I am a Sami, born in Finland, when I was young, I inherited a land with lakes and forests north of Rovaniemi in Finland and reindeer. Many greedy people wanted this land that belonged to my uncle, I ended up making it a nature reserve for wildlife. Now i live in France, far from my country but i stay a sami, I miss lakes, forests, nature.
oohh hii!! i’m a sami too and i was born in finland🇫🇮 i traveled to france in february and it was such a beautiful country😍greetings from sápmi🤗❤️ mun duođaige doaivvun dunje visot buori
I'm American-Finnish Sami. I was born here in the US but my family came here after the war, they lived in keralia at the time so their how was burned by the communists. Its hard sometimes because I try and fit in and connect with my culture but sometimes I feel I don't belong because I don't live in sampi
As an American, Finnish/ Russian Sami, living on a Native American reservation in CA, I an sad that there are so many expectations and rules in order a human can express their culture! It makes me want to weep!
@@elijahasberry542 No disrespect, but how are you supposed to be of Sámi descent if your ancestors come from Karelia? This would be like having Inuit ancestry from Hawaii, which is highly unlikely. I’d suggest you read into your lineage again, because it seems like somewhere along the line, your story might have gotten misconstrued. Many Americans with Fennoscandian ancestry claim Sámi without actually having any ties to it (maybe due to them finding the culture cool and unique?). If you truly have a Sámi ancestor, it’s more likely that he just fought in Karelia during the war, and didn’t hail from there. If not this, it seems that you just might be of Karelian ancestry, which itself is beautiful and nothing to be ashamed of! As a Livvi-speaking Karelian, I find our culture, language, cuisine and traditions to be beautiful and ancient in origin ❤
My Grandmother was Inari. She just called herself a "Lapp" in America. My family is now trying to understand what it means to be Saami. Thank you for this.
My grandfather told me, that in the old times, there where also fisher-saami, and woodland-saami. He came from a fisher-saami lineage that hade married to sothern Swedish people that came to work with building the railway.
I've also learned that. From this video i understood that the fishing and woodland sami were no longer considered to be sami by law, as the law said only reindeer-sami were officially recognized as sami. Think to be robbed of your ancient culture identity because of your kind of making-a-living!
@@hexxan007 Yes, that is what happened. People left the fishing- and woodlands, and got educated and started work with other things. The good thing about it in spite of all, is that the living standard increased.
Thank you for this, I know a lot of Sami religion and practices, but not enough about history. My grandmother and great grandfather were native Sami, who came from Finland to the U.S. My father had known of his Finnish roots, and some of his Sami roots, but never embraced them, only ever embracing his father's side, of Scottish descent. My sisters and I were raised still with Sami traditions, holidays, and religion. In 2018, he decided to take a DNA test, finding out that his father was never his real father. Both my father and I have even further done research into our ancestors, looking into records and tape recordings of my great grandfather speaking in Sami and Finnish. Now, my dad at 70+, he is starting to learn about himself as a native Sami, and I really admire that. We are currently learning Finnish together to go to the town in Finnland that my Grandmother and Great-grandfather were born.
I'm touched by your story and i admire your dad, too! It takes courage to discover ánd be willing to develop new roots at his age. You wrote this 2 years ago and i cannot help but wonder if you managed to come to Finland now that the Crestrictions have been lifted?
My Grandmother was from Lapland Finland. Her Father's name was Randelier. My Great Grandparents and Grandma were reindeer headers. They moved to Helsinki and then to America around 1920. I met and married a Norweigian man descended from Eric the Red of Viking lore in 1987. Our son is Sami and Viking. He had platinum blonde hair as a child but he inherited my dark brown eyes. Our son has a tattoo of Thor's Hammer with Odin's face and a skull on his arm as a tribute to his culture. If you have any info or pictures of the clothing of the Finnish Laplander Sami tribe please let me know. Thank you.
@Carrot Ferret And good health and fortitude to you as well my friend. Ive been working on re-living certain elements of the past and from my Norse ancestory. I guess trying to enkindle some ancestral memory no matter how small. I feel alive when I go for hiking trips with my axes and my viking clothing on. Its a feeling that can be felt to the core and its bigger than myself. Im glad to have met someone from a neighboring Scandinavian culture to share our experiances.
@Carrot Ferret Thats some ancient Sámi wisdom right there! :) My apologies we will have to find a better way to communicate. Thank you for sharing the quote. Much respect to you and your culture. Blessings of good health and well-being to you. A prosperous new year as well.
Wilhelm Lindberg, that literally has nothing to do with what he said. He probably means never forget the racism and that people tried to exterminate the Sami’s.
“Tried to exterminate” haha! If the Swedes had wanted to exterminate the Samis it would have been done within a year. My point towards “Jeff McCormack” is that no one with that name knows fuck all about the sami
Wilhelm Lindberg didn’t say Swedes. What exactly is your point by saying that we would be done within a year? Are you even Sami Wilhelm? And so what if Jeff haven’t fucking herded a lot of reindeer
@@wilhelmh9495 And neither have i. But i speak the sami language and have my entire life. I've grown up in this culture and it's what i know and feel familiar with. Herding reindeer didn't become a way of live before around the 1600s around here. Before that it was purely hunting, fishing and gathering things like berries. Not everyone started to her reindeer, and while it is is a defining part of our culture it is *far* from being our entire culture. It's like expecting every norwegian to be a fisherman, it's fucking ridiculous and stupid.
Don’t be bothered by reindeers, brother. My family have been sea samis for generations. It’s the culture and values and closeness to nature that you bring from your ancestors. Reindeer herding is just one part of a bigger picture.
@@Skelldr I'm Alerius and I'm an adventurer from Greece and I've lived with many tribes across the world , But I've never experienced Living with the sami , I Wanted To know Does Your Great People Welcome An Outsider to Live Among them ? Cuz I'll Be Honored To Call My Self a Sami . Thanks For Reading Brother .
Skelid amongst my ancestors of the Orkney Islands (north scotland) there were stories of seal or selkie folk who would sometimes come off the sea and walk on the land...one story has the seal folk saving 2 young girls caught by an incoming tide cutting off there route to home. In further researching these folk tales for my PhD here in Canada where my Great grandparents moved to, I discovered that the seal folk or selkiefolk were most likely seafaring Sami. Your comment was the first I've heard of sea Samis. Did they use vessels with sealskins up over them for protection in the north sea? Faces showing (somewhat like the inuit in their kayaks?) I'm curious because to the Scots they looked to be one with their craft, which gave rise to the legends and myths. Thanks.
This is so beautiful, powerful and heart-breaking. It speaks directly to me and my own struggle with identity, as an Australian, of Irish descent - deeply connected to my Irish cultural roots - but feeling like an 'outsider' in the company of some Irish born folk. It also resonates with the horrible situation here for First Nations people and their story of attempted genocide and massive programs of assimilation. It is such a terrible way to treat a people, with devastating, long-lasting impact. Yet, these cultures should be honoured and respected. Much love and respect to all Sami people!
@Amalie Olsdatter @Amalie Olsdatter Ah okay. Is Indigenous a better word for the Saami people? Or what other descriptor is used? But the people that Heart Storytelling is referring to are First Nations people, the (Australian) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
We are all over the world now. Many Saami migrated to America to start new with new opportunities but we are still Saami. Many homesteaded in Montana and built homes in our traditional ways. My grandfather pointed places out to me when I was young in the 1950s. We farmed and ranched. That life has changed so much now too. We need to have a website where we all are welcome no matter what country we live in. My family never herded in this country but that doesn’t make me any less of a Saami.
I am Sami and Wampanoag. My Sami Great-grandfather was lied to by the US government in order to teach Alaskan Indigenous peoples to manage reindeer as a protein source. When the teaching was complete, the US government broke their promise and left the Sami stranded.
Great film. When I lived in Oslo in1962 & 1964 teaching TM we had a Sami in the house called Aslak. I remember someone telling they were allegedly very connected to nature.. Aslak signed the silver wedding gift trowel that was bought for me and I treasure it still.
My biggest takeaway from this wonderful video is how fragile is the individual identity of each human being in a world that seeks to generalize in order to understand. What a blessing it would be to really sit down and become thoroughly acquainted with every person we meet, in lieu of trying to "define" people according to labels or identities determined by others! And all the more so the have others seek to really know me, as an individual and not as a representative of all the "groups" to which I am determined to "belong". This is a beautiful documentary.
Yes, the plurality of the human species and the differences between us are our true strength as people. We should teach our children to be their own person, have their own views, not even the parents' views and celebrate individuality.
How powerful, beautiful and brave to open dialogue on how the remaining community hurts from the disconnect, you can see it in his face :( but this can be an amazing thing because this could bring to light a way for the rest of the Sami community to connect and expand what it means to be Sami, and help us who are working to reconnect from diaspora, all of the other elements of our culture that aren't emphasized, so that we can further enrich coming back into our lost heritage, I guess similar to the way that the people living in Sapmi are having to do on a greater scale as they are reconnecting to what was taken from them and lost. All my love to Sapmi and those who refuse to be defined by mainstream stereotypes, and thank you for being so courageous!
Sapmi has never been the samis home country, we native white germanics came to Scandinavia first, they have never been native, stop feeling sorry for them when it is we white swedes who suffer (expecting comments from angry whitehating samis)
@@s66s46 North Germanic folk are indeed native to the region of Scandinavia in a sense that the identity, language and culture of Germanic people developed in southern Scandinavia. Sami are also native in this sense since their identity, culture and language developed in modern Scandinavia and Finland. Finns are also native to Finland in this sense and you get the point. People seem to mix the terms indigenous and native with each other and think other groups in Scandinavia and Finland aren't native to the region just because the Sami are the only ones labeled as "indigenous".
I am half Ojibwa and half Finn from Canada. I’m registered status native and can relate to this on so many levels. Growing up in regular Canadian society, I’d deal with the usual prejudice that comes with being an “Indian “ here. And after I got my status back ( we had lost our status generations before cause in order for a native to buy a house or own property you would have to sell your treaty rights) your own people look down on you. Caught between cultures, unwanted in either. lol Mongrels make the best dogs 👊🏾 Not inbred
So sad to hear. Both cultures are so beautiful. And as a fellow Canadian, I truly hope you love your culture and your identity. I hope this discrimination and racism stops. We can't let it fade away, the world would be a sad place without the Native cultures.
Great respect toward you, you are unique, because you have origin in 2 great cultures in you, don't allow haters and halfwitt ignorant people to bring you down ✌🍀
The American and Canadian Sami immigrants can tell the same story as this gentleman has described, though we have a very different circumstances. Thank you for this documentary. I will tell some of my Sami friends as well.
Halo! From Mexico! My grandmother was Sami descendent. But when I grew up all they ever said was that she was a black norwegian. She was brown. Mormons went to Norway and converted them and they emigrated to America. Her maiden name was Conrad. She was born in Provo Utah. I had no clue what a black norwegian was until I googled it one day and walah! Sami. I still have pictures of my aunt Elva and Myra in traditional dresses. Yes YOU are still Sami with or without raindeer. Who cares! It's in the blood! I inherited the RH factor from her! What's wrong with herding raindeer?? Good grief we are in 2020 now.
Great short documentary. Really appreciate the production and sharing of this film. Respect for the Sami people and culture and can empathize with the tension involved in transitioning to the modern age, and appreciate the strength of values brought to us from that culture. As a modern people we are improved by the values the Sami culture adds as it blend with the rest. And I respect the urge to hold to your ancestral identity. Thank you, again, for sharing this interesting documentary.
Niklas, I can understand your feelings about being Sami. My ancestors came from Skelleftea and Narpes, Finland. They emigrated to America in 1929. I always believed that I was 100 percent Swedish, but a recent DNA test said I was 60 percent Finnish. My parents could only speak Swedish, not Finnish. But the DNA says my heritage originated in the Ural mountains of Siberia. My family’s DNA has a common origin as the Mongols. I never expected to be mostly Asian. I probably have some Sami genes also. Today I live in Florida and may be called an American. But genetics says my origins are north Asian. You will always be a Sami. I will always be part Mongolian.
As far as I know DNA tests don't distinguish between saami and finnish, so you can as well have saami as finnish ancestors. I myself have 4 saami grandparents, one of them was partly finnish. I have not taken a DNA test myself, but my daughter has. She got the result that she is 40% finnish (father is Norwegian). I know it is mostly saami heritage, not finnish. Parts of the saami DNA comes from Ural, but if you study saami DNA you learn that saami are mostly of european heritage.
My father was Norwegian/Swedish. My grandfather had eyes like mine. It wasn’t until later in life that I found out that Siberian Inuits that live next to the Arctic Ocean are white. Or close to it. Maybe that is why some Sami people have Asian eyes.
This is parallel to any number of Native American tribes, the boarding school, the loss of identity, the loss of traditions, beliefs, and an entire way of life. Very sad, but one can always be proud of one's heritage.
I have noticed many minority cultures under oppression having their identity undermined in the early 20th century. the rich Cajun culture in La., the native language of the Irish, the list goes on and on
I find this so interesting since my heritage is mostly Finnish Swedish and Norwegian from grandparents (and I can also speak/read Swedish) - but also living here in Minnesota USA with an uncle and cousins who are indigenous Ojibwa and experienced many similar experiences of boarding schools and questions of acceptance/authenticity by both cultures that seem similar to this
This is so beautiful. After living 20 years abroad away from the country I was born I always had this close connection call to the native people of the north. When I lived in East Germany they asked me if I was Inuit. It really made me laugh because my hair is brown and my eyes too. Last year I spend some holidays in ume and 1 Sami man spoke to me in his native language thinking I was 1 of them probably.. I don't know but please please reconnect with your ancestral roots, pass it to your kids. Let them see his grandparents and hear as much stories as they can. The world is in much need of reconnecting with Ancestral Wisdom. I do not fit very well in my country and mum said that my dad came from the Comanche region. Hugs and Gratitude for sharing this timeline with the rest of us. All the Love and All the Courage to you All!
I agree. It's rather stereotypical to be expected to own reindeer just because you are Sami. That is like expecting many of our western Native American cultures to live in tee-pees simply because they are Native American. I have Sami ancestry myself (and have largely Scandinavian dna - 63% total - being Norweigan, Finnish and Slavic. I was born in America and I don't own reindeer, nor do I speak any of the Sami dialects fluently. The portion of Sami dna I hold does not make me any less Sami simply because it isn't a full 100% either. Owning reindeer is not a requirement to be Sami. And my goodness, his grandmother looks almost like my grandma - they could pass for sisters!
My family is originally from Jokkmokk, when our land was threatened my great grandfather left and moved to North America. My family was removed of our heritage but were finally starting to take it back
I'm watching this from the USA wondering why his English speech is so clear and when listening to people from the British isles I find there accents are difficult to understand. I read a book 60 years ago about a Sami lad while in school as a child, in my dreams I followed the rein deer herds and slept in the snow covered moon drenched expanses.
culture and ethnicity is more than just one aspect it about where you come from, your ancestors, traditions and that connection to your people and the land if you keep that in your heart it really does not matter what people think.
I recently found out I am almost half Sami. This knowledge was almost lost through denial and assimilation. If I hadn't done my DNA (curiosity only) and seen that I was a little bit Inuit and East Asian (mind blowing since I thought I was 100% Norwegian, and thought it was an incredibly odd thing to be), I never would have known. Even then, it was difficult. Thanks to Norwegian Church Records, I saw that one set of great grandparents were Sami. However, the records weren't always consistent, so there was nothing like that said about the others. However, the other set came from Finnmark, Northern Sweden and Finland, and many DNA relatives were wearing Sami gakti. I know that my dad's side of the family were fisherman going back generations in the Finnmark area. Even though I didn't grow up with this knowledge, and definitely no reindeer, I feel a deep and intuitive connection to the Sami, and it was a relief, as well as a wonder, to discover this connection as it explained so much of who I am. At the same time, though, this knowledge upended my entire identity, so I feel for this man who knows he is Sami, but due to societal rules and bureaucracy, is made to feel not a part.
Velkommen i klubben. Det er mange av oss, selv om min vei til erkjennelse var en annen. Det var en heftig prosess å gå gjennom, med sorg, sinne, fortvilelse, kunnskapshunger, glede og til sist jobben med å ta tilbake det vi ble frarøvet.
I am so happy to see this. Happy that we Sapmi are showing other non Sapmi people that they can't push us around anymore. Showing them we have our own ways and don't need anything but our way of life. My family is one of the few families that still herd reindeer. When I go home I will go back to this life once more and be where I belong. With my people.
The inside of me is home. Exactly. Maintain that and your mother tongue. Deep inside I try to do this. Although I’m only 1/8th Native American. I will continue to follow this path. I don’t care what others say about my look. That’s the outside. None can see my inside. None but me. Stay strong all indigenous peoples and remember it lives in you.
i wish i had more knowledge about sami culture. it is so saddening to see those sami people, they were in agony. good luck from a turkish person, stay strong sami people!
Never, never be afraid of who you are, be proud of your culture, as you are special, like me as a indigenous person of the US, you are a indigenous person of the north, something to be proud of.
Beautiful people and culture. It is interesting that no matter the people, the culture, the location, there always seems to end up class divisions. In this case the elitists with their reindeer and the others below. I guess, as with everything else, when money/value is connected, it usually becomes corrupted in time.
I’m a distant Sámi, I don’t think I can even call myself Sámi at all. My family was assimilated and they erased it from our history. Now the last family I could ask about it is long dead and I feel lost from my ancestry. We were some of the Sámi that were forced down to Sweden then traveled to Canada and from there we moved down to America. It was all before my time but the only other Sámi descendent is my mom.
Vee Bee Don't give up on your ancestry, even if others have, or want you to. There is an inner belonging that no boarding school, or forced language change, can take away. It's in your genes; their blood flows through you. I'm disgusted how over this time period of "civilisation", we've had this certain people group usurping themselves all over the globe, forcing other races into subjugation by removing them from their ancestral land and homes, denying them their human and religious rights, taking away their language, their source of survival, their ancestral stories, denying traditional dress and crafts. My ancestry is an ancient ancestry, and now I know who I truly am... I embrace it, I love it, I respect it, I live it.
... Just because I never woke up with a Dragon Boat at the foreshore and an Ulfberh+T sword in my hand! Does not make me less of a Scandinavian Scotsman... \I/...
I think it's really sad when other people say, "This is my idea of your culture, you have to fit it, or else you don't count." It is always fascinating -- and sometimes heartbreaking -- to hear from someone caught between two worlds. I hope we can someday find a way to collectively celebrate and embrace individuals and their cultures, without pressuring conformity one way or another...
All cultures grow and change and some disappear. For example, those groups that crossed the Bearing Straight and migrated down the coast to the Amazon changed as they went. Change is natural. It is also natural to want to preserve - up to you - and it is neither a good nor bad thing.
I'm Brazilian and I took an ancestry test - the result was mostly 48% of European origin (Portugal, Italy, France, Holland) with 5% of this percentage being in the Fenoscandian region - where the Sami live - Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, in addition to this I have indigenous Tupi ancestors for my mother and part European ancestors for my father. I was very happy to have the Sami as my ancestors and I also have a lot of respect and affection for these nations Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, my Sami ancestors were from one of these countries in the long past. so I send kisses and hugs to my Sami brothers. God bless them
As a Native American, namely a Crow Native (in America), I am drawn to all indigenous peoples of the world. My interest is the common thread we share; the common struggle endured and survived by the indigenous peoples - that of assimilation, oppression, domination, shaming, and genocide. I rack my brain trying to understand why the dominate persons that be, starting eons ago, would devote all their energy to oppress people whom they believe are less superior than they are. There will never be a genuine answer to the acts of the oppressor, only now the oppressed must heal and find inner strength. I am certain of this strength as the indigenous people are still here on this earth!!!
Take a look at the Hopi and Akima's corn and understand how old Sami is. You are my lost heritage that connects with the land but I think what was important was living a balanced life. The hopi has dry farming and corn that lives to serve as the last good examples to the 'progress monster west' way of life that is imbalanced. It's a miracle of itself for something like that to survive. The stereotype is hard to view the same but you should be proud of what you are and what you could do. The Sami could survive indefinitely just like the hopi leading a simple life.
Reinforcing the stereotype? But.. as a Norwegian I can tell you that's the best stereotype, there are few groups left in the world as pure as the Sami and the reindeer herding.
Hi Puro, - I have heard 10 -15% of the Sámi have traditionally been involved in reindeer herding, so what about the rest... - If we come to a second thing which has changed: _a family had 400 reindeers in history but now they have 4000 each, and this gives pressure to nature and to society._
Hello. I am Saami also, and in America. I had a blood test done, and they said I am Saami and Swedish. BUT, they wouldn't leave it there. Though I didn't have other "markers", they (National Geographic) said I am closest to Danish heritage. How did my parents keep this blood? My father is 100% Swedish, and my mother 100% Saami. All my life, I have been different than these strangers in America. They do not understand me, and I have never understood myself. My urges, my instincts.. my needs. I identified with the Native Americans here, though I am not one of them. I have had no land and no family. I understand your struggle. My friend, it could be worse. It is an "essence" issue, not a political one. My life proves that the Saami people, to their core, are Saami. Love from America - the land of lizards. I wish I was there.
some of these dna tests i am skeptical about.. as i have heard some reports they are not always consistent if you got multiple tests done so i am on the fence about giving my dna coding away
I'm native Alaskan. I live on a shit reservation in Alaska. You ought to be glad the Swedish government gives the Sami people at least some rights. We dont even get that. I'm also 16 years old, and so ashamed of my culture. Everyday is hell for me, I dont feel like I belong anywhere. I'm also an atheist, in a pretty religious state. I cant wait to fucking leave this hell. It's sad because, I'm forced to leave my own home. Anyway, this is just a rant.
@@CountGrishnakh no matter where you move you won't find peace, the peace and home you seek is inside yourself. You have to pry it out. Everywhere is a shit hole, we are all cattle to the elite who want us all mixed until we don't know where we came from our who we are and they can rule over us all
Thousands of Sami and Karelians migrated to Ireland after the Irish famine at the invite of English landlords. They were given Irish names and still herd on the landscape. A forgotten history so to speak.
Silver it’s not corrupt if you know anything about being Sámi. It’s a direct result of assimilation. The Sámi have a hell of a lot less corruption than most countries can truthfully claim.
@@cloudberries You didn't watch the video it seems. This guy literally got turned down because the village didn't like him, he had all the right to do it. And the older lady think there people need to adapt and move on not just focus on raindeer.
Yes they are awfully patriotic and non-inclusive, in it that they refuse to call anyone else Sami even if by blood they might be half-Sami They do not let you own reindeer or take part in their 'governing body" if you are not Sami too I would call it racist even
@@silver4831 What is sad about this is that Swedish reindeer herding Samis have adopted a view of who can call themselves Sami from the Swedish government. So it is something that comes from outside. Strange that they don't see it themselves. Presumably they themselves are satisfied with the situation, and therefore do not see the injustice they inflict on their Sami brothers and sisters. In Norway, the rules are different. The right to be registered in the Sami population comes from your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents' connection to the language, as well as from the fact that you yourself must recognize yourself as Sami. There are conflicts related to reindeer husbandry in this country as well, but identity has nothing to do with it, even if you have to be Sami to own reindeer in the north of the country.
thank you so much for this movie!! very important. we'd love to include a few shots in our doc on Sami resistance, could you pass us an email address so that we can send you more details? thanks a lot! :)
If you go back some hundreds years you are right. But it is a long time since all saamis were nomads. Most saami was not even reindeer herders, but fishermen, hunters and gatherers.
@Makeup Minion The stereotype is government enforced and because of it, he is denied what it is to be Sami and anything that goes along with it, like land rights. He doesn't hate the reindeer; he hates being denied his own heritage because a group of people who aren't native to the place decided he's not what he is. It's pretty fucked up, honestly.
@Steve Hunt Yup, it's exactly like that. Like telling Pueblo tribes that they aren't real Native Americans because they don't live in a teepee (the all Indians are Plains Indians nomads stereotype). Some Sami have reindeer, some don't, but they are still Sami; they still have the culture and DNA markers. People don't actually change their ancestry and genetics just because someone else declared some half-measure nonsense as law. We get it even if Makeup Minion doesn't.
@Makeup Minion I'm sorry for the loss of your cognitive function. Fun fact: Calling me a lil boi did not, in fact, magically make me younger or grow a penis. Here I am, living proof that you are completely divorced from reality. Thinking that calling me something and actually expecting to magically make me that thing is indeed a weird flex. Maybe it'll work for me. ~ahem~ *Don't try and flex civilized human being.* I guess it didn't work. Darn. Well, I'm not surprised, though. Protip: Don't get so triggered by reality.
I'm Sámi, and trying to tie my identity to an animal makes me frustrated. It doesnt help there was a 60 year Sámi genocide from 1930 to 1990 in Norway and Sweden. My people have been through a lot. And it is very hard to claim a Sámi identity where the only Sámi people you know are your family.
I am Sami, my grandparents came to Minnesota during the persecution by greedy people. Grandfather always had the sauna stook and ready each Saturday, and all my cousins were there. Laplanders are some the most intelligent people in the world.
Your heritage is all those who came before you to make you who you are; regardless of what you choose to do in life. You cannot - not be Sammi if you are Sammi. If others are not Sammi; for what reasons should they care who is or is not? Denying you reindeer does not make you any less Sammi. You can come to Alaska and be a Sami reindeer herder, no one should deny you, if you chose to; as currently there are decendents of Sammi's who came there in late 1800's shown in other documentaries and they are not presently reindeer herders.
Don’t ever give up. My family once were saami but we r now only part. I tell my children this is something to talk about. The reason is because the educated people desired to exterminate saami should never be forgotten. Fight for your right because it’s in your blood not in what you own. I live in Texas and as they say remember the Alamo because a fight is worth fighting even to all last breath. Never be ashamed make them ashamed for doing what they have done. They claim purity when we all know what they have done.
That you cannot find peace and are unable to express your culture makes me sad. I’m of Western European descent so culturally life is easy for me. However I feel it’s my responsibility to learn of about and to respect other cultures
How can she not? The USA is a shit show of cultural expression until you want to puke from the neverending cultural advertisement. Nothing is sacred anymore. She shouldn't have any issue with it unless she's a white male then she cannot be proud
I am Australian. I look Italian, this brought formation of opinions on me just because of the way I looked. I hope the Sami people can retain their identity and be free. For some reason, I feel an affection for the Sami, I don’t really know why, I just feel it. My partner looks Like a Sami, I met her before I knew who the Sami are. Rob…
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I am a Sami, born in Finland, when I was young, I inherited a land with lakes and forests north of Rovaniemi in Finland and reindeer.
Many greedy people wanted this land that belonged to my uncle, I ended up making it a nature reserve for wildlife.
Now i live in France, far from my country but i stay a sami, I miss lakes, forests, nature.
oohh hii!! i’m a sami too and i was born in finland🇫🇮 i traveled to france in february and it was such a beautiful country😍greetings from sápmi🤗❤️ mun duođaige doaivvun dunje visot buori
Thank you for protecting the land and wildlife that call it home. 🤗
@Jaatinen 75 I am Savo too, from a little town at south of Mikkeli.
Thank you for doing that💛
Much love to you, from a Maya and Cherokee.
I am Russian and Finnish Sámi. Seeing my culture and ancestry talked about is really great.
My son is also Finnish Sami living in Canada. he wants to connect with his heritage.
I'm American-Finnish Sami. I was born here in the US but my family came here after the war, they lived in keralia at the time so their how was burned by the communists. Its hard sometimes because I try and fit in and connect with my culture but sometimes I feel I don't belong because I don't live in sampi
As an American, Finnish/ Russian Sami, living on a Native American reservation in CA, I an sad that there are so many expectations and rules in order a human can express their culture! It makes me want to weep!
@@elijahasberry542 No disrespect, but how are you supposed to be of Sámi descent if your ancestors come from Karelia? This would be like having Inuit ancestry from Hawaii, which is highly unlikely. I’d suggest you read into your lineage again, because it seems like somewhere along the line, your story might have gotten misconstrued. Many Americans with Fennoscandian ancestry claim Sámi without actually having any ties to it (maybe due to them finding the culture cool and unique?). If you truly have a Sámi ancestor, it’s more likely that he just fought in Karelia during the war, and didn’t hail from there. If not this, it seems that you just might be of Karelian ancestry, which itself is beautiful and nothing to be ashamed of! As a Livvi-speaking Karelian, I find our culture, language, cuisine and traditions to be beautiful and ancient in origin ❤
@@derrickhyman872 Why would you choose to live on a reservation?
My Grandmother was Inari. She just called herself a "Lapp" in America. My family is now trying to understand what it means to be Saami. Thank you for this.
Great respect towards Sami people and their culture,no matter if they are connected with reindeers or not!
@Cold Water I couldn't disagree more, everything changes - but I respect your oppinion !
@Cold Water I am Russian-Sámi, but I live in America. You can't tell me I'm not Sámi.
@@backyardbiologist6468 I am American sámi as well :)
@@annliisajulia7885 That's so awesome! :)
🌹🌹🌹
My grandfather told me, that in the old times, there where also fisher-saami, and woodland-saami. He came from a fisher-saami lineage that hade married to sothern Swedish people that came to work with building the railway.
I've also learned that. From this video i understood that the fishing and woodland sami were no longer considered to be sami by law, as the law said only reindeer-sami were officially recognized as sami. Think to be robbed of your ancient culture identity because of your kind of making-a-living!
@@hexxan007 Yes, that is what happened. People left the fishing- and woodlands, and got educated and started work with other things. The good thing about it in spite of all, is that the living standard increased.
It makes me wonder why being Sami is officially tied to reindeer herding
Thank you for this, I know a lot of Sami religion and practices, but not enough about history. My grandmother and great grandfather were native Sami, who came from Finland to the U.S.
My father had known of his Finnish roots, and some of his Sami roots, but never embraced them, only ever embracing his father's side, of Scottish descent. My sisters and I were raised still with Sami traditions, holidays, and religion. In 2018, he decided to take a DNA test, finding out that his father was never his real father. Both my father and I have even further done research into our ancestors, looking into records and tape recordings of my great grandfather speaking in Sami and Finnish. Now, my dad at 70+, he is starting to learn about himself as a native Sami, and I really admire that. We are currently learning Finnish together to go to the town in Finnland that my Grandmother and Great-grandfather were born.
I've seen this comment before, we are on the same path friend : )
That is so awesome!
I'm touched by your story and i admire your dad, too! It takes courage to discover ánd be willing to develop new roots at his age. You wrote this 2 years ago and i cannot help but wonder if you managed to come to Finland now that the Crestrictions have been lifted?
My Grandmother was from Lapland Finland. Her Father's name was Randelier. My Great Grandparents and Grandma were reindeer headers. They moved to Helsinki and then to America around 1920. I met and married a Norweigian man descended from Eric the Red of Viking lore in 1987. Our son is Sami and Viking. He had platinum blonde hair as a child but he inherited my dark brown eyes. Our son has a tattoo of Thor's Hammer with Odin's face and a skull on his arm as a tribute to his culture. If you have any info or pictures of the clothing of the Finnish Laplander Sami tribe please let me know.
Thank you.
My ancestry is Saami and I am grateful for this documentary
Blessings 💚♾
American of Norwegian decent here Blessings to you 🌲
@Carrot Ferret We are now friends. Thank you.
@Carrot Ferret And good health and fortitude to you as well my friend. Ive been working on re-living certain elements of the past and from my Norse ancestory.
I guess trying to enkindle some ancestral memory no matter how small. I feel alive when I go for hiking trips with my axes and my viking clothing on. Its a feeling that can be felt to the core and its bigger than myself. Im glad to have met someone from a neighboring Scandinavian culture to share our experiances.
@Carrot Ferret Thats some ancient Sámi wisdom right there! :) My apologies we will have to find a better way to communicate. Thank you for sharing the quote. Much respect to you and your culture. Blessings of good health and well-being to you. A prosperous new year as well.
@Carrot Ferret I found out my ancestors were sami from sweden. If you want more friends :)
We were here before and we will be here after. Never forget
Something tells me Jeff hasn’t herded a lot of reindeer
Wilhelm Lindberg, that literally has nothing to do with what he said. He probably means never forget the racism and that people tried to exterminate the Sami’s.
“Tried to exterminate” haha! If the Swedes had wanted to exterminate the Samis it would have been done within a year.
My point towards “Jeff McCormack” is that no one with that name knows fuck all about the sami
Wilhelm Lindberg didn’t say Swedes. What exactly is your point by saying that we would be done within a year?
Are you even Sami Wilhelm? And so what if Jeff haven’t fucking herded a lot of reindeer
@@wilhelmh9495 And neither have i. But i speak the sami language and have my entire life. I've grown up in this culture and it's what i know and feel familiar with. Herding reindeer didn't become a way of live before around the 1600s around here. Before that it was purely hunting, fishing and gathering things like berries. Not everyone started to her reindeer, and while it is is a defining part of our culture it is *far* from being our entire culture. It's like expecting every norwegian to be a fisherman, it's fucking ridiculous and stupid.
Don’t be bothered by reindeers, brother. My family have been sea samis for generations. It’s the culture and values and closeness to nature that you bring from your ancestors. Reindeer herding is just one part of a bigger picture.
Hi there men , can i ask you a question about your Great People (the Sami) ?
@@aliriusolympusrage4333 Sure. Go ahead.
@@Skelldr I'm Alerius and I'm an adventurer from Greece and I've lived with many tribes across the world , But I've never experienced Living with the sami , I Wanted To know Does Your Great People Welcome An Outsider to Live Among them ? Cuz I'll Be Honored To Call My Self a Sami .
Thanks For Reading Brother .
Mine too!! From North Norway
Skelid amongst my ancestors of the Orkney Islands (north scotland) there were stories of seal or selkie folk who would sometimes come off the sea and walk on the land...one story has the seal folk saving 2 young girls caught by an incoming tide cutting off there route to home. In further researching these folk tales for my PhD here in Canada where my Great grandparents moved to, I discovered that the seal folk or selkiefolk were most likely seafaring Sami. Your comment was the first I've heard of sea Samis. Did they use vessels with sealskins up over them for protection in the north sea? Faces showing (somewhat like the inuit in their kayaks?) I'm curious because to the Scots they looked to be one with their craft, which gave rise to the legends and myths. Thanks.
This is so beautiful, powerful and heart-breaking. It speaks directly to me and my own struggle with identity, as an Australian, of Irish descent - deeply connected to my Irish cultural roots - but feeling like an 'outsider' in the company of some Irish born folk. It also resonates with the horrible situation here for First Nations people and their story of attempted genocide and massive programs of assimilation. It is such a terrible way to treat a people, with devastating, long-lasting impact. Yet, these cultures should be honoured and respected. Much love and respect to all Sami people!
@Amalie Olsdatter @Amalie Olsdatter Ah okay. Is Indigenous a better word for the Saami people? Or what other descriptor is used?
But the people that Heart Storytelling is referring to are First Nations people, the (Australian) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
We are all over the world now. Many Saami migrated to America to start new with new opportunities but we are still Saami. Many homesteaded in Montana and built homes in our traditional ways. My grandfather pointed places out to me when I was young in the 1950s. We farmed and ranched. That life has changed so much now too. We need to have a website where we all are welcome no matter what country we live in. My family never herded in this country but that doesn’t make me any less of a Saami.
I am Sami and Wampanoag. My Sami Great-grandfather was lied to by the US government in order to teach Alaskan Indigenous peoples to manage reindeer as a protein source. When the teaching was complete, the US government broke their promise and left the Sami stranded.
You should write a book about it
Great film. When I lived in Oslo in1962 & 1964 teaching TM we had a Sami in the house called Aslak. I remember someone telling they were allegedly very connected to nature.. Aslak signed the silver wedding gift trowel that was bought for me and I treasure it still.
My biggest takeaway from this wonderful video is how fragile is the individual identity of each human being in a world that seeks to generalize in order to understand. What a blessing it would be to really sit down and become thoroughly acquainted with every person we meet, in lieu of trying to "define" people according to labels or identities determined by others! And all the more so the have others seek to really know me, as an individual and not as a representative of all the "groups" to which I am determined to "belong". This is a beautiful documentary.
Yes, the plurality of the human species and the differences between us are our true strength as people. We should teach our children to be their own person, have their own views, not even the parents' views and celebrate individuality.
How powerful, beautiful and brave to open dialogue on how the remaining community hurts from the disconnect, you can see it in his face :( but this can be an amazing thing because this could bring to light a way for the rest of the Sami community to connect and expand what it means to be Sami, and help us who are working to reconnect from diaspora, all of the other elements of our culture that aren't emphasized, so that we can further enrich coming back into our lost heritage, I guess similar to the way that the people living in Sapmi are having to do on a greater scale as they are reconnecting to what was taken from them and lost. All my love to Sapmi and those who refuse to be defined by mainstream stereotypes, and thank you for being so courageous!
Thank you for your comment.
A lovely film. I enjoyed seeing something of the Sami people.Thank You!
Sapmi has never been the samis home country, we native white germanics came to Scandinavia first, they have never been native, stop feeling sorry for them when it is we white swedes who suffer (expecting comments from angry whitehating samis)
@@s66s46 North Germanic folk are indeed native to the region of Scandinavia in a sense that the identity, language and culture of Germanic people developed in southern Scandinavia. Sami are also native in this sense since their identity, culture and language developed in modern Scandinavia and Finland. Finns are also native to Finland in this sense and you get the point. People seem to mix the terms indigenous and native with each other and think other groups in Scandinavia and Finland aren't native to the region just because the Sami are the only ones labeled as "indigenous".
@@s66s46 I wonder what kind f kick you get out of this... Btw, i'm as white as can be.
I am Afghan but I don't know why I fell in love with Sami people.
His smile when grandma said "NOoo!" abt having to own reindeer to be Sami touched my heart so much.
I am half Ojibwa and half Finn from Canada. I’m registered status native and can relate to this on so many levels. Growing up in regular Canadian society, I’d deal with the usual prejudice that comes with being an “Indian “ here. And after I got my status back ( we had lost our status generations before cause in order for a native to buy a house or own property you would have to sell your treaty rights) your own people look down on you. Caught between cultures, unwanted in either. lol
Mongrels make the best dogs 👊🏾
Not inbred
So sad to hear. Both cultures are so beautiful. And as a fellow Canadian, I truly hope you love your culture and your identity. I hope this discrimination and racism stops. We can't let it fade away, the world would be a sad place without the Native cultures.
white people are not inbred.
@Cold Water you are disrespectful- this is the true absurdistan!
Great respect toward you, you are unique, because you have origin in 2 great cultures in you, don't allow haters and halfwitt ignorant people to bring you down ✌🍀
angeloglasen Meegwitch, Kiitos and thank you. lol
I won’t. Have a great evening. Stay safe
Hi from New Zealand, Aotearoa. I hear your voice, thanks for sharing. God bless.
The American and Canadian Sami immigrants can tell the same story as this gentleman has described, though we have a very different circumstances.
Thank you for this documentary. I will tell some of my Sami friends as well.
I met Nils Aslak when he was in Canada. A very talented singer and friend to to many in Ottawa in the late 70s. I still have his album.
Halo! From Mexico! My grandmother was Sami descendent. But when I grew up all they ever said was that she was a black norwegian. She was brown. Mormons went to Norway and converted them and they emigrated to America. Her maiden name was Conrad. She was born in Provo Utah.
I had no clue what a black norwegian was until I googled it one day and walah! Sami. I still have pictures of my aunt Elva and Myra in traditional dresses.
Yes YOU are still Sami with or without raindeer. Who cares! It's in the blood! I inherited the RH factor from her! What's wrong with herding raindeer?? Good grief we are in 2020 now.
Saami aren't brown skinned ever. We have light skin, many blue eyes and blond hair
Great short documentary. Really appreciate the production and sharing of this film. Respect for the Sami people and culture and can empathize with the tension involved in transitioning to the modern age, and appreciate the strength of values brought to us from that culture. As a modern people we are improved by the values the Sami culture adds as it blend with the rest. And I respect the urge to hold to your ancestral identity. Thank you, again, for sharing this interesting documentary.
Watching this from Indonesia, I love learning about history, culture and tradition and this is beautiful documentary.
Greetings from a Sami descendant in the USA!
Niklas, I can understand your feelings about being Sami. My ancestors came from Skelleftea and Narpes, Finland. They emigrated to America in 1929. I always believed that I was 100 percent Swedish, but a recent DNA test said I was 60 percent Finnish. My parents could only speak Swedish, not Finnish. But the DNA says my heritage originated in the Ural mountains of Siberia. My family’s DNA has a common origin as the Mongols. I never expected to be mostly Asian. I probably have some Sami genes also. Today I live in Florida and may be called an American. But genetics says my origins are north Asian. You will always be a Sami. I will always be part Mongolian.
As far as I know DNA tests don't distinguish between saami and finnish, so you can as well have saami as finnish ancestors. I myself have 4 saami grandparents, one of them was partly finnish. I have not taken a DNA test myself, but my daughter has. She got the result that she is 40% finnish (father is Norwegian). I know it is mostly saami heritage, not finnish. Parts of the saami DNA comes from Ural, but if you study saami DNA you learn that saami are mostly of european heritage.
My father was Norwegian/Swedish. My grandfather had eyes like mine. It wasn’t until later in life that I found out that Siberian Inuits that live next to the Arctic Ocean are white. Or close to it. Maybe that is why some Sami people have Asian eyes.
Mongols are not Saami and they aren't Asian.
This is parallel to any number of Native American tribes, the boarding school, the loss of identity, the loss of traditions, beliefs, and an entire way of life. Very sad, but one can always be proud of one's heritage.
I have noticed many minority cultures under oppression having their identity undermined in the early 20th century. the rich Cajun culture in La., the native language of the Irish, the list goes on and on
Thank you so much for representing this amazing ancient culture.
I find this so interesting since my heritage is mostly Finnish Swedish and Norwegian from grandparents (and I can also speak/read Swedish) - but also living here in Minnesota USA with an uncle and cousins who are indigenous Ojibwa and experienced many similar experiences of boarding schools and questions of acceptance/authenticity by both cultures that seem similar to this
This video and interviews gave some great perspective.
Very nice film .
This is so beautiful. After living 20 years abroad away from the country I was born I always had this close connection call to the native people of the north. When I lived in East Germany they asked me if I was Inuit. It really made me laugh because my hair is brown and my eyes too. Last year I spend some holidays in ume and 1 Sami man spoke to me in his native language thinking I was 1 of them probably.. I don't know but please please reconnect with your ancestral roots, pass it to your kids. Let them see his grandparents and hear as much stories as they can. The world is in much need of reconnecting with Ancestral Wisdom. I do not fit very well in my country and mum said that my dad came from the Comanche region. Hugs and Gratitude for sharing this timeline with the rest of us. All the Love and All the Courage to you All!
I agree. It's rather stereotypical to be expected to own reindeer just because you are Sami. That is like expecting many of our western Native American cultures to live in tee-pees simply because they are Native American. I have Sami ancestry myself (and have largely Scandinavian dna - 63% total - being Norweigan, Finnish and Slavic. I was born in America and I don't own reindeer, nor do I speak any of the Sami dialects fluently. The portion of Sami dna I hold does not make me any less Sami simply because it isn't a full 100% either. Owning reindeer is not a requirement to be Sami. And my goodness, his grandmother looks almost like my grandma - they could pass for sisters!
thanks for sharing! 💎👍
You are Sami bro, nobody can take that away from you! Your Grandmother is a wonderful lady, very wise.
Here after watching Klaus on Netflix…best Christmas origin story ever. Lovely to learn about Sami. Great video.
My family is originally from Jokkmokk, when our land was threatened my great grandfather left and moved to North America. My family was removed of our heritage but were finally starting to take it back
Thank you for sharing your story
Interesting documentary! Thank you very much for uploading! 💐😊
Absolutely stunning 💖
amazing documentary
This is a thoughtful and beautiful documentary. Thankyou❤
I send you a greeting from Barcelonia (Catalonia).
I'm watching this from the USA wondering why his English speech is so clear and when listening to people from the British isles I find there accents are difficult to understand. I read a book 60 years ago about a Sami lad while in school as a child, in my dreams I followed the rein deer herds and slept in the snow covered moon drenched expanses.
Really cool and insightful contribution! More, please!
culture and ethnicity is more than just one aspect it about where you come from, your ancestors, traditions and that connection to your people and the land if you keep that in your heart it really does not matter what people think.
Fascinating story. Thanks for making this. I knew nothing about these people. They should claim their heritage and be proud of it.
Very interesting to know sami people. Be peace with you
I recently found out I am almost half Sami. This knowledge was almost lost through denial and assimilation. If I hadn't done my DNA (curiosity only) and seen that I was a little bit Inuit and East Asian (mind blowing since I thought I was 100% Norwegian, and thought it was an incredibly odd thing to be), I never would have known. Even then, it was difficult. Thanks to Norwegian Church Records, I saw that one set of great grandparents were Sami. However, the records weren't always consistent, so there was nothing like that said about the others. However, the other set came from Finnmark, Northern Sweden and Finland, and many DNA relatives were wearing Sami gakti. I know that my dad's side of the family were fisherman going back generations in the Finnmark area. Even though I didn't grow up with this knowledge, and definitely no reindeer, I feel a deep and intuitive connection to the Sami, and it was a relief, as well as a wonder, to discover this connection as it explained so much of who I am. At the same time, though, this knowledge upended my entire identity, so I feel for this man who knows he is Sami, but due to societal rules and bureaucracy, is made to feel not a part.
Velkommen i klubben. Det er mange av oss, selv om min vei til erkjennelse var en annen. Det var en heftig prosess å gå gjennom, med sorg, sinne, fortvilelse, kunnskapshunger, glede og til sist jobben med å ta tilbake det vi ble frarøvet.
Thank you from USA via Lake Inari.
Such interesting people . Beautiful people.
love the grandma!
Reminds me of the American government sending the Native Americans to schools like the one in Carlisle Pa, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
Touching. Most of my family came from Sweden to America.
I am so happy to see this. Happy that we Sapmi are showing other non Sapmi people that they can't push us around anymore. Showing them we have our own ways and don't need anything but our way of life. My family is one of the few families that still herd reindeer. When I go home I will go back to this life once more and be where I belong. With my people.
Suohta gullat ahte leat ain eara boazodoallit dan hejos, váivves mailmmis.
great! be proud!
Interesting documentary.
Great stuff
Beautiful xxx
The inside of me is home.
Exactly.
Maintain that and your mother tongue.
Deep inside I try to do this. Although I’m only 1/8th Native American.
I will continue to follow this path.
I don’t care what others say about my look. That’s the outside. None can see my inside.
None but me. Stay strong all indigenous peoples and remember it lives in you.
I love the Samy peaple. ❤️❤️
i wish i had more knowledge about sami culture. it is so saddening to see those sami people, they were in agony. good luck from a turkish person, stay strong sami people!
Their language is so beautiful and unique
Never, never be afraid of who you are, be proud of your culture, as you are special, like me as a indigenous person of the US, you are a indigenous person of the north, something to be proud of.
Beautiful people and culture. It is interesting that no matter the people, the culture, the location, there always seems to end up class divisions. In this case the elitists with their reindeer and the others below. I guess, as with everything else, when money/value is connected, it usually becomes corrupted in time.
Nice life style.
I’m a distant Sámi, I don’t think I can even call myself Sámi at all. My family was assimilated and they erased it from our history. Now the last family I could ask about it is long dead and I feel lost from my ancestry. We were some of the Sámi that were forced down to Sweden then traveled to Canada and from there we moved down to America. It was all before my time but the only other Sámi descendent is my mom.
Vee Bee
Don't give up on your ancestry, even if others have, or want you to.
There is an inner belonging that no boarding school, or forced language change, can take away.
It's in your genes; their blood flows through you.
I'm disgusted how over this time period of "civilisation", we've had this certain people group usurping themselves all over the globe, forcing other races into subjugation by removing them from their ancestral land and homes, denying them their human and religious rights, taking away their language, their source of survival, their ancestral stories, denying traditional dress and crafts.
My ancestry is an ancient ancestry, and now I know who I truly am... I embrace it, I love it, I respect it, I live it.
@Amalie Olsdatter Wrong.
@@22ChampagneSupernova That’s exactly how I feel! It’s nice to see I am not the only one but I’m so sorry about what happened to your culture.
... Just because I never woke up with a Dragon Boat at the foreshore and an Ulfberh+T sword in my hand! Does not make me less of a Scandinavian Scotsman... \I/...
Same with my husband. Scots/Scandinavian/Jew
@@brendagillespie2805 * I believe I am that as well but add German to the mix.
I think it's really sad when other people say, "This is my idea of your culture, you have to fit it, or else you don't count."
It is always fascinating -- and sometimes heartbreaking -- to hear from someone caught between two worlds.
I hope we can someday find a way to collectively celebrate and embrace individuals and their cultures, without pressuring conformity one way or another...
More people should watch Im going to share.
All cultures grow and change and some disappear. For example, those groups that crossed the Bearing Straight and migrated down the coast to the Amazon changed as they went. Change is natural. It is also natural to want to preserve - up to you - and it is neither a good nor bad thing.
Change is not always natural. What is happening in Europe is planned mass gen 0 code of several euro racez
I'm Brazilian and I took an ancestry test - the result was mostly 48% of European origin (Portugal, Italy, France, Holland) with 5% of this percentage being in the Fenoscandian region - where the Sami live - Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, in addition to this I have indigenous Tupi ancestors for my mother and part European ancestors for my father. I was very happy to have the Sami as my ancestors and I also have a lot of respect and affection for these nations Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, my Sami ancestors were from one of these countries in the long past. so I send kisses and hugs to my Sami brothers. God bless them
I am Kurdish ♡ love Sami people
Interesting that the musical theme in the song he plays on the guitar has American country/blues roots.
As a Native American, namely a Crow Native (in America), I am drawn to all indigenous peoples of the world. My interest is the common thread we share; the common struggle endured and survived by the indigenous peoples - that of assimilation, oppression, domination, shaming, and genocide. I rack my brain trying to understand why the dominate persons that be, starting eons ago, would devote all their energy to oppress people whom they believe are less superior than they are. There will never be a genuine answer to the acts of the oppressor, only now the oppressed must heal and find inner strength. I am certain of this strength as the indigenous people are still here on this earth!!!
It is all about power, domination of the land and money. This mans story is my story, as a norwegianized saami.
Me being a sea sámi have been hard. People dont think me as a "real sámi" but we never had reindeers
Reindeers are stunningly gorgeous 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘!
Take a look at the Hopi and Akima's corn and understand how old Sami is. You are my lost heritage that connects with the land but I think what was important was living a balanced life. The hopi has dry farming and corn that lives to serve as the last good examples to the 'progress monster west' way of life that is imbalanced. It's a miracle of itself for something like that to survive. The stereotype is hard to view the same but you should be proud of what you are and what you could do. The Sami could survive indefinitely just like the hopi leading a simple life.
Reinforcing the stereotype? But.. as a Norwegian I can tell you that's the best stereotype, there are few groups left in the world as pure as the Sami and the reindeer herding.
Hi Puro,
- I have heard 10 -15% of the Sámi have traditionally been involved in reindeer herding, so what about the rest...
- If we come to a second thing which has changed:
_a family had 400 reindeers in history but now they have 4000 each, and this gives pressure to nature and to society._
It is like Mongolian with no horses , its not an occupations , its cultural heritage and pride.
@@tomviktorsson5052 because there ancestors were from Mongolia and Siberia
@@joannechisholm4501 *Ural mountains
Most saami weren't even reindeer herders, but fishermen, hunters and gatherers.
Hello. I am Saami also, and in America. I had a blood test done, and they said I am Saami and Swedish. BUT, they wouldn't leave it there. Though I didn't have other "markers", they (National Geographic) said I am closest to Danish heritage. How did my parents keep this blood? My father is 100% Swedish, and my mother 100% Saami. All my life, I have been different than these strangers in America. They do not understand me, and I have never understood myself. My urges, my instincts.. my needs. I identified with the Native Americans here, though I am not one of them. I have had no land and no family. I understand your struggle. My friend, it could be worse. It is an "essence" issue, not a political one. My life proves that the Saami people, to their core, are Saami. Love from America - the land of lizards. I wish I was there.
some of these dna tests i am skeptical about.. as i have heard some reports they are not always consistent if you got multiple tests done so i am on the fence about giving my dna coding away
I'm native Alaskan. I live on a shit reservation in Alaska. You ought to be glad the Swedish government gives the Sami people at least some rights. We dont even get that. I'm also 16 years old, and so ashamed of my culture. Everyday is hell for me, I dont feel like I belong anywhere. I'm also an atheist, in a pretty religious state. I cant wait to fucking leave this hell. It's sad because, I'm forced to leave my own home. Anyway, this is just a rant.
You identified with Native Americans as thousand years ago, your ancestors tribes went West and other tribes went East crossing the Bering Sea.
@@ShinySilverBunny a guy sent his dogs DNA and found out his dog was part French and something else. They've been trying to Saami everyone lately
@@CountGrishnakh no matter where you move you won't find peace, the peace and home you seek is inside yourself. You have to pry it out. Everywhere is a shit hole, we are all cattle to the elite who want us all mixed until we don't know where we came from our who we are and they can rule over us all
Thousands of Sami and Karelians migrated to Ireland after the Irish famine at the invite of English landlords. They were given Irish names and still herd on the landscape. A forgotten history so to speak.
If you don't mind, could you provide a source where I could find that story?
Dude,this is cool 🙂🙂🙂🙂
I have deep respect for the Saami people and I’d love to work with them and learn more about there culture. I wish they’d be a bit more open
Soundsd horribly corrupt to me, didn't you watch?
Silver it’s not corrupt if you know anything about being Sámi. It’s a direct result of assimilation. The Sámi have a hell of a lot less corruption than most countries can truthfully claim.
@@cloudberries You didn't watch the video it seems. This guy literally got turned down because the village didn't like him, he had all the right to do it. And the older lady think there people need to adapt and move on not just focus on raindeer.
Yes they are awfully patriotic and non-inclusive, in it that they refuse to call anyone else Sami even if by blood they might be half-Sami
They do not let you own reindeer or take part in their 'governing body" if you are not Sami too
I would call it racist even
@@silver4831 What is sad about this is that Swedish reindeer herding Samis have adopted a view of who can call themselves Sami from the Swedish government. So it is something that comes from outside. Strange that they don't see it themselves. Presumably they themselves are satisfied with the situation, and therefore do not see the injustice they inflict on their Sami brothers and sisters.
In Norway, the rules are different. The right to be registered in the Sami population comes from your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents' connection to the language, as well as from the fact that you yourself must recognize yourself as Sami. There are conflicts related to reindeer husbandry in this country as well, but identity has nothing to do with it, even if you have to be Sami to own reindeer in the north of the country.
thank you so much for this movie!! very important. we'd love to include a few shots in our doc on Sami resistance, could you pass us an email address so that we can send you more details? thanks a lot! :)
Hi Andreea, Thank you kindly. You can contact me at alanarepstock@gmail.com
Hail my ancestors! The inside of me is my home. It will follow me wherever I go. Saami blood, here in CO of USA.
Sami lerle bir film sayesinde tanıştım....cok etkilendim💛
Sami are a Nomadic people...they are those that travel and see the land and all it has to offer it is a beautiful thing
If you go back some hundreds years you are right. But it is a long time since all saamis were nomads. Most saami was not even reindeer herders, but fishermen, hunters and gatherers.
This guy is deeply bothered by the reindeer stereotypes.
wouldn't you be too? If your entire culture and being were based on one stereotype?
@Makeup Minion The stereotype is government enforced and because of it, he is denied what it is to be Sami and anything that goes along with it, like land rights. He doesn't hate the reindeer; he hates being denied his own heritage because a group of people who aren't native to the place decided he's not what he is. It's pretty fucked up, honestly.
@Steve Hunt Yup, it's exactly like that. Like telling Pueblo tribes that they aren't real Native Americans because they don't live in a teepee (the all Indians are Plains Indians nomads stereotype). Some Sami have reindeer, some don't, but they are still Sami; they still have the culture and DNA markers. People don't actually change their ancestry and genetics just because someone else declared some half-measure nonsense as law. We get it even if Makeup Minion doesn't.
@Makeup Minion I'm sorry for the loss of your cognitive function. Fun fact: Calling me a lil boi did not, in fact, magically make me younger or grow a penis. Here I am, living proof that you are completely divorced from reality.
Thinking that calling me something and actually expecting to magically make me that thing is indeed a weird flex.
Maybe it'll work for me. ~ahem~ *Don't try and flex civilized human being.* I guess it didn't work. Darn. Well, I'm not surprised, though.
Protip: Don't get so triggered by reality.
I'm Sámi, and trying to tie my identity to an animal makes me frustrated. It doesnt help there was a 60 year Sámi genocide from 1930 to 1990 in Norway and Sweden. My people have been through a lot. And it is very hard to claim a Sámi identity where the only Sámi people you know are your family.
I'm mix of sea Sami & inland Sami, I have seen myself as Sami before Norwegian. But it was a taboo in the 70 & 80s when I was growing up. 🙂
I am Sami, my grandparents came to Minnesota during the persecution by greedy people. Grandfather always had the sauna stook and ready each Saturday, and all my cousins were there. Laplanders are some the most intelligent people in the world.
❤️ love warriors 🔥 much respect and Big hugh Fran México. Noyotl hue papauki yaotecatls- yaocihuatls
Your heritage is all those who came before you to make you who you are; regardless of what you choose to do in life. You cannot - not be Sammi if you are Sammi. If others are not Sammi; for what reasons should they care who is or is not? Denying you reindeer does not make you any less Sammi. You can come to Alaska and be a Sami reindeer herder, no one should deny you, if you chose to; as currently there are decendents of Sammi's who came there in late 1800's shown in other documentaries and they are not presently reindeer herders.
Speaks English exceptionally well!
Don’t ever give up. My family once were saami but we r now only part. I tell my children this is something to talk about. The reason is because the educated people desired to exterminate saami should never be forgotten. Fight for your right because it’s in your blood not in what you own. I live in Texas and as they say remember the Alamo because a fight is worth fighting even to all last breath. Never be ashamed make them ashamed for doing what they have done. They claim purity when we all know what they have done.
Who claims purity? Who is they?
Its kind of sad that even amongst indigenous people, you can be not indigenous enough.
the sea sámi have not owned reindeer for centuries, but are still sámi
This happened to the Aboriginie as well. You only find peace when you are able to express your culture. My wife can not where we live in the US.
That you cannot find peace and are unable to express your culture makes me sad. I’m of Western European descent so culturally life is easy for me. However I feel it’s my responsibility to learn of about and to respect other cultures
How can she not? The USA is a shit show of cultural expression until you want to puke from the neverending cultural advertisement. Nothing is sacred anymore. She shouldn't have any issue with it unless she's a white male then she cannot be proud
I am Australian. I look Italian, this brought formation of opinions on me just because of the way I looked.
I hope the Sami people can retain their identity and be free.
For some reason, I feel an affection for the Sami, I don’t really know why, I just feel it.
My partner looks Like a Sami, I met her before I knew who the Sami are.
Rob…
The Norwegian entry for Eurovision brought me here
Same !!!! KEiiNO should've won !
Yeah I’m in that boat as well
Same. Thanks to them, people have been looking up the Sami
I began learning about Sami because of Jon Henrik Fjällgren! Awesome joik'er! (not sure that is the proper usage for that beautiful word)
The sami people are so interesting. I'm really glad Norway changed its constitution to bring sami culture/language back to life and to preserve it.
It's doesn't matter if one owns Reindeer or not.... Doesn't determine if one's Sami. It's MUCH DEEPER.