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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

Gender (Ethnographic Post)

            The Sami people have specific gender roles granted to men and women just like many other societies. The expectations for traditional Sami women are for survival needs. They take care of the family along with the household such as prepare clothes which helps for the families’ survival in the harsh winter months. This along with other tasks necessary for survival make the Sami culture has a matriarchal element. Though the Sami women may seem to fit the “ideal women in many societies,” their responsibilities are actually very important to the Sami people.
            These values of women dropped as Christianity became more prominent within the Sami people. Before Christianity, women where known to have a sort of power. After Christianity, the men in the society felt that the Bible was telling them that they were superior to the women. Sami men became more dominant and demanding over their wives, expecting more obedience. Christianity in the Sami people left women having less self-esteem and self worth.

            The Sami women had a feminist movement in 1970 to fight against the change of gender values. They demanded equal rights for gender as well as for the Sami people as a whole. Their feminist group now has political outlet in their group. They have been able to grow their power as women and are in legislative positions along with men. The equality that the women in the Sami have is all due to their feminist movement. Now all the women can do is grow in their powers to assume all that Sami men do.


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