Culturally and economically, reindeer herding is the most important source of income for the Sami. Reindeer not only provide meat and milk, but also materials for garments and tools. They are now being handled more and more as a cash crop (Lapps 257). The wealthier reindeer herders place themselves socially above the Sami who earn their living by fishing. Traditional handicrafts and tourism are a source of additional income for many and are the main income for some Sami. Employment enables many Sami to stay in their home region, and is therefore important to them and their culture (Society 2). The subsistence economies are what differentiate the subgroups. The economy of the Coastal Sami is based mainly on marine fishing. Like reindeer meet, fish has remained an important food. The Forest Sami have an economy based on hunting and trapping with some fishing in rivers and lakes. Reindeer herding to Mountain Sami is an imperative part of their economy. Their food, clothing, and household implements are all derived from the reindeer. In the American culture, employment plays a major role in the economy. When America is in a state of decline a great deal of workers are laid off and the economy declines. The occupations many Americans encompass make it possible to live a normal life. Like the Sami, the American culture also uses cash crops for a vital way of producing an income. In general, the economic standards for a person are often dependent on the occupational degree a person holds. In both cultures, the economy is a foundation for the society to grow on. There is more to a culture than the economic activities, the religion also ties into the foundation of a culture.

People, nature, events, beliefs and teachings all contribute to the social organizations of the Sami culture from the remote past to the present day. Traditional Sami visual arts are closely connected to ancient rock paintings. Sami ornamentation, clothing and handicrafts have combined traditions and old-time beliefs of Scandinavian and eastern populations of the Viking age into a special Sami tradition. The cultural heritage kept up by the Sami brings originality into today's Sami literature, handicrafts, visual arts, music and theatre (Sami 7). Their family, language, religion, dwelling system and livelihoods have traditionally unified the Sami. Jobs in the traditional family were sharply divided by sex. Men cared for reindeer, hunted, dressed and prepared the meat, and made boats, sleds, tools, and utensils. Women prepared the material for clothes, spinning and dyeing wool, dressing the skins, and sewing the garments. Weddings are festive affairs, with the wedding feast provided by the bride's parents. In Sami Families the youngest son has been favored, traditionally inheriting the bulk of the father's estate, particularly his reindeer (Lapps 259). The Sami have elected a representative body, a Sami parliament, from amongst themselves. Its 20 representatives are elected every 4 years. The purpose of the Sami parliament is to attend to the rights and interests of the Sami by presenting initiatives and proposals and by preparing opinions to the authorities. This is also true in the American culture. Every 4 years a new president is elected to assess the peoples' righ

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Approximate Word count = 2195
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)