"Ole Henrik Magga grew up on the Arctic tundra, learning to read the snow and ask questions of it.
Has it been frozen? Is it wet?
How many layers of snow must the reindeer break through to eat from the earth?
Magga's relationship with snow and ice is exact, observations shared and learned from the Sami generations before him.
Climate has long been integral to the Sami way of life, an indigenous people who have more than 300 words for snow.
“It shows people have observed,” said Magga, who grew up reindeer herding in the northern reaches of Norway. Snow conditions determined where his family would move the herds.
But global warming threatens to change the lives of the Sami, a distinct ethnic group who have inhabited the polar regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia for more than 10,000 years."
Get the Story:Climate change hits home with the Sami (The MIssoulian 10/14) Relevant Links:
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