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The siida is a
Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...
local community that has existed from time immemorial. A ''siida'' ( se, siida; smn, sijdâ; sma, sïjte; smj, tjiellde; sjd, сыййт, translit=syjjt; sjt, се̄ййп, italic=no, translit=siejjp; sms, paalǥâskå'dd), or 'reindeer pastoralistic district,' is a
Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Rus ...
reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
foraging area, a group for reindeer herding and a
corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
working for the economic benefit of its members. The reindeer-herding ''siida'' has formed as an adaptation of ancient ''siida'' principles to large-scale nomadic reindeer herding. It is termed a ('Sámi village') in Swedish law, ('reindeer pasture district') in Norwegian law, and ('reindeer herding district') in
Finnish law The law of Finland is based on the civil law tradition, consisting mostly of statutory law promulgated by the Parliament of Finland. The constitution of Finland, originally approved in 1919 and rewritten in 2000, has supreme authority and sets the ...
. The pastoralist organisation differs slightly between countries, except in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, where
kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...
replaced these earlier organisations.


General aspects

There are many other aspects of the ''siida'' system beyond land rights and resource management; for example, the transmission of traditional knowledge through ''siida'' practices and the ''siida's'' everyday dealings with the local environment. The use and protection of traditional Sámi reindeer-herding practices and knowledge are closely intertwined with the ''siida'' system, which is structured around the individuals ( se, siida olbmot); the husbandry units (); the collective and the herding unit (); the ''siida'' territory, resources, and infrastructure (/); and the semi-nomadic or nomadic lifestyle in accordance with the flow of the seasons ().


Sweden

In Sweden, membership in a ''siida'' follows "pastoralist rights" based on
statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...
, and is limited to individuals of Sámi descent. These rights also include hunting and fishing for profit. There are thirty-three mountain ''siidas'', ten forest ''siidas'' and eight concession ''siidas'', divided by historical extent, summer and winter pasture usage, etc. Membership is required to practice pastoralist rights. This is required for reindeer ownership as well, except in concession ''siidas'', where even non-members can own "serve reindeers", served by ''siida'' members who receiving concession to pasture lands in payment. This custom originates in older conventions when reindeer were used by settled local populations in daily life. The economic activity in present-day ''siidas'' is limited to profit from pastoralist rights. In addition to the geographical and economic nature of the ''siida'', it also ties the members together culturally and socially. Based on historic Swedification policies that distinguished between settled and nomadic Sámi, membership in Swedish ''siidas'' is essentially limited to those whose ancestors were nomads before 1886, barring the majority of Swedish Sámi from membership in a ''siida''.


Swedish sameby

Mountain Sámi villages: Könkämä, Lainiovuoma, Saarivuoma, Talma, Gabna, Leavas, Girjas, Báste, Unna Tjerusj, Sirges, Jåkkåkaskatjiellde, Tuorpon, Luokta Mavas, Semisjaur-Njarg, Svaipa, Grans, Rans, Ubmeje tjeälddie, Vapstens, Vilhelmina norra, Vilhelmina södra, Frostvikens norra, Ohredahke, Raedtievaerie, Jiingevaerie, Jovnevaerie, Njaarke, Kall, Handölsdalens, Tåssåsens, Mittådalens, Ruvhten Sijte, and Idre Forest Sámi villages: Vittangi, Gällivare, Serri, Udtja, Ståkke, Maskaur, Västra Kikkejaur, Östra Kikkejaur, Mausjaur, and Malå Concession Sámi villages: Muonio, Sattajärvi, Tärendö, Korju, Pirttijärvi, Ängeså, Kalix, and Liehittäjä


Norway

In Norway, pastoralist activity requires membership in a unit (), corresponding to a reindeer herd. The rights to conduct pastoralism are based on
statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...
and limited to individuals of Sámi descent. Still, it was not until 2007 that Sámi ''siidas'' were legally acknowledged by Norwegian authorities. Instead, the authorities maintained their own definitions of reindeer herding districts, leading to piecemeal development and sales of land, disconnecting traditional pasture areas. Because of this, the ''siida'' and traditional herding knowledge existed alongside, and often in conflict with, official regulations. The 2007 Reindeer Husbandry Act revised the official reindeer district system to acknowledge and incorporate traditional siida units, improving recognition of Sámi land rights and centering reindeer grazing activities on ecologically and economically sustainable resource use based on local culture and tradition.


Finland and Russia

In Finland and Russia, pastoralist activity is not limited to ethnic Sámi. In Finland, reindeer herding is also practiced by non-Sámi Finns. There are 56 s, of which 13 in the extreme north of Lapland constitute the Sámi area. However, reindeer herding has a more prominent economic role in the local communities of the north. ''Siidas'' are governed like stock companies, where the reindeer-holders elect a board of directors and a chief executive officer (, 'reindeer master') every three years, voting with as many votes as they have reindeer.INARIN PALISKUNNAT – Poronhoidon organisaatio
In Russia, Arctic peoples were forcibly relocated to '' kolchoz''es (collective communities) by the state between 1927 and 1940, including the Sámi of the
Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...
. The Sámi were moved to ''kolchozes'' in the ''
pogost ''Pogost'' (russian: погост, from Old East Slavic: погостъ) is a historical term with several meanings in the Russian language. It has also been borrowed into Latgalian (''pogosts''), Finnish (''pogosta'') and Latvian (''pagasts'') ...
''s of Kamensky, Iokangsky, Kildinsky, Lovozersky, and Voronensk, and eventually two ''
raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
'' (administrative district) in
Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...
were designated as Sámi districts,
Lovozersky District Lovozersky District (russian: Лово́зерский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Murmansk Oblast, Russia.Law #96-01-ZMO Municipally, it is incorporated as Lovozersky Municipal District.Law #574-02-ZMO ...
and
Saamsky District Saamsky District (russian: Саамский район) was an administrative division (a district) of Murmansk Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, and later of Murmansk Oblast, of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, which existed in 1927–1963. It was establ ...
.


References

{{reflist Sámi-language terms Sámi associations