Sami National Day is celebrated on 6th February. It was first celebrated in 1993, when the United Nations proclaimed the International Year of Indigenous People open in Jokkmokk, Sweden. Sami National Day is for all Sami people, regardless of the country in which they live.
In Norway, it is compulsory for municipal administrative buildings to fly the Norwegian flag and also the Sami flag if they choose to, on 6th February. Some larger places also arrange festivities in the week around Sami National Day, especially Oslo and in towns and cities in the north of the country.
The date of the celebration, 6th February, was chosen as it was the start date of the first Sami National Congress, held in Trondheim in 1917. Elsa Laula Renberg, a reindeer owner and political activist, was prominent in the foundation of the first National Congress.
