Artefacts

The Sámi are the only indigenous people of the European Union. The area that they traditionally lived in stretches from the fells of Central Sweden and Norway to the Kola Peninsula in the east. In addition, many Sámi live outside of this area in the capital cities of the Nordic Countries. The Sámi language family has nowadays nine different languages, which, in turn, have numerous dialects. The language that has the largest number of speakers is Northern Sámi; some of the languages are already extinct.

The Sámi and their material culture vary according to where they lived and what livelihood they have. Some examples of the rich material culture heritage of the Sámi are listed below. The list is not meant to be exhaustive and makes no attempt to describe their material cultural heritage in full.