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On the nature of this project

The starting point and inspiration of the project is the distinctive culture of the Saami and interest in them that has emerged in different parts of the world. The contributors of the articles in the encyclopaedia seek to revise and overturn old stereotypes and to present the recent results of research concerning the Saami. Since early times, scholars in various fields, travellers and clergymen have been interested in the Saami, whose culture has been regarded as the most exotic of all the cultures of the European peoples.

The actual idea of an encyclopaedia of Saami culture is based on a study module launched in 1993 at the University of Helsinki as the responsibility of a working group representing several departments of the university. The Saami Culture Encyclopaedia Editorial Board was formed from the university's Saami Research Working Group, with Nordic associates and partners as added members. The Saami Institute of the University of Umeå, one of the project's partners, has been represented by Olavi Korhonen and Mikael Svonni. Other partners are the Álgu etymological project of the Saami languages operating at the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland and the Finnish Literature Society.

The objective is the chart and systematize information in the culture of the Saami - a Nordic indigenous people across national border. In Europe in the process of integration there is cause to place particular weight on preserving the cultures of indigenous peoples, and on the broad distribution of researched information on them. The project also involves the goal of strengthening the identity and cultural awareness of the Saami. In today's changing world this is one of the best ways of preventing the social and cultural marginalization of small peoples living in difficult conditions. A further objective is to present information on minorities within the Saami people, such as the Russian Saami, who until now have remained in the margins even in research concerning Saami culture.

The encyclopaedia project will produce a rich and diverse store of knowledge that can serve as one of the starting points for an Internet-based databank on the Saami. The use of modern electronic media has been promoted for some time among the Saami. The encyclopaedia project is expected to further these aims by producing freely accessible information on the Saami in electronic form. It is also planned to publish the Encyclopaedia of Saami culture as a book and in CD-ROM format.

Nor has an encyclopaedia ever been prepared before to date that contains a wide range of information on Saami culture. Encyclopaedic works on other cultures have recently appeared, such as the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia (1994), Finland, a cultural encyclopedia (1997) and Norrlands uppslagsbok: ett uppslagsverk på vetenskaplig grund om den norrländska regionen (1993-1996). These works can be regarded as significant cultural achievements.

The Encyclopaedia of Saami Culture will be a necessary work of reference for the international scholarly community, public authorities, cultural experts, teachers and students in various fields, and for all who are interested in Saami culture - including the Saami themselves.

The Encyclopaedia of Saami Culture will contain approximately 4000 entries in article form. The basic articles will present the Saami language and Saami history, mythology, folklore, literature and music, as well as the economy, the natural environment, means of livelihood, media, rights, education, art, societal conditions etc. The biographical articles will present important historical and contemporary cultural figures: Saami authors, artists, singers, politicians, and also the best-known researchers of Sápmi, the land of the Saami. Cultural concepts and terms characteristic of Saami culture will be treated primarily from an intra-cultural perspective. The encyclopaedia will also contain so-called reference entries, and an etymological list of 50 Saami culture terms.

The editorial board takes the term culture in its broadest sense, entailing both material and non-material aspects. Language is the main characteristic of culture. Nature is regarded as the material basis of Saami culture and is discussed in the articles on landscape, nature and snow terms and flora and fauna. Non-material culture is presented in the articles on identity, ways of life, traditions and customs and social and societal life, which focus not only on the present but also on past conditions.

Persons of national and international importance related to Saami culture are represented in the biographical gallery of the encyclopaedia. The contributors also include representatives of the arts and sciences in Saami culture. The articles include an extensive bibliography intended to serve as a compilation of literature on the Saami.