Arctic Council Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. Eight member countries constitute the council: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States as these are the eight countries with sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle. Outside these, there are some observer states. The first step towards the formation of the Council occurred in 1991 when the eight Arctic countries signed the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS). The 1996 Ottawa Declaration established the Arctic Council as a forum for
Inari Sami people Inari Sami culture was fishing and hunting. Fishing lost its importance because Lake Inari was being overfished in the 20th century. The main hunting game was Finnish forest reindeer, but their numbers collapsed in the 18th century. Inari Sami moved between winter and summer homes, though this practice disappeared quite early. Inari Sami mythology had some of the same gods as Finnish mythology did. Most important of them was "Äijih", who had similar characteristics as Finnish Ukko had. Other gods included "Piäiváž" and "Čäcialmai". Holy sites of Inari Sami ("Sieidi") were often on islands of Lake Inari. Most important of