The Sami flag
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The Sami flag is raised here on several official occasions. February 6 became the official flag day in Norway in 2003, and the Norwegian flag is flown alongside the Sami flag on this day. The Sami flag has official status, but it is not a national flag that under international or constitutional law represents the Kingdom of Norway. The Sami flag is an important symbol in the celebration of the national day on February 6th. The flag is common to all Sami, regardless of which country they live in, and was approved on August 16th 1986 by the 13th Nordic Sami Conference in Åre, Sweden. The flag was designed by the Sami artist Astrid Båhl from Skibotn in Troms. The main motif is taken from markings on traditional Sámi drums and from the poem "Paiven parneh" ("Beaivvi bártnit” in Northern Sámi) by the southern Sami Anders Fjellner. In this poem, Fjellner portrays the Sami as the sons of the sun. The circle in the flag symbolizes the sun and the moon. The colors used in the flag are also commonly used in Sámi traditional dress, called gákti.