The Sámi Museum Siida is situated on the route E75 in the village of Inari, north of the bridge over the Juutua River.

The Sámi Museum Siida is an indigenous museum, and the Sámi are the only indigenous people of the European Union. The Museum was founded as the first Sámi museum in the Nordic countries by the Sámi themselves. In 1959 the Sámi association Samii Litto – Saamelaisten yhdistys, led by its executive director Johan Nuorgam, founded Inarin Saamelaismuseo, which operated as a summertime open-air museum until 1998

In 1986 a foundation called Sámi Museum – Saamelaismuseosäätiö was started with the aim of strengthening Sámi museum operations and making the field more professional. The objective of the Sámi Museum Foundation is to support and promote the national culture of the Sámi. The purpose of the museum operations guided by the foundation is to maintain and strengthen the Sámi population’s knowledge of their culture, history and environment, and to consolidate their Sámi identity and cultural self-esteem. Acquiring and documenting Sámi culture in Finland was the task of the National Museum of Finland until 1998, after which the documentation responsibility was transferred to the Sámi Museum Siida.