Dec 20

The Independent - Rudolph may be the stuff of Christmas legend, but for the reindeer herders of Europe's northernmost reaches these extraordinary animals are a vital part of a threatened existence

The corral gates open and 50 reindeer rush in, their frantic snorting fogging the air, as dozens of herders circle round. Identifying their calves and grabbing the antlers, they coax their beasts into pens. The Hirvas Salmi herdsmen are one of the largest Sami groups in Finland, and they live eight hours' drive inside the Arctic Circle. After a three-week round-up in which 2,000 reindeer are brought down from the mountains, they corral the animals, then slaughter them. The sales of meat, hides, and knife handles carved from antlers provide the Sami with a limited income.

Western Europe's only indigenous group, the Sami (who object to being called Lapps) live in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. They speak 10 languages, have their own flag and national anthem, and are bound together by their shared culture and traditions. There are about 100,000 Sami throughout the region, whose early history can be traced to around 3,000BC, before the arrival of the Scandinavians. They were hunters and gatherers who – as prehistoric works of art, primarily rock carvings, attest – had a deep understanding of nature.