Kväner is an original population with historical distribution in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland where descendants still inhabit the area today and call themselves kvän/kvääni, lantalainen and/or tornedaling. Ways of life and traditions that are still alive today, small farming is often combined with reindeer herding to the east (reindeer farmers), hunting and fishing. Crafts and handicrafts are very much alive in culture. Traditional boat building that is historically mentioned also exists. The language/name Meänkieli began to be used as a term only in the 1980s. The language has roots in the Finno-Ugric language group and is most closely related to the Northern Finnish dialects. It also mean ´my language´. Nowadays children still learn how to speak Meänkieli in schools.

• Tornedalsvarieteten in Pajala, Övertorneå and Haparanda.
• Gällivarevarieteten in Gällivare.
• Lannankieli in Kiruna, Kurravaara and Jukkasjärvi. 

The Sami people (also Sámi or Saami, traditionally known in English as Lapps or Laplanders) are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting the Arctic area of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. The Sami are the only indigenous people in Scandinavia that are recognized and protected under the international conventions of indigenous peoples and are hence one of the northern most indigenous people of Europe. Sami ancestral lands are not well-defined. Traditionally, the Sami have pursued a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping, and reindeer herding. Currently about 10% of the Sami are connected to reindeer herding, providing them with meat, fur, and transportation. 2,800 Sami people are actively involved in herding on a full-time basis. For traditional, environmental, cultural, and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved for only Sami people in some regions in Sweden. “Sapmi” is the name of the areas where the Sami people roamed before borders where drawn. The Sami's have had 11 languages, where 9 of them are still used. The biggest Sami language is Northern Sami.