Coming of Age in Sami Culture
Historic Sami parents taught their children everything they needed to know to survive and raise their own families. Child-rearing did not follow a rigid development schedule. Instead, Sami children took…
Traditional Sami Childhoods
Historic Sami parents taught their children everything they needed to know to survive and raise their own families. Child-rearing did not follow a rigid development schedule. Instead, Sami children took on new tasks as they were ready for them. Critical thinking was more important than rote knowledge. Children were encouraged to follow their parents, observe, and ask questions. Mothers and fathers imparted wisdom through storytelling and encouraged independence over obedience.
Children typically learned the trades of their parents. Mountain Sami children, for example, learned to lasso and handle reindeer. Coastal Sami focused more on fishing and textiles.[1][2] Kids roamed freely as soon as they could safely do so, playing games and practicing their lassoing in groups. At night, they knew to return home to avoid fearsome stallo trolls.[3]
Education and Sami Identity in the Modern Era
After their Christian conversion, the lifestyles of Sami children began to change. Missionary schools kept children from their parents for much of the year. Teachers encouraged children to speak in majority languages at the expense of their own. This took place over multiple generations, endangering Sami languages in many parts of Sapmi. In more recent decades, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have worked to accommodate the schedules of Sami herders. Families can also opt into programs that teach in native languages. There are, however, continuing complaints that the program is under-supported.[1]
Coming of Age in Modern Sapmi
Today's Sami people lead diverse lifestyles and raise their children accordingly. Around 10 percent are still reindeer herders.[4] The rest of the population range from fishermen and farmers to doctors and musicians.
Discrimination continues to encourage alienation from Sami culture. Young adults may face the difficult choice of staying with their communities or pursuing a career in the cities. A growing community of young, city-dwelling Sami has appeared as a result. Their move toward European norms raises further questions about the future of their languages and culture. But even as communities scatter, new technologies allow Sami people to connect with each other and keep their languages alive.[5]
Bibliography
Sámi Learning and Education, Sámi Culture, University of Texas, accessed January 03, 2017, http://www.laits.utexas.edu/sami/diehtu/newera/learn-edu.htm.
Emilie Demant Hatt, With the Lapps in the High Mountains: A Woman Among the Sami, 1907-1908, trans. Barbara Sjoholm (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2013) 21-24.
Linda Raedisch, The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year (Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications, 2013).
Ilan Kelman and Marius Warg Næss, "Climate Change and Displacement for Indigenous Communities in Arctic Scandinavia," (2013).
Holly Young, "Reindeer Herders, an App and the Fight to Save a Language," The Guardian, December 22, 2014, Guardian News and Media, accessed May 16, 2017.
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