The Sami - Sweden - page 719

The red, blue, green and yellow of the Sami flag, designed by Norway's Astrid Båhl in
1986, correspond to the colours of the traditional Sami costume, the kolt, while the red
and blue halves of the circle represent the sun and the moon, respectively.
Sami Rights & Today's Challenges
The Sami claim the right to traditional livelihoods, land and water, citing usufruct (age-old
usage) and the traditional property rights of the Sami siidas (villages or communities),
which are not formally acknowledged by Sweden. The Swedish state is yet to ratify the In-
ternational Labour Organization's Convention 169, which would recognise the Sami as an
indigenous people with property rights, as opposed to just an ethnic minority.
While the Swedish state supports Sami efforts to preserve their unique reindeer-herding
heritage, with an allowance of 300 to 500 reindeer per family, there is one condition: herd-
ing units, or sameby , may not engage in any economic activity other than reindeer herding.
Currently, around 10% of Sweden's Sami are full-time reindeer herders.
In theory, the Reindeer Husbandry Act gives reindeer herders the right to use land and
water for their own maintenance and that of their reindeer. In practice, a large chunk of
land allocated to the herders for grazing is unsuitable for that purpose, and tourism and ex-
tractive industries such as mining also continue to pose a threat to that traditional Sami oc-
cupation.
Traditional Sami clothing, or gákti, comes with its own varied and distinctive headgear and
is one of the most distinct symbols of Sami identity. The Sami can tell at a glance which
part of Sápmi another is from, or whether the wearer is unaccustomed to wearing Sami
garments.
Sami Duodji
Sami crafts combine practicality with beauty. 'Soft crafts', such as leatherwork and tex-
tiles, have traditionally been in the female domain, whereas men have predominantly pur-
sued 'hard crafts', such as knife making, woodwork or silverwork.
Traditional creations include wooden guksi (drinking cups) or other vessels, made by
hollowing out a burl and often inlaid with reindeer bone; knives, with abundantly engraved
handles made of reindeer or elk antler and equally decorative bone sheaths; and silverwork