Säʹmmla Nuõrttsääʹm | |
---|---|
Total population | |
c. 1,250 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Finland | 500[1]–700[2] |
Russia | 250[3]–400[1] |
Norway | 150[3] |
Languages | |
Skolt Sami, Finnish, Russian and Norwegian | |
Religion | |
Eastern Orthodox majority Lutheran minority | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Sámi |
The Skolt Sámi or Skolts are a Sami ethnic group. They currently live in and around the villages of Sevettijärvi, Keväjärvi, Nellim in the municipality of Inari, at several places in the Murmansk Oblast and in the village of Neiden in Sør-Varanger Municipality. The Skolts are considered to be the indigenous people of the borderland area between present-day Finland, Russia and Norway, i.e. on the Kola Peninsula and the adjacent Fenno-Scandinavian mainland. They belong to the eastern group of Sámi on account of their language and traditions, and are traditionally Orthodox rather than Lutheran Christians like most Sami and Finns.
In 2024, media told about a leader of an NGO - saying that the phrase "Eastern Sami" should not be used about her people, Skolts.[4]