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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.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Globalization (Reflexive post)

     Globalization has affected everyone life`s, it is clear that the world is improving at an incredible pace. In our case the United States  we are one of the world leaders in innovation; it is clear that a relation between globalization in the United States and the Sami is difficult to make but, in my case I`ve found some similarities between my experiences and the Sami.

    For example, my family hails from Colombia, in there my family used to be in the agricultural business; so I am familiar with what goes around conserving a healthy environment and the necessary symbiotic relationship between man and mother Earth. I shared that sentiment with the Sami core values and as the Sami also experienced globalization also change my family how we lived as pollution levels increased and disregard for wildlife occurred in the region where my family used to live.

   War and political changes affected the Sami and my life. Revolutions was a common occurrence and they affected the places where we could go and obviously changed the way peopled live. So I understand how wars can affect the lifestyle of the Sami and this being a complex situation. Continuing with globalization something that impacted me was the complete ban of their language in schools and their change of religion. I could only imagine me being put in a situation where the way I communicate and my religion is changed, adapting to this would be grueling as it sounds like what you know is useless, especially from the point of view of a kid. When I moved to the United States I did have to learn English and a complete new culture, so it was lesser culture shock than the one the Sami suffered.


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