The Sami of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the rise of Soviet power in the 1920s. Forced to swap nature; reindeer herding and fishing in the tundra, for life in apartment blocks and work on collective farms known as kolkhozes. They were prohibited from speaking their language or wearing traditional clothes, and their numbers depleted as a result. Today, there are 1,500 Samis in Russia, and only 200 are able to speak the language.
In the rural village of Lovozero, in the hinterland of Murmansk on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, local Sami are taking urgent action to safeguard their culture and traditions. One young Sami musician and activist has compiled a dictionary to preserve the intricacies of his family’s language, while the community sets upmasterclassesto share skills that have been passed down through the generations. All the while they’re adapting to modernity and the difficulties that come with global warming in the Arctic region that has led to temperatures rising by 15°C above average in the summer months.
