On the Norway-Russia border, the Sámi people face a growing divide
As Russia’s war in Ukraine reshapes this Arctic frontier, Sámi communities struggle to sustain cross-border traditions.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine reshapes this Arctic frontier, Sámi communities struggle to sustain cross-border traditions.
Along the shores of the Neiden Fjord, in Norway’s northernmost county Finnmark, Nils Boine* gazes out across the water. On the horizon, the Neiden River splits around the craggy island of Skogerøya, but lurking beneath its surface is a fisherman’s bounty: hundreds of king crabs.
His grandmother was Sea Sámi, from an Indigenous coastal people whose homeland, Sápmi, stretches across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia’s heavily militarised Kola Peninsula. In Finnmark’s fjords, Sea Sámi families have fished for generations. But these waters are dissected by more than currents and shoals. Since Norway and Russia fixed their border in 1826, Sámi communities in the region have been divided by a national boundary.
Aeroplanes landing in Kirkenes have even been affected by the interference, with navigation symbols blocked or replaced with false location data. The same disruption can render reindeer trackers inaccurate and useless.