The weekly Alaska citizen., 1919-01-06
'THELAPLANDER BECOMING MORE
 CIVILIZED NOW

prominence thru the disturbances an( changes in Finland and the ambitions of Finn and German alike to secure certain northern ports or harbors affording access tc the Arctic ocean But the Laplanders themselves dc not possess country which may be said to be political entity. Lapland is Lapland because 1t is inhabited by the Lapps. The region of the brcws ing reindeer, the aerial steeds of Father Christmas, seems to extend in. definitely, among the northern lati- tudes, into Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Norway. The Lapps themselves comprise three main groups, the fish ing and mountain Lapps of Russia, the fishing. forest, and mountain Lapps of Sweden, and the sea, river and mountain Lapps of Norway Some are nomadic. some are domestic. Some hunt and fish; others are set. tied agriculturists. They are all sup. posed to have sprung from some out lying branch of the Finnish family, and to be related remotely to the flungarians. They appear to have settled in the north in prehistoric times, and to be descended from the cave men. As the climatic tempera- lures rose and the glaciers retreated however, the Lapps drove their rein deer herds farther north to the Arc tic Circle. and found there those frigid conditions and raging storms for which they appear to have a par. ticular taste.
 The Lapps, who are the shortest people in Europe. do not number more than SO.OOO all told, and more than two.thirds of them live in Nor. way. The name Lapp was given to them by the Swedes to designate "nomads," but they call themselves Sameh, or Samelats. Towns or will lages are unknown among the Lapps proper, and their whole social sys- tenn seems to hinge on the reindeer. To the nomad type. the animal is as indispensable to Lapp well-being as is the dog to the Eskimo, or the camel to the Bedouin of the wilder ness. The Lapps devote their lives to the care of the reindeer herds, which give them food. raiment, bed ding, and most of their household utensils, and also provide them with means of rapid locomotion. The Lapp is cheerful person, fond of family gatherings and of merrymaking. A contented. simple sort of being he has never troubled himself much about such perplexities as constitu- tions and political parties. He is all but unconscious of nationality. Equal ity he understands only in so much that men and women in the con- munity are equal. Each sex has equal civil and morals rights. and equally severe labor as the daily round, His civil or criminal affairs are matters for regulation under the laws of the country in which he happens to live. while marriages and the distribution of property are settled by heads of families or by the "big man" of the community.
 Far back in the days of their tribal wanderings, the Lapps became na- ture worshipers, but the Christian missionaries who worked among them in the Eighteenth Century induced them to exchange their sun and moon worship and their "good and bad spirits" for Christianity. These mis- sionaries reduced the Lapp language to writing, but there exists very limited amount of Lapp literature, comprising some school and religious books, some popular tales, songs, and folklore taken down from the lips of the people. Lapp education is limit ed, but it has sufficed to work con siderable changes in the peoples habits. Today the sedentary Lapp far outnumbers the nomadic type. The distinctness of race is thus threaten ed, and sedentary Iapp may be already half a Norseman. The Lapp is slowly adopting the customs of his Norwegian neighbor, altho he has re- sisted all attempts of Norwegians and Swedes to force their languages upon him. There is. however. scarce ly doubt that, in time. he will be absorbed by the Scandinavian races He is beginning to use chairs in stead of squatting or lying down, and even to improve his gait, which has usually borne an odd resemblance to waddle rather than to walk. At heart. however. the Lapps are per haps still much as the poet of "The Seasons" described them:
 They love their mountains and en joy their storms;
 No false desires. no pride.created wants
 Disturb the peaceful current of their time. -.
 Their reindeer form their riches. These their tents.