Samenes nasjonaldag – Nordlige folk

The Sami National Day is celebrated on 6 February in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The day also has the name Day of the Sami people and Samish folk day.

Sami National Day / Sámi álbmotbeaivi is celebrated in commemoration of the first Sami National Assembly, which took place in Trondheim on 6 February 1917. For the first time, Sami people from all over Sápmi met to work for common Sami issues across borders. One of the initiators of the meeting was the freedom fighter Elsa Laula Renberg. She wanted the Sami to co-operate across national borders.

When we stand alone, we can accomplish little or nothing. However, we have a common interest and must unite and become a force.
Elsa Laula Renberg

The Sami National Day was adopted at the Sami Conference in 1992 and was celebrated for the first time in 1993.

The Sami flag

The Sami flag is an important symbol for the celebration of the Sami National Day. The flag is made by the Sami artist Astrid Båhl from Skibotn in North Troms, and was approved at the 13th Nordic Sami Conference in 1986. The motif on the flag is from the rune boom and the poem «Beaivvi bártnit» written by the South Sámi Anders Fjellner. In the poem, the Sami are portrayed as the son of the sun and the daughter of the moon. The circle in the flag symbolises the sun and the moon.

Sámi soga lávlla - the Sami national anthem

Sámi soga lávlla was adopted as the Sámi national anthem at the Sámi conference in Åre in 1986. The text is a poem by Isak Saba, which was written and published in Sagai Muittalægja in 1906. Arne Sørli has set the poem to music. The text has been translated from North Sami to the other Sami languages.

Text for Sámi soga lávlla - The Sami people's song in Sami and Norwegian