About Sámi Culture – A Living Heritage of the North
Sámi culture is one of the oldest living cultures in Northern Europe.
For thousands of years, the Sámi people have lived across Sápmi — the cultural region that spans northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula.
Our identity has always followed the rhythm of the land, the seasons and the movement of the reindeer, and this deep connection to nature is still at the heart of who we are today.
The oldest traces of reindeer-related culture in the north are found in eastern Finnmark. In the Varanger and Vardø areas, archaeologists have discovered rock carvings that are up to 10,000–12,000 years old, dating back to the very first people who settled here after the last Ice Age.
These ancient carvings show wild reindeer, migrations, hunting scenes and groups of people driving reindeer together. They are among the oldest cultural footprints in all of Scandinavia.
The famous carvings in Alta, created 2,000–7,000 years ago, continue this story with detailed depictions of reindeer herds, seasonal movements, fishing, rituals and early organized herding. Together, these sites show that people in the Arctic have lived with reindeer since time immemorial — long before Norway, Sweden or Finland existed as nations.
Sámi culture exists everywhere our people live. Along the coast, in fjord villages, deep in the inland valleys, and on islands like Hammerfest where my own family has lived for generations, you find different forms of Sámi tradition.
Some families herd reindeer, others are artists, fishermen, teachers, joikers, duodji-makers or work in modern professions.
Sápmi stretches across four countries, yet our culture is held together by shared languages, stories and a common history of living close to the land.
Although the Sámi are unique, we are not the only Arctic people shaped by reindeer. Across Mongolia, the Tsaatan still live nomadically with reindeer, riding them, milking them and migrating through the taiga.
In Alaska and Canada, Inuit and Dene peoples have followed caribou herds for thousands of years, relying on them for survival. Even on Svalbard, a unique subspecies of reindeer lives completely isolated, perfectly adapted to life in one of the world’s harshest climates.
But the Sámi are the only Indigenous people who developed a full-scale, organized system of reindeer herding that still continues today.
Historically, Sámi families lived by following nature’s cycles: herding or hunting reindeer, fishing the rivers and Arctic coast, moving with the seasons and living in lavvu tents or turf houses called gamme.
Borders, modern infrastructure and political change affected parts of this lifestyle, but the core of Sámi identity endured despite periods of assimilation where our language and culture were suppressed.
Families kept knowledge alive quietly — through stories, songs and daily life. My own family reflects this history: my father spent his entire life with reindeer, my mother teaches Sámi history, my sister carries our culture through art, and I continue the reindeer tradition here in Hammerfest.
The Sámi languages belong to the Uralic family — specifically the Finno-Ugric branch — and are not related to Norwegian at all.
Northern Sámi, the language spoken in Hammerfest and most of Finnmark, is one of several Sámi languages, each tied to a specific region. Sámi grammar is built around cases rather than prepositions, and the sound system includes letters and rhythms unfamiliar in Norwegian, such as á, ŋ and š.
Many Sámi words describe conditions, movements and nature in ways that have no direct translation, because the language grew from a life lived outdoors among animals, mountains, weather and seasons. Even for those who do not speak it daily, the Sámi language remains a central part of identity.
Traditional Sámi knowledge includes reindeer herding, duodji (our handicraft tradition using wood, leather, antler and wool), joik — one of Europe’s oldest forms of song — and gákti, the traditional clothing that shows where a person comes from and often their family background.
Older Sámi spirituality was animistic, rooted in the belief that nature itself has a soul. Sacred sites called sieidi can still be found across the landscape of Northern Scandinavia.
Today, Sámi culture is strong, modern and vibrant.
We have our own parliaments, media, festivals and political representation, and Sámi art and music are gaining international recognition. Many Sámi combine traditional occupations with modern work.
Reindeer herding is still legally reserved for Sámi families with herding heritage, but only a small percentage live fully from it.
For many families — including mine — tourism is a way to keep reindeer on the land and preserve cultural knowledge for the next generation.
For me, Sámi culture is not a historical subject — it is my everyday life.
I grew up following my father with the reindeer, spending summers on the island pastures of Hammerfest, learning the land through wind, snow, weather and instinct.
Today, I continue this tradition so my children can grow up with the same connection to nature and culture that shaped me. By sharing our way of life with visitors, we help keep our heritage alive — not as something frozen in time, but as a culture that continues to grow, adapt and thrive.
Welcome to Sápmi — a culture as old as the Arctic itself, living, breathing and carried forward by every generation that comes after.
