Sami in Far North Welcome Zapatistas on 'Journey for Life'

Photo courtesy Colectivo Armadillo

Indigenous Sami women greet Zapatistas in Lapland, Sami ancestral territory occupied by Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. They were welcomed on the Kola Peninsula. Twitter photo.

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

English/Espanol

Indigenous Sami women in the far north welcomed delegates from the Zapatistas Journey for Life, which arrived earlier in Vienna, Austria.

Colectivo Armadillo said, "The Sami coordination has been sharing experiences with the Zapatista delegation about the Sami way of life: Who the Sami people are and where they are heading as an indigenous group in northern Europe."

"They shared aspects about what kind of fish is used for human consumption traditionally. They also talked about the environmental impact on the rivers that have reduced the quantity and quality of fish."

Photo courtesy Colectivo Armadillo

"They have been facing the invasive species that were introduced in the Russian side in the 60's and 70's. Climate change has also allowed those species to reproduce more quickly affecting the endemic species provoking a drastic reduction in their population."

Photo courtesy Colectivo Armadillo

"There have been initially restrictions imposed to the Sami people about fishing, but nowadays it is forbidden, although more tourists are coming to the area to do fishing."

"They also shared an amazing landscape, talked about the local flora, while walking along the riverbanks, and making juice from berries collected during the day."

Photo courtesy Colectivo Armadillo

Sami women extending welcome and solidarity in August.

(Above) In August, Sami women extended their welcome and solidarity. "Solidarity greeting from the Sámi territory on August 13," said Aili Keskitalo (President of the Sámi Parliament) and Eva Maria Fjellheim (member of the Sámi co-ordination for the Journey for Life."

Sami women welcome Zapatistas in Lapland, their ancestral territory occupied by Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. They were welcomed on the Kola Peninsula.
Listen to the song of support, welcoming the Zapatistas to the land of the Sami. Here's the greeting from Sápmi where the Zapatista delegation is visiting right now.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1441462896517652480

Zapatistas welcomed to far north Sami ancestral land.

Sami women joined Water Protectors defending the sacred water and land in Standing Rock in October of 2016.

Above -- Sami Women at Standing Rock, Oct. 2016. Watch video of the Sami women's song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTL87q6O6Kw

Colectivo Armadillo:

La coordinación Sami ha estado compartiendo experiencias con la delegación zapatista sobre el modo de vida Sami: quienes son y a donde se dirigen como grupo indígena del norte de Europa. Compartieron aspectos sobre la pesca tradicional y el tipo de peces que se consume. También se habló sobre el impacto ambiental de las granjas de peces que han traído al territorio Sápmi especies invasoras desde el lado ruso entre los años 60’s y 70’s. El cambio climático ha permitido a esas especies reproducirse más rápidamente afectando a las especies endémicas y una drástica reducción de sus poblaciones. Inicialmente hubieron restricciones de pesca, pero ahora la pesca está completamente prohibida, aunque más y más turistas llegan a la zona a practicar la pesca ilegal. También compartieron sus maravillosos paisajes, hablaron sobre la flora local, mientras caminaban a la margen de los ríos y hacían jugo de las bayas colectadas.