Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
And the next generation?
The modern world needs so much, things like roads
and resources from remote places. And with so many distractions for young Sami,
it's difficult to keep our culture alive. Fifty years from now, I hope that there will still
be Sami up here. I am not so sure.
Sami Organisations
The first session of the Norwegian Sami Parliament (
Click here
) was held in 1989. The
primary task of the parliament, which convenes in Karasjok and whose 43 representatives
are elected from Sami communities all over Norway every four years, is to protect Sami
language and culture.
TheNorwegianSamialsobelongtotheSaamiCouncil(
www.saamicouncil.net
)
,which
was founded in 1956 to foster cooperation between political organisations in Norway,
Sweden,FinlandandRussia.InTromsøin1980,theSaamiCouncil'spoliticalprogramad-
opted the following principles:
We, the Sami, are one people, whose fellowship must not be divided by national boundar-
ies. We have our own history, tradition, culture and language. We have inherited from our
forebears a right to territories, water and our own economic activities. We have an inali-
enable right to preserve and develop our own economic activities and our communities, in
accordance with our own circumstances and we will together safeguard our territories, nat-
ural resources and national heritage for future generations.
The Sami participate in the Arctic Council and the World Council of Indigenous Peoples,
which encourages solidarity and promotes information exchange between indigenous
peoples. The Sami University College (
www.samiskhs.no
)
at Kautokeino was established
as the Nordic Sami Institute in 1974 and promotes Sami language, culture and education,
as well as research, economic activities and environmental protection.
