Reindeer and language revitalization: Inuit students visit Finland's Sami people

It was the first time college student Trudy Tulugarjuk travelled outside of Canada.

"It was cool to see the outside world for the first time," said Tulugarjuk, a first-year student at Nunavut Sivuniksavut, an Ottawa-based college for Inuit studies.

Fourteen first-year students flew across the Atlantic this monthfor a cultural exchange with Finland's Indigenous Sami people, as a part of the school's program.

"We got to meet a lot of people and perform and share our stories," said student Emmeline Ipeelie.

The students started their trip in the capital Helsinki, visiting the parliament and the University of Helsinki where they met with professors of Indigenous studies and languages. They got to tease their taste buds with Finnish foods, stay with local families,and hold performances to share Inuit and Sami culture.

But the most memorable was their visit to Inari Village,a small community that's home to many Sami, the Indigenous people who live throughout Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia.

"The highlight was when we went to see a reindeer herder and we got to pet some reindeer and just hang out with them," said Tulugarjuk.

"[It's] kinda like a once in a lifetime," said Ipeelie, who also enjoyed visiting the home of a Sami reindeer herder.

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Students say it was the similarities between the two Indigenous groups that left an impression.

"Sami people are very similar to us, even their land is very similar, except the fact that they have trees," said Tulugarjuk. "Our languages are very important."

Students learned about Sami governance, broadcasting, and language revitalization because a few of the 10Sami dialects are considered endangered.

"Sometimes Inuit are made out to be that we're the only ones that are struggling," said Ipeelie.

"We still have our culture going, and Inuit and Sami are working to strengthen [it]. It's still alive."

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