The Sami people of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia are where the entire world derives their tradition of “reindeer” and elves. Little known as a people, but widely imitated every year during the solstice, the Sami are Europes “indigenous peoples,” and alarge part of why you and your family love Santa Claus.

Merry Solstice! How are you holding out, TI’s? Enjoy the following, especially those of you who have children with brains in their heads, rather than the dead “saviour” of the dead sea/s

Learn Sami, the language of elves!

And why is this important?

Because the Sami are a dying language, with some dialects spoken by only two or three people in their regions–not at all unlike many Amazon tribes who are being killed off in the western capitalist madness.

Here are some facts about dying languages and Sami/Saami, and why you yourself might find the Sami way of life worth preserving:

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Sami – The smallest languages in the world

August 23, 2013 – Leave a Comment

The Sami languages consist of the 5 smallest languages in the world. There are only 2 people who can speak Ter Sami, 10 people who can speak Ume Sami, 10 people who can speak Kayardild, 20 people who can speak Votic and 20 people who can speak Pite Sami. Sami consists of a group of languages which fall under Uralic languages. There are about 24,500 people who can speak this language. Sami has official status in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Sami is also spoken as a minority language in Russia but it does not have an official status. Towards the end of the 19th century, there were about 6 Ter Sami villages in the Kola Peninsula, with several hundred speakers. Currently, most of the speakers have shifted to Russian, and only a few elderly people can speak the language. The decline of the Sami language is further accentuated by the fact that there are very few Sami language teachers. One of the ways to help ensure that the language does not completely disappear is by the training of more Sami language teachers, especially in Sami speaking areas.”

And here are free tools for you to teach your children about Saami language and culture! Santa would be proud of you, preserving his way of life! Download the APP’s and teach your children about the language of elves!

Meanwhile, enjoy these interesting facts about reindeer, and these pictures of actual “elves,” from the North Pole!

Saami gather around in the winter,with a white reindeer. Image from Skandiblog

From Jarle Hagan

The case against corporate destruction of indigenous people, from Corporate Survival

A Sami shaman’s drum, image from Study In Swedem