Sámi Dress

Sámi culture as a whole is rich and diverse. The Sámi dress has great significance in Sámi culture. The Sámi dress is one of the important manifestations of Sámi identity. The use of the Sámi dress is governed by unwritten norms which the Sámi people observe. Particularly in tourism exploiting Sámi culture, the productisation and representation of Sámi culture has often focused on the Sámi dress or on something resembling the Sámi dress. This has aimed at making a tourism product ‘Sámi’, whether in the case of stories or other tourism services. Indeed, the Sámi dress has become the primary identity marker in Sámi tourism. However, in tourism exploiting Sámi culture, the cultural codes and meanings embodied in the Sámi dress have been forgotten or ignored, transforming the ‘Sámi dress’ into a costume void of any soul. Persons not involved in the tourism industry do not wear the Sámi dress for the benefit of the visitors. There is a human being inside of the Sámi dress. Please, do not objectify people but respect their privacy instead.

See also

Sámi culture, traditional livelihoods, Sámi handicrafts, Sámi language, photography, living cultural landscape, everyday environment, children, Sámi tourism, cultural identity theft, history of exploitation