Text: Anna KorkmanTuomas Aslak Juuso, Chairman of the Sámi Parliament of Finland, says hopefully that Sámi Language Week has inspired many parties to write in the Sámi language.– The Sámi Parliament has made a new website so that the authorities can also receive support to implement linguistic rights," tuomas Aslak Juuso says.

The Sámi language regions cross borders and span both Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Russian Drolan Peninsula. Nine Sámi languages are spoken in these countries and the languages are on unesco's list of threatened or highly threatened languages. There are northern, Inari and Sámi language groups in Finland. Approximately 10,500 Sámi live in Finland, and the most common language is Northern Sami. Language is an integral part of Sámi culture, and many maintain and teach the Sámi language, for example, when practicing everyday livelihoods such as reindeer husbandries, fishing, hunting and handicrafts. It is estimated that reindeer herding involves around 20,000 different Sámi language terms. By using the Sámi language, we can maintain awareness of culture and livelihood and gain a continuum for future generations." Language is an integral part of Sámi culture, and many maintain and teach the Sámi language, for example, when practicing everyday livelihoods such as reindeer husbandries, fishing, hunting and handicrafts. It is estimated that reindeer herding involves around 20,000 different Sámi language terms. By using the Sámi language, we can maintain awareness of culture and livelihood and gain a continuum for future generations." During the 1940s, Sámi children were sent to Finnish-speaking boarding schools where they were not allowed to speak their own language and were deprived of their linguistic identity. In no less than two generations, languages were not passed on to the next generation. This has left a serious mark on the Sámi language and now requires determined work to preserve the language. The Swedish People's Party has long worked for the Sámi. During the language week, The President and Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson stressed the importance of enabling all Sámi languages.– It is very important to preserve all three Sámi languages and to promote language learning and their use. Sometimes it has happened that the whole language has either partially or completely disappeared from one generation. Through the language immersion activities of day care, children can get in touch with the language and then with their own Sámi culture. Access to literature in all three different Sámi languages is very important," Henriksson says. The Sámi Language Act safeguards the right of the Sámi to maintain and develop their language, as well as the right to use their own language in judicial institutions and other official activities. As the number of people speaking Inari Sámi and Sámi is currently only around a few hundred, it is of paramount importance that the language be maintained in order to maintain the language at all.– Sámi Language Week is a great way to remind us all of the existence of the Sámi language and to raise the issue of the realisation of linguistic rights in Finland. We still have a lot of work to do on that," says Tuomas Aslak Juuso.