The Saami Culture Archive of University of Oulu is a developing research infrastructure. The collections of Saami Culture Archive form a significant “bank of resources” for academic research in Saami language, cultural and sociological studies as well as teaching and Saami cultural work. The collection of the Saami Culture Archive consists of notable amount of sound, video and photograph material as well as digitalised documents of the Saami traditional culture and various Saami cultural activities.

The Saami Culture Archive was founded at the Giellagas Institute to gather new material and preserve a notable existing collection of material describing the historical and present-day Saami culture and language, as well as to organise the use of it. Providing the material of the Saami Culture Archive for a wider scientific and cultural use can be seen as a part of the Giellagas Institute's nation-wide responsibility.

The Giellagas Institute is a unique host organisation for the Saami Culture Archive, since it is a national and international meeting point for the members of the Saami society and academic research. It is the only sound archive in Finland with staff competent in Saami language, which is crucial for the work with the Saami archive material. It also hosts the required knowledge of Saami culture and legal and ethical questions, along with the competence to make decisions regarding the use of Saami cultural material.