Sami, SAH mee, are the native people of northernmost Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia. They were formerly known as Lapps, but they prefer the name Sami. There are about 70,000 Sami. About 40,000 of them live in Norway, about 20,000 in Sweden, about 7,000 in Finland, and about 2,000 in Russia. In the 1900's, the Sami began to establish a common cultural identity and to gain political power.