Day 26 (4 April): Rovaniemi

Although I've associated Rovaniemi with Lapland and Lapland with Finland in my brain, Lapland does actually span more than just the top part of Finland (which is called Suomi by the Finns - how ridiculous that we anglicise country names so much they are nothing like their original. Such a destructive british thing to do 😞). In 33 days, that's where we will be! So this post is all about Lapland - and wow have I learned a lot researching for it!

Lapland on ice. I expect it will be slightly less icy when we are there, but it's possible it will be just like this.

Lapland is a vast region spanning four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. We'll have already technically been to Lapland, when we were in the north of Norway. Historically, Lapland (or Sápmi, as it is called by the indigenous Sámi people) has been home to the Sámi for thousands of years, long before modern national borders were drawn. The region has been inhabited for over 10,000 years, with early hunter-gatherers following reindeer migrations. The Sámi people are the original inhabitants and developed a unique nomadic culture based on reindeer herding, fishing, and hunting.

From the 1100s, Scandinavian and Russian influence grew as Norway, Sweden, and Novgorod (a medieval Russian state) began taxing the Sámi. Christianity spread through missionary efforts, but Sámi shamanistic traditions persisted. Between the 1600s and 1800s, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Russia competed for control of Lapland. The Treaty of Strömstad (1751) recognised Sámi rights to move freely across borders for reindeer herding.

More recently (1800s-1900s), and in sadly familiar circumstances, governments in Finland, Sweden, and Norway enforced assimilation policies, banning Sámi languages in schools and discouraging traditional practices. Industrialisation, forestry, and mining threatened Sámi lands. In better news though, the Sámi began reclaiming cultural and political rights from the 1900s.

Finland

• In 1995, the Finnish Constitution was amended to recognize the Sámi as an indigenous people. 

• The Sámi Parliament was established in 1973. 

• The Sámi have had access to language instruction in schools since the 1970s. 

Sweden

• In 1977, the Swedish parliament recognized the Sámi as an indigenous people. 

• In 2016, the Gällivare District Court ruled that the Sámi have exclusive rights to control hunting and fishing. 

Norway

• In 1980, the Norwegian government appointed a Sami Rights Commission to update the political and juridical basis for a new minority policy. 

• In March 2024, the Norwegian state reached a decision to compensate the Sámi people for the construction of a wind farm.

Of course there are no true borders, but the yellow area depicts Lapland's reach across Scandinavia and Russia.