Neiden

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A panoramic view of Neiden

Neiden (Finnish: Näätämö, previously also Näytämö, Northern Sami: Njávdán, Inari Sami: Njiävđám and Skolt Sami: Njauddâm) is a settlement in Lapland, which consists of two villages separated by the border between Norway and Finland, one side in the municipality of Deatnu of Finnmark county in Norway and the other side in the municipality of Inari of Province of Lapland in Finland. Neiden is the official name in Norway and Näätämö in Finland.

1 History
2 People
3 Protected area
4 Statistics
5 External links

[edit] History

Neiden became the main settlement of the westernmost siida (the fundamental unit of the old Sami society, indicating both the area as well as the family group(s) exploiting it) of the Skolts and has remained relatively unchanged, leaving numerous traces of earlier use of the area intact.

Neiden was governmentally divided officially in 1852. The reason for that separation was the remarcation treaty between Sweden-Norway and Grand Duchy of Finland, which prohibited nomadic reindeer herding and moving of fishermen over the border. That caused much harm to reindeer husbandry for a long time.

[edit] People

The Skolts form a minority group among the Sami and are distinct from other groups in a number of ways. There are differences between their language and other forms of the Sami language. The Russian culture has had a strong influence on the Skolts, who were converted to the Russian Orthodox form of Christianity by the 16th century. All Skolt Sami speaking people probably live in Finland.

[edit] Protected area

The protected area in Skoltebyen includes a number of different monuments, some of which are old enough (i.e. more than 100 years) to be automatically protected under the Cultural Heritage Act. These include a Russian Orthodox graveyard, the ruins of a smoke sauna, sixteen sites of traditional turf huts known as gammer and a tiny (only 13 m²) Russian Orthodox chapel, St. Georg's Chapel. In addition, many of the natural features of the area have been and are being used in religious ceremonies, such as baptism.

The formal protection (scheduling) of the settlement was carried out in order to safeguard its historical and religious importance as well as the integrity of the landscape. This is the most important cultural heritage site for the Skolts and their surviving culture in Norway. The protection order was issued to prevent the area from being developed in a way that would reduce its significance and cultural value, while at the same time encouraging use that will communicate, maintain and develop the Skolt culture. The protection order does not affect the commercial salmon fishing in the Neiden River nor other commercial activities in the area.