Sami People And Their Historical Changes In Northern Europe

Sami people are a well-known ethnic minority of northern Europe. They are also the indigenous people of Fennoscandia. They use the Sami language, which is classified as a branch of the Fenno-Ugric language family. Nowadays there are about 100,000 to 130,000 Sami people living in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Arctic Circle and sub-Arctic regions of the Kola Peninsula of Russia.The Sami people have experienced a long and rough process of development and evolution. Although the mystery of their origins is still not fully solved, scholars speculate that as early as eight to nine thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Sami people arrived to Northern Europe from their former residence, and later spread to the vast inland area of Fennoscandia. The area that they lived in was later called the Sapmi. For thousands of years, the Sami people have been deeply rooted in this area and have adapted to take full advantage of local natural resources to survive and procreate. Initially, the Sami hunted wild reindeer and fished for their own livelihood, and raised small herds of reindeer as a means for transporting heavy loads and as the bait to capture wild deer. In order to survive, one or more Sami families formed a siida organization, working together and migrating synchronously, and constituted the most basic unit of society. Just as many northern nations, the Sami have a faith in animism, respect a variety of natural phenomena and natural things, believe in original Shamanism, and have a set of special hunting ceremonies around the bear.The 16th-17th century can be regarded as the transition period in the history of the Sami people. The originally unified Sami people have differentiated into several types of geographical tribes due to the difference in their locations and their ways of livelihood. Among them, the Mountain Sami have changed significantly. They started to tame wild reindeer into herding groups. The reindeer herding economy not only went into all aspects of their everyday life, but also became the central theme of their economy and culture. Meanwhile, the evolution speed of the Sami people's social organization, lifestyle, economic structure, ideology and culture was greatly accelerated. Till the 19th century, with the development of the Sami economy in European countries, the Sami people began the process of modernization, and their social productivity increased significantly.On the aspect of ethnic relations, the Sami people have had a close connection to the Nordic majority with Germanic origin since ancient times. With the influence of the majority in commodity economy, the establishment of the Sami village, the expansion of Christianity, and the policy of national diversification, the Sami people mingled with the outside world, assimilated the advancements of Nordic majority, modified their own characteristics, and improved their ability to survive. However, we cannot ignore the cultural invasion of Christianity on the Sami people, the practice of colonialism and racism in Sapmi, and especially the series of problems caused by the exploitation of Sapmi by Nordic majority. Thus, the opposing notions of contradictory and accordance are reflected in the relationship between the Sami people and other nations, and also in the relationship between different communities within the Sami people. On one hand, defferent geographical communitie tribes provide economic support from each other. On the other hand, they also have some contradictions for the benefit imbalance.To summarize, the Sami are one kind people full of mildness, peace and friendliness. They are dynamically developing and diversified ethnic group. Their history is vigorous, fresh, and full of vitality. The Sami have strong connections with the natural and social environment of northern Europe, and its economy, institution, culture, and social life are continuously evolving with the influence of the outside world, eventually transforming an ancient people to a modern nation. Here we will study the historical change and ethnic relation of the Sami people in the following words.