Ok
Now I have seen a lot of people talking about how amazing the new netflix movie Clause is (and it is, you should really go and see it) but many haven't know who these colorful dressed pepole are that some have called "inuit elfs"
This pepole are the Sami. And tbh is one of the main reasons I was excited to see the movie, bicuase if it's one thing the Sami don't get its representation in film and media.
Now who are the Sami?
Thay are a group of people in the far north of Europe who once followed and hunted reindeer but today heard them like cowboys of the north as well fishing and hunting. There culture is very much a result of the way of living but today there ofcorse Sami who live and work in city's and have other jobs.
The Sami also have there own religon that's similar to both nativ American animism as well old norse paganism. Thay even have a own version of the famous god Thor, known as Horagalles or Dierpmis in sami. But many today are Christian after nations like Sweden, Norway, Russia and Finland pushing for converting the "heathen pepole in the north" to the church. Just one in the many ways the Sami were oppressed.
Thay also have thay own language with many difrent dielects and is related to Finnish.
Now I haven't read or spoken eny Sami seens high school and tbh don't remember much, so I have no idea witch Sami language thay speak in the movie but I guess it may the Sami spoken on northen finland? If enyone who speak it better can corekt me pls do.
As you notes in the claus movie the Sami is also known for there colorful traditional clothing witch just as the language very from region to region.
BUT also a very important thing to know about the Sami is why thay are not often only shown in media but in a good way as good pepole.
Bicuase sadly the Sami have faced cruelty such as cultural and religon opresstion and even genocide. Beaing seen as thieves, greddy, dirty, witches and in all lesser human, mainly by Norway and Sweden. In swedish school books to this day this is bearly mentioned. At Uppsala university in Sweden in the late 1800 and early 1900 swedes gathered body parts such as skulls from the Sami and even forced castration to make sure sweden would have "a healthy truly swedish population" (no wonder hitler liked sweden) and it was just as bad in Norway as seen the 8th november 1852 during the Kautokeino uprising when Sami pepole resisted Norwegian domination and influence. It's a long messy story but there is a great movie about it from 2008 called 'Kautokeinoupproret'
And sadly to this day the Sami face opresstion and racism even tho it gets better.
Just this year some of the first body's were returned after been taken from Sami graveyards for collections at universities and museums in Sweden.
So now when you watch Netflix klause you not only seeing something well animated with a lovely story, you see some of the only representation of the Sami outside of scandinavia. Witch is just a nother reason why the Klause is amazing!