Archive of the Skolt Sámi village of Suonjel Suenjel
Documentary heritage submitted by Finland and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2015.
The archive after conservation. Mikko Salminen / The National Archives Service of Finland, 2012.
The archive forms a unique body of documentation of an indigenous community. It is a unique expression of how documented decisions of the government were understood already centuries ago as safeguarding the fundamental rights of the community. The documents are official edicts issued by the Russian Emperor and the Imperial Government (gramota), which confirmed the rights of the Skolt Sámi community to their fishing and reindeer herding territories and the community developed a unique way to preserve these vital records.