Northern Sami language
While Sami cultures have been present around Kalix for several thousand years, the Kalix dialect is a development from Germanic speaking settlers, arriving along the coast of the Scandinavian peninsula. The Kalix river is called 'Gáláseatnu' in the Northern Sami language and "kölis" in Kalix (spelled "Chalis" by Olaus Magnus in 1539). The name similarity strongly suggests that it is of Sami origin, and that the first arriving Germanic speaking settlers thus were in contact with Sami people, already present in the area.