Table 1.

Sami language and culture themes: coding of ethnic markers among 13–19-year-old Sami adolescents in a Sami-dominant community.

Informant (number)/gender (M, F)	Sami parentage (mono- vs. multi-ethnic)	Sami mother tongue (yes vs. no)	Research questions: What does being Sami mean to you? Do you feel like a Sami? Do you speak the language? What does it mean to you to be able to speak Sami? What is important to you about your traditional culture?	Coded as: communication, ethnic identity marker, cultural bearer, place attachment, reindeer husbandry affiliation	Research questions: When you go to Oslo (Tromsø, Hammerfest) or to other places outside Sápmi, do you tell people you are a Sami? Have you sometimes been ashamed of being a Sami? Have you sometimes been proud of being a Sami?	Coded as: ethnic pride, ethnic openness, traditional costume
1, F1,2	Mono-ethnic	“Yes	“It means a lot to me. We don’t speak Sami at school because one of our friends is Norwegian speaking. It’s a pity not being able to speak our language.”	Communication	“…if people ask, I would tell them, and not try to hide my Sami background…”	Ethnic openness
				Cultural bearer/ traditions
2, F2	Multi-ethnic	No	“Sami means a lot really. First and foremost a language you speak and there’s a lot of history behind the language. Young people and adults in general must be able to speak Sami, and it’s almost a struggle to fit in for everybody.”6	Communication	“I am proud of being Sami…because the Sami are an indigenous people…”	Ethnic pride
				Cultural bearer/ traditions
3, F1,2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“The Sami language is central here in our village as well as in reindeer herding. And it’s also the mother tongue for most people here. If I lived outside Kautokeino maybe I wouldn’t care much about Sami language.”	Communication	“I’m not embarrassed about being a Sami, but I don’t walk around telling everyone I’m Sami. If they ask, I will let them know I am Sami if they ask me.”	Ethnic openness
				Place attachment
				Reindeer husbandry
4, F2	Multi-ethnic	No	“I try to learn Sami. I still think it was a pity that we lost the language. Otherwise I could have actually been able to speak Sami fluently.”6	Communication Place attachment	“…If they ask if I’m Sami I tell them of course, I don’t keep it a secret… I’ve been proud of being Sami very often.”	Ethnic openness Ethnic pride
			What does it mean to you being able to speak Sami? “A lot while you are living here in this place. Be able to understand. There are many people who don’t understand Norwegian here. It would have been easier to talk to them if I knew Sami.”
			“You don’t need to speak Sami to be a Sami.”6
5, F1,2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“Sami language means a lot to me. It is my mother tongue and I speak it every day. It would be sad if I lost my language. Of course people must speak the Sami language when they are Sami!”	Communication	“I’m not ashamed of being a Sami! People can think whatever they want but I’m not ashamed of my culture! I don’t hide my identity. I’m very proud when I’m wearing our traditional regalia, then I get lot of attention.”	Ethnic openness
				Ethnic identity marker		Ethnic pride
						Traditional costume
6, F2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“Sami is the language I speak every day. I like to speak Sami much more than Norwegian, but I’m better at writing Norwegian than Sami.”	Communication	“I don’t ever try to hide my Sami background. Last year I was proud of having the opportunity to tell other adolescents about the Sami as they wanted to know more about the Sami.”	Ethnic openness
						Ethnic pride
7, F1,2	Multi-ethnic	Yes	“It doesn’t mean anything special but it’s good to know the language.”	Communication	“I’d tell people I’m Sami. I have been proud, especially when we put on the Sami clothes going to a non-Sami place. It feels good to be a Sami. Especially when the people there haven’t seen Sami people before. They like to take pictures. They ask stuff like: ‘Do you really have your own reindeer?’ They don’t know. They think we live in a lavvu [Sami tent] all the time. We tell them stuff that they don’t know and they’re very surprised.”	Ethnic openness
						Ethnic pride
						Traditional costume
8, F1,2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“It’s very important to me. I think it’s good to have our own language. Norwegian is the main language but then we have Sami too.”	Communication	“I tell them that I’m a Sami and I try to show them too. When we were in Canada people were very fond of us. …They wanted to exchange jackets with us and even want to sell a jacket to us. …They also asked a lot about us.”	Ethnic openness
						Ethnic pride
9, M2	Multi-ethnic	No	“Sami is a language that doesn’t belong to any country, a language for Sami who don’t have their own country. I’m not good at that language which is bad as of course I’m Sami myself. It’s a challenge. I’m not accepted as Sami. I’m assumed to be Norwegian. Quite okay for me.”	Ethnic identity marker	“Yes, I would do that. I’m not embarrassed about being Sami. I’m actually proud of it.”	Ethnic openness
						Ethnic pride
10, M2	Multi-ethnic	No	“It means…I don’t know what it means. It is of course nice. Sami is good. Sami is my favourite subject. That isn’t difficult.”	–	“I say something if I’ve got to know someone, then I tell them. I’m not afraid to say that I’m Sami. When they found out where I lived then they would know I’m Sami. They couldn’t hear it from my dialect since I don’t speak Kauto dialect.”	Ethnic openness
11, M1,3	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“A Sami speaks Sami.”	Ethnic identity marker	“I wouldn’t tell anyone that I’m a Sami. One never knows what mad person you might meet. There are racists…I haven’t experienced racism other than on Nettby [Internet]. When some people see a picture of persons wearing the Sami regalia they have written some comments of a racist character.”	Hiding or lack of ethnic openness of his Sami background due to experience of discrimination and prejudice
12, M1,3	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“Nothing in particular.”6	–	“I would say I’m Sami. Not hide it, not at all…”	Ethnic openness
13, M1,3	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“Everyone speaks Sami here. If you don’t know the Sami language then you won’t understand what they are talking about. It would be tiresome to speak Norwegian when all the others are speaking Sami.”	Communication	“Yes, I can tell them about my origin if they ask me. Do you try to hide your identity?” “No, I don’t hide…what is there to hide? I’m not ashamed of being a Sami.”	Ethnic openness Ethnic pride
14, F1,3	Multi-ethnic	Yes	“In my opinion it’s necessary to have the Sami language in reindeer husbandry as well as in other cultural Sami traditions because there are words that explain things in a way that no other language ever will.”6	Communication	“I wouldn’t hide my Sami identity. I would let everyone know who wants to…In big gatherings I’ve been very proud of being Sami.”	Ethnic openness
				Reindeer husbandry		Ethnic pride
				Cultural bearer
15, M1,3	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“The language all Sami speak.”	Ethnic identity marker	“I’m not afraid of telling people I’m Sami.”	Ethnic openness
16, M1,3	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“Sami is very important and gives you a lot of opportunities. It’s the language I’ve been brought up with. If Sami didn’t exist, it would be strange. It’s very important.”	Communication	“I don’t write on my forehead that I’m Sami. …I don’t try to hide it. Are your proud of it? Yes I am…In big gatherings when I am wearing ‘gákti’4 Then I feel much richer: I have more than one culture and languages.”	Ethnic openness
						Ethnic pride
						Traditional costume
17, F3,5	Mono-ethnic	No	“Eh…richness in a way. …Often when they are searching for a new staff member, they want someone who knows Sami. It’s good to have on your CV. It’s the language I speak daily since I learnt it.”	Communication	“It depends on who’s asking…I don’t walk around wearing my ‘gákti’4 and telling everyone I’m a Sami. However if people ask, and know I’m from the study community, I don’t want to hide it. If someone asks, I’ll tell them I’m Sami.”	Ethnic openness
21, M2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“That’s the language we talk now. A language is important and if we stop using it and start speaking Norwegian instead, then the Sami language will die and that would be sad.”	Communication	“I’ll tell people I’m Sami…I would only be identified by my accent, as we wear similar clothing [to Norwegians] in everyday settings.”	Ethnic openness
				Cultural bearer/traditions
22, M2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“If I’m in a city and speak Sami, they’ll identify me as Sami.”	Ethnic identity marker	“When I’m wearing a ‘gákti’4 then people outside the community will identify me as Sami.”	Ethnic openness
						Traditional costume
23, F 2	Multi-ethnic	No	“I could speak Sami ever since I was little. I learned both languages just as well. My mum and dad speak Norwegian at home all the time. I have Norwegian at home and I speak Norwegian with my brothers. At school I speak Sami and with my grandmother.”	Communication	“I don’t hide my Sami background and others will realise I’m Sami as I often mix the Sami and Norwegian languages.”	Ethnic openness
24, M2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“It a language I speak normally. They will identify me as Sami by the language I speak.”	Communication	“I don’t walk around telling people I’m a Sami, but if they ask I tell them I’m Sami. They may also identify me as Sami by my language.”	Ethnic openness
				Ethnic identity marker
25, M1,2	Mono-ethnic	Yes	“It’s important to know the Sami language. I’m not very good at writing… I’m fluent in both languages [Sami and Norwegian]. …People usually hear from my dialect that I’m from the northern part of Norway.”	Communication Ethnic identity marker	“They would know by my acts. For example if I went out on the land, they would be able to see that I know how to look after myself there.”6	Ethnic openness

F: female; M: male.

¹Reindeer husbandry affiliation.

²Lower secondary grades: 13–15 years.

³Upper secondary grades: 16–19 years.

⁴Sami clothing.

⁵A school dropout.

⁶Quotes or findings have previously been published [21].