Saami flag up in Murmansk

On 6 February 2005 – the National Holiday of the Saami people – the ceremony of hoisting the Saami flag took place in Murmansk near the City Administration and Regional Government building. The Saami people of the Murmansk Region , President of the Kola Saami Association Ms. Nina E. Afanaseva, Chairperson of the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples Ms. Anna D. Prakhova, government representatives, and others took part in the event. The Governor of Murmansk Region Mr. Yuriy A. Evdokimov joined the ceremony and congratulated the Saami people on their National Holiday.

Saami National Holiday

The Saami National Holiday – like the Saami flag – is common for all Saami, residing in Sweden , Norway , Finland and Russia . At the 15^th Saami Conference in Helsinki in 1992 it was decided that the Saami common National Holiday should be on 6 February –  the date of the first international Saami meeting in Trondheim in 1917. More than 100 Saami from Sweden and Norway participated in that gathering, among them a great number of women. It was the first time in Saami history that Saami from the north and south came together to discuss their common problems.The Saami National Holiday was celebrated for the first time in 1993, coinciding with the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Peoples, which opened in Jokkmokk , Sweden . The day is celebrated with cultural activities at many different places in Sápmi, the transborder homeland of the Saami people.