Sami Reindeer Finnmark [2018]
77 images Created 17 Dec 2018
SAMI REINDEER. FINNMARK. NORWAY.
About 100.000 indigenous Sami People live in Northern Europe. Half of them in the remote province of Finnmark, Norway, up north of the Artic Circle. Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding but only a 10% of them are actually conected to reindeer.
I met Eire family in the vast taiga of Kautokeino, full of snow, in the middle of winter, at -20ºC; to show me the real life of the reindeer, reindeer herders and reindeer husbandry. They drive the last snowmobiles to follow the herds, and 2 or 3 times a year get the reindeers in a temporary fence to mark them or separate them by family owners. Then, they drive them into the right fields free to eat.
All the members of the families, children, youngs and adults work hard together as has been done for millenia, from generation to generation. Some reindeers are slaughtered just there to eat the meat.
Reindeer husbandry today in Norway is a small industry on a national scale, but in a Sami and local context, it has great importance. Reindeer husbandry is not only important economically and in employment terms, it is also one of the most important parts of the Sami culture.
Loss of pastures, encroachments, predation and global climate change are the main risks on the survival of this ancient tradition.
About 100.000 indigenous Sami People live in Northern Europe. Half of them in the remote province of Finnmark, Norway, up north of the Artic Circle. Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding but only a 10% of them are actually conected to reindeer.
I met Eire family in the vast taiga of Kautokeino, full of snow, in the middle of winter, at -20ºC; to show me the real life of the reindeer, reindeer herders and reindeer husbandry. They drive the last snowmobiles to follow the herds, and 2 or 3 times a year get the reindeers in a temporary fence to mark them or separate them by family owners. Then, they drive them into the right fields free to eat.
All the members of the families, children, youngs and adults work hard together as has been done for millenia, from generation to generation. Some reindeers are slaughtered just there to eat the meat.
Reindeer husbandry today in Norway is a small industry on a national scale, but in a Sami and local context, it has great importance. Reindeer husbandry is not only important economically and in employment terms, it is also one of the most important parts of the Sami culture.
Loss of pastures, encroachments, predation and global climate change are the main risks on the survival of this ancient tradition.
