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Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra

3rd Place Winner / People: Documentary

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Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
NATALYA SAPRUNOVA

Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra
NATALYA SAPRUNOVA
Sámis, before we lived in the Tundra

Being part of last indigenous of Europe, the Saami of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the rise of Soviet power in the 1920s. This people who lived mainly from reindeer herding and fishing in the tundra, were forced to live in apartment buildings. Children of nature, the Saami were depressed at the thought of losing their ancestral rhythms and being penned in. Gathered in the main Saami village - Lovozero, considered a reserve. Settled to work in kolkhozes, they no longer had the right to be Saami: the practice of the language and the wearing of traditional costume were prohibited. Today, some 1,500 people live on the Kola Peninsula, but only 200 speak the language and most of them are elderly. Proud of their intangible traditions, these people strive to preserve their ancestral practices while adapting to modernity. Added to these difficulties is the persistent global warming in the Arctic region with temperature peaks of 15°C above average in summer.
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