Sápmi
Cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Sápmi | |
---|---|
Regional | Sami languages, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Meänkieli, Kven and Russian |
Demonym(s) | Sámi |
Integrated parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia respectively, but with varying degrees of autonomy for the Sami | |
Time zone | UTC+1 to +3 (CET, EET, FET) |
Sápmi (from Northern Sami: [ˈsapmi][1]) is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, also known as the "Cap of the North".
The region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. To the north, it is bounded by the Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, and White Sea.[2][3] Lapland (/ˈlæplænd/) has been a historical term for areas inhabited by the Sami based on the older term "Lapp" for its inhabitants, a term which is now considered outdated or pejorative.[4] Norwegian Sápmi was historically called Finnmǫrk, a name used for the county Finnmark.[5]
Sápmi overlaps with several other national, cultural and administrative regions. In practice, most of the Sámi population is concentrated in a few traditional areas in the northernmost part of Sápmi, such as Kautokeino and Karasjok. Culturally, Inari is considered one of the centres of Sámi culture, and because of that, it is also widely known as the "capital of Sámi culture".[6][7]
No political organisation advocates secession, although several groups desire more territorial autonomy or self-determination for the Sámi.[citation needed]