Sámi Americans
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Sámi Americans are
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
of
Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
descent, who originate from
Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...
, the northern regions of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, and the
Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...
of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. The term ''Lapp Americans'' has been historically used, though ''lapp'' is considered
derogatory A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...
by the Sámi. Most Sámi emigrants came to the United States to escape
ethnic discrimination Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group to varying degrees. It is a form of racial prejudice, based on ethnic origin or region of origin. ...
,
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
, and/or
poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
. The traditions and culture of these immigrants were further repressed by pressure to assimilate within
Anglo-American Anglo-American can refer to: * the Anglosphere (the Anglo-American world) * Anglo-American, something of, from, or related to Anglo-America ** the Anglo-Americans demographic group in Anglo-America * Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a ...
society. As a result, very few Americans of Sámi descent are aware of their ancestry and many traditions have not been preserved outside of small communities. In 2000, a total of 945 American residents self-reported Sámi ancestry on their
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
. Although the actual number of Americans of Sámi descent is unknown, it is estimated that approximately 30,000 people of Sámi ancestry live in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.


Immigration

The majority of Sámi immigrants to the United States were documented based on their
nationality Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, n ...
, rather than their
ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
. Ship manifests documenting the ethnic origins of their passengers to the United States often labeled Sámi migrants by their national origins, and when these migrants were processed on arrival to the United States, most were then marked as ethnically Norwegian, Finnish or Swedish. Because of this, it is unknown how many came to the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries along with other Scandinavian immigrants. The majority of Sámi immigrants originated from Norway, Sweden, or Finland, though a small number came from the
Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...
in Russia. Most came to the United States as single family units, which were often of mixed nationalities, where one spouse had a different Nordic nationality than the other. There is some speculation that some Sámi women who immigrated to the United States alone were mail-order brides, as
oral histories Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
record the efforts of women to avoid exploitative work. The majority of Sámi migrants to the United States are believed to have immigrated from the late 19th to the early 20th century, like other Nordic American immigrants. The driving factors behind their emigration, however, appear to differ from other Nordic ethnicities. Though documentation of the phenomenon is limited, based on oral and written accounts by Sámi Americans it is believed that many Sámi were driven to emigrate because of discrimination and national claims to their territories. Many were also driven by religious factors, as
Laestadians Laestadianism (; ; ; ), also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and t ...
were persecuted in Sweden and Norway. Initially, Sámi populations were drawn to the United States by employment opportunities in mining and logging industries. Sámi immigrants are first recorded to have arrived in the United States in the 1860s, when a number were recruited to work in the
Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...
copper mines. The majority of these miners were from northern Sweden and Finland. A community of Laestadians with Sámi origins later moved to the Peninsula as well. The most well documented case of Sámi immigration was to Alaska in the 1890s, when a comparatively small number of Sámi herders were recruited by the emerging Alaska Reindeer Service.


Culture

In
Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...
, Sámi peoples were often discriminated against and increasingly subject to
forced assimilation Forced assimilation is the involuntary cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups, during which they are forced by a government to adopt the language, national identity, norms, mores, customs, traditions, values, mentality ...
until the later 20th century. In the United States, however, most Americans were either unaware of the existence of Sámi as a distinct ethnicity or could not racially distinguish them from other Nordic immigrants. Sámi Americans were generally given the same privileges as other
white Americans White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person hav ...
, although within Nordic migrant communities they were recognized and discriminated against. In order to avoid discrimination and conform to Anglo-American cultural norms, very few first-generation immigrants were open about their ethnicity. In many cases, Sámi immigrants actively repressed their ethnic identity. The traditions of these immigrants were quickly lost to later generations. Much of the spread of
Laestadianism in the Americas The Laestadian church arrived in North America with Nordic (especially Finnish and Sami) immigrants in the latter half of the 19th century, many of whom came to work in the copper mines of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Some of these new immigrant ...
is attributed to Sámi-American immigrants who formed religious communities in the United States. Sámi immigrants, along with ethnic Finns, began founding their own congregations in the United States as early as the 1870s after an established Norwegian
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
denied a number of Laestadians the
eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
. The movement's founder,
Lars Levi Laestadius Lars Levi Laestadius (; 10 January 1800 – 21 February 1861) was a Swedish Sami writer, ecologist, mythologist, and ethnographer as well as a pastor and administrator of the Swedish state Lutheran church in Lapland who founded the Laestadi ...
, was a scholar of
Sámi shamanism Traditional Sámi spiritual practices and beliefs are based on a type of animism, polytheism, and what anthropologists may consider shamanism. The religious traditions can vary considerably from region to region within Sápmi. Traditional Sá ...
and had been principally concerned with preaching to Sámi populations. Although Laestadianism has since spread beyond Sámi populations, it is still closely associated with Sámi heritage because of its origins. A movement in the late 20th century which sought to revive Sámi identity in North America yielded two publications which aim to connect Sámi Americans to their past:
Árran Árran is the Lule Sámi center in the village of Drag in Hamarøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The center was established in 1994 to foster and promote the Lule Sámi language and culture Culture ( ) is a concept that enco ...
and Báiki. The
Sami Siida of North America The Sami Siida of North America () is a loosely organized group of regional communities, primarily in Canada and the United States, who share the Sámi culture and heritage from the arctic and sub-arctic regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the K ...
was also formed as a network connecting Sámi descendants in North America. These organizations have made efforts to reconnect with surviving Sámi populations in northern Scandinavia, and to revive traditional Sámi art forms, such as
storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...
.


Sámi in Alaska

In the mid 19th century, the United States government began efforts to teach
reindeer husbandry Reindeer herding is when reindeer are herded by people in a limited area. Currently, reindeer are the only semi-domesticated animal which naturally belong to the North. Reindeer herding is conducted in nine countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russ ...
to
Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...
as their traditional sources of sustenance through seal, walrus, and whale hunting had become insufficient due to overfishing. Initially Chukchi herders were brought over, but animosity between the Chukchi and the Alaskan
Iñupiat The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States borde ...
made their working relationship unviable. Instead, the
Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
were encouraged to emigrate to
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
at the invitation of the Alaskan Commissioner of Education,
Sheldon Jackson Sheldon Jackson (May 18, 1834 – May 2, 1909) was a Presbyterian minister, missionary, and political leader. During this career he travelled about one million miles (1.6 million km) and established more than one hundred missions and churches ...
. As the Commissioner of Education, Jackson also introduced policies which effectively sought to re-educate the Alaska native population and repress cultural differences. With the advent of a significant Sámi population in his jurisdiction, these repressive policies came to apply to Sámi immigrants as well. At the time, many Sámi herders in
Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...
had lost their traditional livelihoods, as they had been gradually pushed out of lands used for
nomadic pastoralism Nomadic pastoralism, also known as nomadic herding, is a form of pastoralism in which livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze. True nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance ...
into more defined regions with inflexible borders. This likely encouraged some to make the arduous journey to Alaska. The first group of herders made the three month journey in 1894, from
Finnmarksvidda Finnmarksvidda (; ) is Norway's largest plateau, with an area greater than . The plateau lies about above sea level. Approximately 36% of Finnmark lies on the Finnmarksvidda. Geography From Alta Municipality in the west to the Varanger Peni ...
, across North America, to Teller Reindeer Station. According to the New York Times, there were only sixteen in the group, and they were under a three-year contract for $27.50 per month plus boarding. By the turn of the 20th century, many of these first families returned to Sápmi after their contracts expired. Some, however, remained in Alaska and continued herding reindeer. The government was once again forced to find new forms of food in Alaska, after the discovery of gold and the Klondike Gold Rush brought more people to the region than the already strained and sparse infrastructure could sustain. Sheldon Jackson once again recruited more Sámi to immigrate to Alaska, this time in greater numbers. In February 1898, a group of 87 Sámi headers and their families embarked for Alaska. With them, they brought 537 reindeer, 4000 sacks of moss feed, and 418 reindeer
pulk A pulk (from , via ; ; ; ) is a Nordic countries, Nordic short, low-slung small sled used in sport or for transport, pulled by a dog or a skiing, skier, or in Sápmi pulled by reindeer.Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
. The group was forced to wait in Seattle until ships were made available for their journey north. By the time the expedition arrived in Alaska in April, reportedly only 200 of the 537 reindeer had survived the long trip. This group was contracted for a two-year period, after which 26 returned to Sápmi. Many of those who remained in North America stayed in Alaska as miners, while others resettled in Washington and the Midwest, where large Scandinavian populations existed.
Samuel Balto Samuel Johannesen Balto (May 5, 1861 – 1921) was a Northern Saami explorer and adventurer. Balto skied with Fridtjof Nansen across Greenland in 1888–89. Biography Samuel Johannesen Balto was born in Karasjok Municipality in Finnmark coun ...
, a Sámi explorer who had temporarily moved to Alaska during this era, sent a letter detailing his experience to
Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...
, which read in part, In 1937, Sámi and all other non-Native Alaskans were banned from owning reindeer through The
Reindeer Act The Reindeer Act or Reindeer Industry Act of 1937 is a United States federal law passed in 1937 by the Congress of the United States, U.S. Congress and signed into law by President of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September ...
. The act was passed by the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
and signed into law by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
on September 1 of that year. It effectively prohibited the ownership of
reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
herds in Alaska by non-Native Americans and was intended to provide for Alaskan natives and to allow them to establish a self-sustaining industry. Authority to promulgate rules regarding the ownership and maintenance of reindeer herds was delegated to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
via the
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...
, who banned most transactions to non-natives. The act was modeled in part on Norwegian and Swedish policies on the ownership of reindeer by the Sámi of
Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...
. Many Sámi had recently arrived in Alaska to manage the reindeer in the 1930s. As a result of the act, Alaskan Sámi were required to sell their herds to the government at $3 per head. Many left Alaska after doing so, in search new ways to support themselves. While many became scattered across North America and forced to integrate, a significant number settled on the
Kitsap peninsula The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Kits ...
in Washington, where a community of Norwegian immigrants already existed.


Notable people

*
Samuel Balto Samuel Johannesen Balto (May 5, 1861 – 1921) was a Northern Saami explorer and adventurer. Balto skied with Fridtjof Nansen across Greenland in 1888–89. Biography Samuel Johannesen Balto was born in Karasjok Municipality in Finnmark coun ...
, explorer


See also

*
Sámi people The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are the traditionally Sámi languages, Sámi-speaking indigenous people inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula ...
* Sámi history *
Nordic and Scandinavian Americans Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans ...
*
Finnish Americans Finnish Americans (, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots in Finland, or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population is around 650,000. Many Finnish people historically immigrated to ...
** Findians


References


Further reading

* DuBois, Thomas A. (2019).
Recalling – Reconstituting – Migration: Sámi Americans and the Immigrant Experience
. In Leinonen, Johanna; Kostiainen, Auvo (eds.). ''Transnational Finnish Mobilities: Proceedings of FinnForum XI''. Turku: Migration Institute of Finland. pp. 49–67. . * Kuokkanen, Rauna (2000). "Towards an 'Indigenous Paradigm' From a Sami Perspective". ''The Canadian Journal of Native Studies''. Volume 2, pp. 411–436. * Vorren, Ørnulv (1994). ''Saami, reindeer, and gold in Alaska: the emigration of Saami from Norway to Alaska''. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press. . {{European American European diaspora in the United States European American culture in Alaska