I was nearly late to work—although on time is, I suppose, what it’s called, not that anyone else is generally there to notice—because I spied this usual bumper-sticker on an out-of-town pick-up truck parked in a neighbourhood I passed through the day before and I went back to see if it was still parked in the same space.
I found the truck again after realized that I recognized that flag and knew what it stood for: the banner of the Sรกmi peoples who live in the northern reaches of the Scandinavian countries above the Arctic Circle. They are not limited to Ultima Thule, however, and have a very vibrant culture—Renรฉe Zellweger, for instance, has Sรกmi ancestry on her mother’s side, and possibly the individual with the truck here. Sometimes one hears the term Lappland but that’s highly antiquated and probably means
patches from their traditional clothing style. We did not venture that far north in Norway to reach Sรกpmi but I had researched a little bit about the land and the indigenous tribe. The flag is not one of a separatist movement but rather a symbol for tribal unity, a shared heritage and a call for self-determination. I was happy that such a souvenir made its way back to far away Bavaria and Lower Franconia.
