Minnesota Discovery Center restores Sami Hut

CHISHOLM, Minn. — The Minnesota Discovery Center has renovated a traditional Sami hut that was first built at the center in the 1990’s.

The Sami people are an indigenous group from northern Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

In 1996, a group of Sami people who immigrated to the Northland built a traditional hut at the Minnesota Discovery Center.

Nearly 30 years after it was first built, the hut has been restored to its original shape with the help of a grant from the Chisholm Community Foundation.

“They use birch bark, which is kind of like its own natural water barrier. So they would line that with birch bark, and then they would take sod bricks and kind of build up alongside of the structure to create the sod hut that you see before you,” said Allyse Freeman, Museum and research Director at the Discovery Center, “We had to replace the lining on it, and then we did add some more birch bark, and then more sod as well.”

The renovation, which took about a month, aimed to highlight the Sami presence in northern Minnesota and their culture.

“Some of them did become Iron Rangers, per se, amongst the, you know, dozens and dozens of European ethnic groups that came to the Iron Range during the early 1900s, the Sami were also part of that group that came over from Europe, and so they did call northern Minnesota their home,” said Freeman.

The center also built a raised storehouse, which was used to store food and other perishables. And even if you haven’t heard about the Sami people, you may know the popular fictional character Kristoff, who was inspired by Sami culture.

You can visit the Minnesota Discovery Center to check out the renovations to the hut.
The center aims to bring Iron Range stories to life, from the past and present.