The Sámi Peoples of the North: A Social and Cultural History

By Neil Kent

Book Overview

There is no single volume that encompasses an integrated social and cultural history of the S mi people from the Nordic countries and northwestern Russia. Neil Kent's book fills this lacuna. In the first instance, he considers how the S mi homeland is defined: its geography, climate, and early contact with other peoples. He then moves on to its early chronicles and the onset of colonisation, which changed S mi life profoundly over the last millennium. Thereafter, the nature of S mi ethnicity is examined, in the context of the peoples among whom the S mi increasingly lived, as well as the growing intrusions of the states who claimed sovereignty over them. The Soviet gulag, the Lapland War and increasing urbanisation all impacted upon S mi life. Religion, too, played an important role from pre-historic times, with their pantheon of gods and sacred sites, to their Christianisation. In the late twentieth century there has been an increasing symbiosis of ancient S mi spiritual practice with Christianity. Recently the intrusions of the logging and nuclear industries, as well as tourism have come to redefine S mi society and culture. Even the meaning of who exactly is a S mi is scrutinised, at a time when some intermarry and yet return to S mi, where their children maintain their S mi identity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1787380319
• ISBN13: 9781787380318
• Release Date: April 2019
• Publisher: Hurst & Co.
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"