Reindeer herders in Finland: Pulled to community‐based entrepreneurship and pushed to individualistic firms

This study of reindeer herding in Finland identifies important differences between Indigenous Sámi reindeer herding, and reindeer husbandry by persons from mainstream society. A central theme was that ethnic Finns simply viewed their entrepreneurship as a means to economic profit. In contrast, Sámi respondents attributed their herding to a “pull” toward cultural tradition, while a frequent finding was that Sámi respondents – especially women – were often “pushed” into other activities to supplement their otherwise inadequate income derived from community‐based reindeer herding. Policy reform in the form of entrepreneurship in politics, e.g. the adoption of a Nordic Sámi Convention, may be required to encompass the revealed cultural values into sector legislation.