When you think of the Nordic countries, what countries come to your head? Probably Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, maybe even Estonia if you're so inclined. After seeing the title, you now know of the Sami people who are indigenous to the northern part of Scandinavia. There is a lot to be said about the Sami despite their isolation from the rest of Europe through most of their history. Today I will explain who these people are, how they originated, and a little bit about their culture and languages. I also want to let you guys know that I'll be doing a 600 subscriber mock election special, so you guys should look out for that in the next few weeks. Anyway, I cannot give a full and accurate explanation of the Sami with at least giving a little bit of context on where they are today. Being the indigenous inhabitants of northern Feno, Scandia, they number around 70,000 in the region and 80,000 globally. Most live in Norway, which has a Sami population around 40,000, while Sweden with 20,000, Finland with 6,000, and Russia with 2,000, have much the rest of their population. The Russian Republic of Karelia and Muremansk Oblast have virtually all the Sami people living in Russia. Many Sami languages have gone virtually extinct, breaking the dialects continuum that once existed between the languages. Going back in time a little bit, the Sami languages are usually classified as being part of the Euralec group, which includes Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, and several other languages in the northwestern part of Russia. Within the Euralec languages, the Sami languages normally are considered to have their own branch, but are considered to be closer to other Finnish languages than the Euralec languages like Hungarian or Samoyetic languages of northern Russia. Though there are some disputes about where the Sami people originated, it is usually inferred that they originated in the same location as their linguistic ancestors did. Despite this, there is much genetic difference among Sami people, and they are sometimes considered to be heterogeneous, with their culture being a way of life defined by nomadism and reindeer herding, rather than a homogenous ethnic group. In their early history, it is obvious that they had concepts with other ethnolinguistic groups, including the Baltoslavic, Germanic, and even eronic words being borrowed into the Sami languages. They have also been recorded in Roman historical accounts if you can believe it, and were described as semi-nomadic reindeer hunters. Interestingly enough, one of the most notable cultural traits of the Sami is their economy of reindeer herding, common amongst other Arctic cultures. Anyways, in German historical texts they were often grouped with the Finns, not an uncommon thing to do amongst early European historians, and once again the connection between the Sami and the reindeer was noted. In the beginning of the 1080s, the Sami began to have contacts with the Scandinavians, specifically the Norwegians and Swedes, who tried to assimilate them into their nations, especially in the matter of religion. The Sami, like nearly all European cultures, followed a local form of paganism before converting to Christianity. Throughout most of their time under the Nordic states, and also Russia later on, the use of the Sami languages was discouraged and often forbidden, and their nomadic ways became virtually nonexistent, as today almost all Sami lived in permanent housing. Despite this, reindeer herding still maintains a small part of the Sami economy. Beginning in the 20th century, the Nordic countries were more willing to let the Sami practice their cultural traditions, most notably allowing them to speak their languages, which are now used in many schools, where Sami attended. I mentioned that before the Christian assimilation of the Sami, they had their own pagan practices, which were quite unique. The Sami worldview is mainly animistic and shamanistic, with one of the most notable customs that still continues today, is being respectful to all aspects of nature, which they believed have souls. Christianity really had a profound effect on the worldview of the Sami, as they were not aware of the concept of organized religion, and many of their ancient practices were deemed as satanic by medieval pre-suit and counter them, including their beliefs and future-telling shamans called Nualid. Such practices were common amongst shamanistic cultures in the Arctic and Siberia. The Sami spiritual practices are still unique among European Christian cultures, as most have almost completely abandoned their ancient ways, though the Sami still incorporate some of those elements in their way of life. The Sami languages are spoken by around 35,000 of the 70,000 ethnic population, and the languages, which there is not a clear number of, due to their not being a clear line between dialects and language, are generally similar, they're not always mutually intelligible. Though it is unclear what exactly the proto-eurolic language that the Sami and other eurolic people spoke originally, the Sami languages closest relatives are usually considered to be Finnish and Estonian and other Baltic-Vinic languages. Despite their languages not being quite as spoken today, they are still present within schools in their home lands, which encourage their use to revitalize them. The Sami have lived on the edge of Europe for their entire history, but despite this they have developed a culture with many unique traits, even in the modern day. Their language and culture are not closely resembled by any other ethnic group, and it is a rather interesting one that deserves more recognition.