Hammerfest August 1

Hammerfest is the home of the Polar Bear Society which you can join for about 50 bucks. Didnæt see any polar bears however. Took a tour to a Sami lodge where we sat on reindeer hides while the fire burned in the center and a Sami man told us about his life with the reindeer. He spoke in English for we 3 Americans and an interpreter translated into German for the rest of the Hurtigruten tourists. They bring the reindeer down to the coast in the summer because too many mosquitoes in the interior in summer. In winter they herd them 200 miles to the interior. The coast is too windy and the the snow too crusty in winter. The reindeer can then use their antlers and hoofs to dig down in the snow to eat the lichen. I asked him how many reindeer he had. He replied that was the same as him asking me how much money I have in the bank! Only 3000 reindeer Sami, about 10,000 in Oslo since they all canæt herd reindeer. They have similar history with American Indians such that Sami language and culture wasnæt allowed to be spoken or taught. Now the law states that Sami must be taught in the schools to the Sami people in addition to Norwegian and English. Most Sami are now well educated and assimilated into Norwegian society, but like our Indians, cling to their language, customs and songs. No casinos however. He is concerned about what his 3 kids will do - move to the city or stay with the reindeer. They canæt shoot the wolves, eagles and bears that prey on their reindeer because they the predators are protected, but they get reimbursed by the government if they can prove that the reindeer were taken by the predators. He then served us dried and boiled reindeer meat and cloudberries. Neat guy!

The Sami's of the north have had a tough history, especially the ones in Russia. At one time they were allowed to travel back and forth between Norway, Finland and Russia with their herds. But the wars closed the borders. The Germans also burned the Sami villages and the other towns in Northern Norway at the end of WWII as they retreated in the face of the advancing Russian armies.