My younger brother had (bless his soul) what I call 'Richard Gere' eyes as do his children. I notice that Renée Zellweger has them too...maybe related to the Sa'ami?
My wife’s grandmother had those eyes. Very deep set. Also had a lot of sisu.
Today there are only about 500 people who still speak Skolt. In Russia, Skolt numbers after the Russian takeover of Finland in 1812 plummeted as the Russians began depending on such people to open up Siberia and Alaska. The Skolt in Finland appear to have moved to Reindeer Crossing (as I call Ruäˊvnjargg - a name preserved in an old family term "Amarusia") and been assimilated.
That town, BTW, was burned to the ground by the German army as they were driven out of Finland at the end of the Continuation War (circa 1941). Recall that the Finish Army first defeated the Red Army tactically (but not strategically), and then had to defeat the German Army, again tactically if not strategically, at the request of the USSR as part of the deal to cease hostilities. A hard core of 5,000 or so ski mounted expert marksmen - probably mostly Sa'ami - successfully defeated two world class armies. The world at large took another 5 years to put an end to the conflict.
Although your folks appear to have had a rather recent arrival in America, it's worth noting that as early as 1638 the Swedes made a regular practice of kidnapping Sa'ami families who strayed too near Stockholm, and then shipping them to New Sweden (Souvrn NJ, Delaware, SE PA, and Central Maryland). Although Sweden didn't have an independent colony for long in America, it did make a deal with the United Kingdom that allowed it to ship Sa'ami and troublemakers to America where they would work to provide natural resources to Sweden, e.g. trees for ships.
Many more Americans than can properly be realized have one or more Sa'ami ancestors who was kidnapped by the Swedes to work as a slave in America choppin down trees.
Well, maybe I'm wrong. Many Americans have an affinity for the Emperor of the North with the long white beard who rides a reindeer.
NOTE: for a Chinese rendering check out the Three Emperor's picture on the wall at Gen Lai Sen Hakka Seafood Restaurant. 1065 12th Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 - the Hakka having been the original "barbarians" whose lifestyle demands caused the Chinese to build the Great Wall.
But, back on topic. No doubt Sa'ami have a higher than normal percentage of folks with a more than average number of red receptors as well as rods in their eyes ~ which you really do need to spend half your time in the dark. They are also physiologically in tune with living under cold conditions. Living in the lower latitudes turns some of those adaptations into life threatening conditions though.
I suspect Finns are nearly as well adapted.
Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. The equivalent in English is "to have guts", and indeed, the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However, sisu has a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain the same.
‘strange eyes’
Very true, I have a good friend from Finland, she has beautiful eyes, slightly asiatic, blue eyes and ash-blond hair, I am so envious...