reasons the Sami people weren't very popular was because of the damage their herds do to the forest and farmlands. However, I am not an authority on this subject. To learn more about the Sami, please copy and paste the links below.
http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq23.html
http://www.itv.se/boreale/samieng.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment