HANCOCK — The City of Hancock has been designated a 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture.

The city learned of the designation late Saturday during festivities and is the first city to hold the distinction in the United States. The Finno-Ugric peoples come from places such as Finland, Estonia, Hungary, and parts of Sweden, Norway and Russia.

Prior designated locations include four Russian villages, three Estonian locations, Iskaszentgyörgy and Veszprém in Hungary and Kuhmo, Finland. The Finns-Uric Capitals of Culture is a program that seeks to raise awareness of Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples and their languages.

According to the Fenno-Ugria website’s Capitals of Culture Page, the title has assisted in raising the locations’ profiles on domestic and national levels, strengthened local communities and provided them with new opportunities for development. The site also states the program has been described as a good example of promotion of Indigenous peoples’ cultural rights by former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Courpuz.

The Copper Country Finns and Friends’ Finlandia Chapter sought the designation wanting to bring more recognition for Hancock’s Finnish influence and cultural preservation. One of the requirements was at least 12 Finnish themed events per year, which Hancock achieves including Finnish Independence Day.

Honorary Consul of Finland and Chairman of Copper Country Finns and Friends Jim Kurtti was pleased with the designation. “I’m thrilled it’s happening,” Kurtti said. “The people in the Uralic Centre recognized Hancock as a pesäpaikka, or the nesting place for Finns and the first one in North America that is not on their historic soils like Finland and Estonia. They’re having a bigger conversation because Uralic peoples are struggling to keep their identities with the loss of their languages which are not being taught in school and people spreading throughout the world away from their homes.”

Kurtti said a committee will likely be put together to establish how the designation will be celebrated to honor the program. He explained there will also be a capstone event that people of Finnish, Suomi and other Finno-Ugric peoples from America and overseas will come to Hancock to celebrate.