Subsistence

For those who do not know subsistence is the way a culture or group of people acquire food and a way of living; overall it is their income and business that allows them to stay afloat. The way in which the Sami people obtained food and resources changed over the years due to modernization. At first the Sami people, both men and women, were hunter and gathers and their main resource was reindeer and still is. Over time, the Sami people were forced into more modern way of obtaining their food and resources. About 400 years ago, the Sami started pastoralism  which involves the herding of animals ad generally is very gender specific and now in order to compete with the rest of the world, the Sami people are being forced in to agriculture as well.

With the hunting and gathering tactic, the Sami people did not have any restrictions about where, what or when they were allowed to hunt animals; no one individual owned a specific reindeer or grazing land and the Sami people would share their resources, but now that they use the pastoralism system. Under this system, the Sami people start to compartmentalize with the reindeer and started to have ownership over land and animals. In order to separate the animals, each owner would cut off certain parts of the herds ear. The Sami would also herd goats, which worked in their favor because the goats would supply them with milk.

The Sami people stay in "permanent dwellings." Along with these dwellings, which are usually huts, the Sami people use a certain kind of tent called the "lavvo." The lavvo tent is similar to the Native American teepee in structure and inside the tent has reindeer fur.

When it comes to the health of the Sami people, they are similar to their neighbors. There is an increased risk of heart disease amoung the Sami people. Although there are more western ways of treating certain conditions, the Sami like to use their own traditional remedies.