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<P align="justify"> The Skolt Saamis … <P align="justify"> The Skolt Saamis who lived in the Pechenga region lost their immemorial familial lands as a result of the surrender of territory by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Second World War. The inhabitants of three Saami villages in the Pechenga region were forced out to settle as refugees in the municipality of Inari in Finland. The inhabitants of Suonikylä were placed in the Sevettijärvi area north of Lake Inarijärvi, those of the Lapp village of Petsamo (Pechenga) were relocated in the Mustola-Nellimö area south-east of Inarijärvi, and those of the Lapp village of Paatsjoki were resettled in Keväjärvi, south of the lake (Area of Skolt Saami: map). </P> <P align="justify"> An area of state-owned land in the Municipality of Inari was designated as a Skolt Area and any Skolt born in the Pechenga region was granted the right to establish a Skolt farm with the associated buildings on it. The Skolts were further granted the right to use state land and waters for prosecuting their livelihoods,to cut down timber for building from forest areas designated by the National Board of Forestry and to cut trees for firewood as well as a number of other supplementary benefits intended to support reindeer herding and fishing. </P> <P align="justify"> The settlement of the previously sparsely inhabited Sevettijärvi region by the Skolts of Suonikylä meant the construction of a village centre with a school and dormitory, a health clinic and a chapel. A shop was also established to serve the new inhabitants. </P> <P align="justify"> In Keväjärvi, Mustola and Nellimö, the Skolts were interspersed among the original Inari Saamis. The rebuilding of the region after the depredations of the war brought various social and commercial services, which also served the resettled Skolt population. </P> <P align="justify"> Since the original resettlement, there has been both internal relocation and migration outside the Saami area. The biggest wage of migration took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s,when the post-warbaby boom generations grew up and began to seek a better life, above all better work opportunities and better housing conditions. </P> <P align="justify"> A change in the law in 1974 made it possible to establish new farms in the Skolt Area. This curbed the emigration and even induced some Skolts to return. Altogether 85 new farms were established in the Sevettijärvi, Keväjärvi and Nellimö areas. Only house plots were designated in the plans for the Keväjärvi area, and numerous young families moved there from both Sevettijärvi and Nellimö to be closer to employment opportunities. Later changes in the Skolt Law have striven to support both subsistence and culture, but the results have been meagre particularly in the Keväjärvi and Nellimö areas. </P> <P align="justify"> Electricity was brought to the Sevettijärvi area in 1979, and a road was built from Kaamanen to Näätämö on the Norwegian border in 1989. An upper comprehensive school was added to the junior comprehensive school in Sevettijärvi in 1990. The aim was to reinforce the children s knowledge of the Skolt Saami language and their awareness of the Skolt heritage and culture. The school building also houses a Skolt Saami cultural [[Siida|siida]]. In the village there is a café with a small grocery shop and internet access. The café also serves as a post office. </P> <P align="justify"> The village of Keväjärvi has no school or other meeting place of its own even though it has a population of nearly 200. The inhabitants have to avail themselves of the service of Ivalo twelve kilometres away. In the middle of the village there is an ice hockey rink, which was built by volunteers. There is a small harbour on the shore of Lake Siskeljärvi, from which one can get to Nanguvuono Creek on Lake Inarijärvi. Nellimö has likewise suffered a decline along with the closure of the school, but otherwise the level of services there is relatively good. Nellimö is an important focus for boat traffic on the eastern side of Lake Inari, and the harbour facilities for the fishing industry have even improved. </P>ng industry have even improved. </P> +
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