Saami, we used to live in the Tundra
Being part of the last indigenous of Europe, the Saami of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the rise of Soviet power in the 1920s. This people who lived mainly from reindeer herding in the tundra, fishing and hunting, were forced to live in apartment buildings. Children of nature, the Saami were depressed at the thought of losing their ancestral rhythms and being penned up. Gathered in the main Saami village - Lovozero, located on the Kola Peninsula in the hinterland of Murmansk city, was from now on considered as a reserve. The villages of Krasnoshchelye and Chalmny-varre were also built on Saami lands to bring reindeer herders together. Settled to work in kolkhozes, they no longer had the right to be Saami: the practice of the language and the wearing of traditional costume were prohibited.
Today, snowmobiles have replaced reindeer sleds, and while Prazdnik Severa ("Northern Festival") is an opportunity to participate in sled races, it's a whole culture struggling to pick itself up. Some 1,500 people still live on the Kola Peninsula, but only 200 speak the Saami language and these are mostly elderly people. Proud of their intangible traditions, Saami people strive to preserve their ancestral practices while adapting to modernity and global warming in the Arctic region.
One of the last Saami hereditary reindeer herders in Russia$1,200.00
Saami reindeer sleigh in Lovozero$800.00
Wood storage$800.00
At the country house$500.00
Lovozero, “rural colony” for Saami people in Russia$1,100.00
Saami traditional costume at Soviet school$800.00
Goods transportation between villages$700.00
New Year's gift$700.00
Saami reindeer herder from father to son$1,000.00
Funeral$1,100.00
Visiting ancestors at the homeland's graviar$700.00
Saami kiss$850.00
Going to save themselves from the abnormal heat$850.00
Craftswoman$850.00
At a Saami music festival$1,100.00
Invasion of mosquitoes$700.00
Saami flags$700.00
Saami pictograms$800.00
Shaman's drum$800.00
Reindeer walk along Kola Bay$850.00
Together for more than 70 years$900.00
Saami Summer Holiday$750.00
Nina$500.00
Morning wake up$700.00
Fishing passion$650.00