The Saami Council (Northern Sami: Sámiráđđi) is an umbrella organization for Sámi organizations in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Saami Council was founded during the 2nd Sámi Conference held in Karasjok, Norway on August 18, 1956 as the Nordic Saami Council. After the first Russian Sámi organization was accepted as a member in 1992, however, the word Nordic was dropped from the official name.