dance cultures, likely under the influence of Russian traders, military service under the tsar, and the Russian Orthodox Church. This eastern Sápmi dance tradition has been more continuous and has been adapted by modern Sámi dance companies such as Johtti Kompani. Reindeer husbandry Reindeer husbandry has been and still is an important aspect of Sámi culture. Traditionally the Sámi lived and worked in reindeer herding groups called siidat, which consist of several families and their herds. Members of the siida helped each other with the management and husbandry of the herds. During the years of forced assimilation, the areas in which reindeer herding was an important livelihood were among the few where the Sámi culture and language survived. Today in Norway and Sweden, reindeer husbandry is legally protected as an exclusive Sámi livelihood, such that only persons of Sámi descent with a linkage to a reindeer herding family can own, and hence make a living off, reindeer. Presently, about 2,800 people are engaged in reindeer herding in Norway. In Finland, reindeer husbandry is not exclusive and is also practiced to a limited degree by ethnic Finns. Legally, it is restricted to EU/EEA nationals resident in the area. In the north (Lapland), it plays a major role in the local economy, while its economic impact is lesser in the southern parts of the area (Province of Oulu). Among the reindeer herders in Sámi villages, the women usually have a higher level of formal education in the area. Games The Sámi have traditionally played both card games and board games, but few Sámi games have survived, because Christian missionaries and Laestadianists considered such games sinful. Only the rules of three Sámi board games have been preserved into modern times. Sáhkku is a running-fight board game where each player controls a set of soldiers (referred to as "women" and "men") that race across a board in a loop, attempting to eliminate the other player's soldiers. The game is related to South Scandinavian daldøs, Arabian tâb and Indian tablan. Sáhkku differs from these games in several respects, most notably the addition of a piece – "the king" – that changes gameplay radically. Tablut is a pure strategy game in the tafl family. The game features "Swedes" and a "Swedish king" whose goal is to escape, and an army of "Muscovites" whose goal is to capture the king. Tablut is the only tafl game where