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Class Logo

Mission

Mission

The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project is a cultural anthropology course-based project meant to raise critical consciousness about the rich cultural diversity in our indigenous world. Being totally aware of the limitations of being outsiders, we are a group of multidisciplinary undergraduate students who believe in cross-cultural sensitivity and participatory agency aimed at disseminating information about indigenous realities as accurately as possible.

Vision

Vision

The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project’s vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. From that outsider student’s perspective, we will try to theoretically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planet. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for real mutual collaboration to take place.

Values

Values

· We value the maximization of benefits to indigenous peoples and other vulnerable populations in the world.

· We value the respect for persons all over the world.

· We value the equal treatment of people, and we are against the exploitation of vulnerable groups around the world.

· We value collaborative cross-cultural learning and critical thinking.

History

History

According to historians, the Sami, also known as the “Lapps” in parts of Scandinavia and Northwest Russia were a primitive hunting tribe that derives a majority of its economy from herding animals resembling reindeer. The Sami call the land in which they live on Sapmi meaning same. In combination with fishing and crafting, the Sami are one of the most unique native Scandinavian groups to date.

Location

The Sami live in the tundra (arctic/treeless plain) and in the taiga (arctic/subarctic forest) which spreads across 4 major northern Europe consisting of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula, the area is know as Sapmi. Traditionally the Sami lived in communities called “siida”, who cooperated together in order to fish, hunt, and trap certain animals in the Northern European landscape. There is an estimated 44,000-50,000 Sami people left on the planet, with a majority of the people residing in Sweden.

Background information

Background information
Background Information

Background Information

The indigenous Sami people are sometimes called "the people with four countries" because their ethnic group spans the borders of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. Their language is divided into several distinct dialects belonging to the Finno-Urgic family of languages. The Sami culture can be traced back at least 2,000 years. Reindeer herding has been central to Sami culture and crucial to the subsistence of the Sami, providing meat, fur, and transportation. The genetic origin of the Sami people is complex, and it is difficult to trace. This group’s beginnings are closely linked to the origin of the Finns. There is no direct historical evidence of the Sami prior to the first century C.E. For a long time the Sami were an oppressed people and their culture was in danger of dying out. Today the Sami stand stronger than most other aboriginal people in the world. They have their independence day, and their own flag and parliament.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Folklore (Reflexive Post)

    Folklore is something that is a part of every culture. I grew up in Florida, and there are many American tales that I have been told and read about throughout the years. There are fairytales, ghost stories, legends, popular beliefs, etc. Some well-known fairytales and stories are that of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, even Santa Claus. Every kid is told about Santa Claus, and they go through their childhood years believing that a big man with a beard rides around in a sled pulled y reindeer to deliver gifts to children to open up on Christmas morning. Almost every kid has a written a letter to Santa and believing that Elves were making their gifts in the North Pole. There are countless Christmas films that have Santa involved in them. It is just a part of our culture, folklore or not.

    There are plenty of other forms of folklore in the society that I grew up in as well, such as ghost stories. I loved getting scared as a little kid and listening to ghost stories or watching scary movies. A very popular ghost story is Bloody Mary. I used to play the game with my friends when we were younger to see if she would actually appear. We would research stories of other people seeing her or friends of theirs who did and died. Even vampires and werewolves are really popular today. There are tons of books, movies, and television shows involving these kinds of creatures. While most people know these creatures are fiction today, although some people do believe they exist, there was a time in history when many people believed in vampires and werewolves. Witches are another part of folklore that many people believed in back then and still do today. The Salem Witch Trials only took place a few hundred years ago when people were killed for being accused of being witches. Folklore has always been and always will be a part of every culture. I grew up on many different tales, many of which I believed as well, so I can see how folklore is a big part of Sami culture because it is a big part of American culture as well.
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