Nutti Sámi Siida AB is a well renowned Sámi tourism company that organises natural and cultural experiences based on Sámi culture, and offers speciality lodging close to reindeer. The owner Nils Torbjörn Nutti is Sámi and reindeer herder in Saarivuoma sameby (reindeer herding community). The company is located in Jukkasjärvi village, approx. 20 km from Kiruna. The Sámi people have always lived close to nature with great respect for all living. Working in a responsible and sustainable way is thus very natural for us.

Our history

We, Nils Torbjörn Nutti from Saarivuoma sameby and Carina Pingi from Gabna sameby, started operating in 1996. Bad grazing for the reindeer during the winter forced us to feed them in corrals instead of herding them out in the woods. Factory made food was expensive and to get an extra income we decided to take visitors to the corral. We started a cooperation with Icehotel and the business grew little by little. Eventually we started the tourism company Nutti Sámi Siida.

Owner

Both Nils and Carina have their roots in this area and have grown up in close connection to the reindeer herding and the Sámi lifestyle. Nils has been a reindeer herder for more than 30 years and has a lot of experience in working with reindeer. Together we decided to start the tourism business, Nutti Sámi Siida. Due to Carina’s decease in September 2014, Nils became sole owner of the company.

Start

We started our activities in autumn 1996. Due to ice on the ground and lot of snow the natural grazing for the reindeer was bad. To prevent them from starving we decided to feed them in corrals during the winter. Buying factory made food was expensive and we got the idea to receive visitors to the reindeer corral and in that way finance the feeding.

We contacted Yngve Bergqvist at the Icehotel to find out if they were interested in sending guests to us. A cooperation started and we have since then been Icehotels main supplier of Sámi activities.

Training reindeer

Nils’s father Henrik, who had been using reindeer and sleds for transportation before the entry of the snowmobile, repaired his old reindeer harnesses. With his knowledge and help we started to tame and train reindeer to pull sleds. We wanted to learn the skills ourselves but also give our visitors the opportunity to drive with reindeer and sled.

Nutti Sámi Siida

The first winter went well and we continued to feed our whole herd for two more winters and kept on receiving visitors. The tourist business became a good extra income to the reindeer herding. As the tourist activities grew, we started in 1999 a separate tourist company; Nutti Sámi Siida. Siida is Sámi language and means winter group. The sameby´s reindeer herding is during the winter divided into smaller winter groups, often family groups.

The tourism has become a development of the reindeer herding and the connection between our tourism business and the reindeer herding is very important and also necessary.

In 2010 our accommodation facility Reindeer Lodge along Paksuniemivägen outside Jukkasjärvi village was launched. We wanted to cut down unnecessary transfers and offer our guests an authentic stay close to our reindeer.

In 2013 we started an annual event called Sámi márkan Jukkasjärvi that takes places Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the traditional Jukkasjärvi Market. Sámi márkan Jukkasjärvi aims to highlight and recognize the Sámi culture and various topics related to life in Sápmi. The event is hold on Sámi Siida – Márkanbáiki in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden.

Our guides

All employees at Nutti Sámi Siida have a direct connection to the Sámi culture and way of life. The guides have experience of and are used to the nature, the climate and staying out in the wilderness.

Quality and environment

The Sámi people have always lived close to nature and showed a great respect for animals and nature. We try to keep this approach and incorporate it in all our activities and tours. The environment, quality and the Sámi culture are very important for us when we plan our trips. Thus, our business is quality labelled according to Nature’s Best Sweden, Sápmi Experience and Sustainable Arctic Destination.