Tiffaney Pottinger, age 13, of Rock Island, I11., for her question:
IS LAPLAND A COUNTRY?
Lapland is an area of land that is at the extreme northern part of Europe. It lies above the Arctic Circle. Lapland does not form a separate country but is part of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
The region is called Lapland because it is the home of a small, sturdy people known as the Lapps. There are about 20,000 people in the Norwegian part of Lapland, about 10,000 in Sweden, about 2,500 in Finland and about 1,500 in Russia.
Lapps are among the smallest people in Europe. Their average height is only five feet. They are very strong and muscular. They look somewhat like Chinese or Japanese people because they have yellowish skin, straight black hair, broad and flat noses and high cheekbones.
Some Lapps now live outside Lapland. Many have married Swedes, Finns or Norwegians and have moved to the central parts of the various Scandinavian countries.
The Lapps in Lapland are mostly a nomadic people who follow reindeer herds. Many have now settled in fishing or farming villages. They dress in clothes made of wool and reindeer skins. Everyday garments are so colorful that they resemble holiday costumes.
The language of Lapland is related to that spoken in Finland. The people in various sections of the region speak sharply different dialects. Because there are few schools, many Lapps receive little or no formal classroom education.
Lapland is a bleak, barren region with few trees and not too much vegetation. The reindeer feed on mosses and lichens.
Some of the world's richest iron deposits can be found in Lapland. Most of the mines are in the Swedish part of the region. Nickel deposits are located in the Russian area.
Winter in Lapland lasts nine months. The other three months resemble spring in areas that have mild climates. During two months of the summer, the sky never darkens and it is light 24 hours of the day.
Today most of the Lapps belong td the Lutheran or Eastern Orthodox churches, but at one time they believed in a form of magic called shamanism. The shaman was a medicine man who would beat on drums and foretell the future.
Historians tell us that the Lapps probably moved to Lapland from Central Asia thousands of years ago. Finnish merchants started to trade with them in the 1300s.
Lapps living along the coast are more civilized than those living in the mountains. Sea Lapps work primarily as fishermen. They build their huts of wood and cover the roofs with sod.
Mountain Lapps, for the most part, live a wandering life. They move from one place to another with their herds of reindeer. They live chiefly on reindeer meat, milk and cheese.
River Lapps form a third group. They are the most progressive people in the region. They hunt, fish and also do a little farming.