SAARISELKÄ • IVALO • INARI • UTSJOKI
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100,000th passenger through Raja-Jooseppi The Raja-Jooseppi border crossing station between Fin‑ land and Russia reached a total of100,000 border cross‑ ers on 20 October at 11.57 a.m. The happy 100,000th passenger was Natalya Bar‑ ylyak from Murmansk. She was travelling in group of
five, headed for a day trip to a spa in Saariselkä and shop‑ ping in Ivalo. The Raja-Jooseppi border crossing station facilities are stretched due to a massive increase in Russian traffic. New facilities will hopefully be available in 2015.
WINTER 2012-2013
A rush of visitors expected at Sámi events
PHOTO:PERTTI TURUNEN
Lappish delicacies with inter national flavours
A geopark in the Lapland gold zone Northern Lapland is the only area in Europe where the history of gold prospecting is still visible and where visi‑ tors can learn about modern gold digging. Plans have been made to establish the world’s northernmost geopark in the area. The region has excellent merits for joining the Geop‑ ark network: it is a geologi‑ cally important area with a long and strong cultural his‑ tory and a significant role in tourism.
The project is supported by the municipalities of Inari and Sodankylä, the Geologi‑ cal Survey of Finland and Metsähallitus (forest admin‑ istration), among others. Gold prospecting still con‑ tinues in the future geopark area, both professionally and as a hobby. The Gold Prospectors Association of Finnish Lapland has reported it will oppose the geopark project if gold prospecting is prohibited in the park area.
Kokoomus wins in the municipal elections in Inari The Finnish municipal elections were held in late 2012. The municipality of Inari had 27 councillor seats up for grabs. The National Coalition Party, Kokoomus, came out as the biggest win‑ ner with eleven councillors. In the last municipal elec‑ tions, the number of Kokoo‑ mus councillors was seven. Some consider voting for Kokoomus an objection to the current government mu‑ nicipal policy. One of the things Kokoo‑ mus candidates criticised in their campaigns was allocat‑ ing municipal resources to other than basic municipal functions, for example, the municipality’s joining cor‑ porate activities by buying
the Saariselkä downhill ski‑ ing slope. Eight councillors were elected from Keskusta (Cen‑ tre Party), three from both Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alli‑ ance) and Sosialidemokraatit (Social Democratic Party), and one councillor from both Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) and Vihreät (Green League). Vasemmistoliitto got the short end of the stick, los‑ ing two councillors. The independent candidates who ruled in the previous elections had largely joined Kokoomus this year. The voter turnout in Inari was 62.2 per cent, approxi‑ mately four per cent less than the national average.
Photo: Minja Suni
Page 18.
A geocaching park at Saariselkä
One of the only indigenous people in the European Un‑ ion area lives in Finland: the Sámi. They inhabited the area soon after the Ice Age 10,000 year ago. However, these in‑ digenous people are not only connected with the past. They also have a firm grip on the present. The Sámi organise many events in Inari, and everyone is welcome. One of the most visible Sámi events is the Inari Rein‑ deer Race. This winter, the event will be held on 30–31 March. The concept of the race is that reindeer‑drawn skiers race across the ice‑cov‑ ered Lake Inari. The village is buzzing with people and many activities during the race. Even though reindeer hus‑ bandry is the traditional Sámi
occupation, many Sámi peo‑ ple now have ordinary mod‑ ern professions. The most famous Sámi art form is joiku singing, but the Sámi also make other kinds of music and art. For example, the indigenous people’s film festival Skábmagovat is held in Inari at the start of each year, to present Sámi films. The festival’s most interest‑ ing film venue is the snow and ice theatre built outside the Sámi Museum Siida. There, films are watched under the stars. The end of January has traditionally been a dark and cold period in Inari. In some winters, the outdoor theatre shows have taken place in temperatures as low as minus thirty degrees centigrade in the polar night. Skábmagovat will next be
held from 30 January to 4 February. The national costume of the Sámi is their most visible national emblem. Different costume patterns reveal a person’s place of birth, and a keen pair of eyes can even deduce a person’s marital sta‑ tus and family name all on the basis of their costume. Anyone interested in Sámi handicrafts should definitely visit the Sámi Duodji shop in the Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos in Inari. It is acceptable for non‑Sámi people to wear parts of a Sámi costume, such as a belt or a piece of jew‑ ellery. However, it may be sensible not to wear the en‑ tire costume—and especially not to purchase a cheaply produced and clumsy repro‑ duction of a Sámi costume.
Urho Kekkonen Nation‑ al Park will become the world’s first geocaching park. A hundred new, high‑quality geocaches will be established in the area of the park and the entire region of KiilopääSaariselkä. Geocaching is an out‑ door recreational activity where the participants use a GPS device or a map to locate geocaches hidden by other geocachers. The hobby has quickly gained popularity. The location of the caches and other data are posted on inter‑ national listing sites. This way, everyone interested will be informed of the new park. The caches will be located in the most at‑ tractive natural areas of Saariselkä, along skiing and other recreational paths, in Metsähalli‑ tus (forest administra‑ tion) locations and in central Saariselkä. The geocaching project will be launched in summer 2013.