The Saami: modern ethnic processes

A study conducted among the Saami of the Kola Peninsula during an ethnographic expedition in August 2023 aimed to identify the nature of modern ethnic processes. The main ethnic territory of the Saami are the villages of the Lovozero District of the Murmansk Region. However, as a result of migrations, only half of the ethnos is concentrated here. During the study, a mass survey of 25% of the Saami of the main ethnic territory was conducted using a special questionnaire. For adults, the questionnaire was compiled during a direct conversatrion; questionnaires for children were compiled from the words of their parents. A total of 200 questionnaires were compiled. It turned out that the Saami have moved from nomadic reindeer herding to sedentary life, live in mixed villages, and are a relative minority in them. The Saami have almost forgotten their language, children do not speak it at all. There is a shift away from their traditional culture. There was a breakthrough in endogamy - two thirds of Saami families are mixed in ethnic composition, most often with the Komi-Izhma and the Russians. The proportion of people of mixed origin among the Saami is in the majority, and among children and young people, all are Mestizos. Nevertheless, ethnic identiry is characterized by stability.