The Báiki of Sápmi Nation

The Sámi people are the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia.  They are considered to be the only remaining indigenous tribe in Europe.  Their ancestral homelands exist along the annual reindeer migration routes between northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.  In Sámi culture, reindeer are sacred — they are essential to nearly every aspect of living.

Báiki means “the home you carry with you” in the Sámi language.

It refers to the identity that is always in the heart.

Six years ago, I went on my ancestral journey through Scandinavia and Sápmi.  Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. The Sámi, also known as the reindeer people, are modern people, but many Sámi families still follow the reindeer’s herding cycle every year. During this annual tradition, Sámi people travel through the Arctic Wilderness and stay in lavvus .  A lavvu is a temporary dwelling that very much resembles a Native American tipi, but is often less vertical and more stable in strong winds.  Modern lavvus are very common throughout Sápmi and Scandinavia, and although people do not live in them year round, they will always hold a sense of Báiki for the Sámi people. Báiki means "the home that lives in one's heart" as one travels from place to place.  It is a Sámi word that refers to the cultural identity and survival that is always in the heart.