Sami Reindeer Herders Fight Arctic Mining Expansion

Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen lives in northern Sweden. He is a Sami reindeer herder, and he sees a bad future. A mine is growing and splitting the land. This changes the reindeer routes.

The Arctic is getting warmer very fast. The herders need to move the animals more easily now. A new mine called Per Geijer could stop the reindeer migration. It might end the Sami way of life.

The reindeer are important to the Sami culture. They are needed for food, language, and knowledge. If the reindeer are gone, the Sami culture will disappear too.

The Sami people live in northern Sweden, Norway, and Finland. They were not allowed to herd reindeer before. Now, the Sami villages are businesses controlled by the state. The state decides how many reindeer they can have.

Kuhmunen takes care of many reindeer in his village. His family depends on the reindeer business. A large mine already makes the reindeer route harder. The new mine could make it impossible.