The Dream Dimension: Beyond The Veil
Exhibition by Juliana Nilsson Gagné
January-February 2025
Scandinavian Cultural Center
West Newton, Massachusetts
Website: juliana-gagne.com
Email: gagne.juliana@gmail.com
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“We, Saami are one people, united in our own culture, language and history, living in areas which, since time immemorial and up to historical times, we alone inhabited and utilized”
-Saami Political Program 1986, Saami Council Statements
Between 1820 and 1920, 2.1 million immigrants left from Scandinavia bound for Turtle Island (North America)
An unknown number of those immigrants were Sámi
Today there are estimated to be between 30,000-60,000 of their descendants, about half are believed to have no knowledge of their Sámi ancestors.
Who are the Sámi people?
The Sámi (also spelled: Sami, Saami, Same) are the only recognized Indigenous people in Europe. Today there are about 80,000 Sámi people living in Sápmi.
“The Sámi people have lived in their settlements long before the national borders were established” -Sámi Parliament, About the Parliament
Where are the Sámi homelands?
Sápmi (also spelled: Sabme, Samiland) is the ancestral land of the Sámi people, which today encompasses the invading countries of: Norway, Sweden, Finland the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Historically Sápmi stretched much farther south than it does today as a result of colonization and assimilation practices enforced by the occupying governments.
What are the Sámi languages?
Northern Sápmi
Northern Sámi (definitely endangered)
Lule Sámi (severely endangered)
Pite Sámi (critically endangered)
Southern Sápmi
Southern Sámi (severely endangered)
Ume Sámi (critically endangered)
Eastern Sápmi
Skolt Sámi (severely endangered)
Kildin Sámi (severely endangered)
Inari Sámi (severely endangered)
Ter Sámi (critically endangered)
Akkala Sámi (extinct)
North American Sámi Reawakening
In the 1980s a movement began to reclaim Sámi identity and history among the descendants of Turtle Island, including finding community, learning about shared history and culture and connecting with relatives back in Sápmi. Two publications are closely linked to this movement, the Báiki journal (1991) and Árran, a newsletter (1996).
For a timeline of the Sámi reawakening in Turtle Island:
samiculturalcenter.org/awakening/sami-reawakening-history/
March 9-11, 1995 Nils Aslak Valkeapää (Áillohaš) visited Turtle Island for the last time, on that Friday he shared a joik and his incredible poetry in Minneapolis, MN. Saturday he visited Faith Fields house and visited with the community. That evening at Nathan Muus’ house there was a large feast held in his honor. My Grandfather, Sherman, met Nils Aslak during this trip, getting a signed copy of Trekways of the Winds which I inherited in 2012. This book is my most prized possession and I credit this book with connecting me and further interesting me in Sámi culture, history, art, poetry and music. I had grown up with Nils Aslan’s joiks but the visual art in the book had a huge influence on my own burgeoning art practice.
Areas with High Amounts of Sámi Immigration include:
Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Illinois, California, Washington, Utah, Alaska, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut
What does it mean to be Indigenous?
Indigenous people inhabited an area before it was colonized, they remain after colonization and are now a minority group.
International Labour Organization’s “Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention” of 1989 (ILO 169) defines being Indigenous as “peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions”
Being Indigenous is not about having a match on a DNA test, it is about your connection and ties to the living community
Descendants in Turtle Island are even more disconnected from their ancestors, but some descendants have traveled to Sápmi and met with their Sámi kin
Whose Land is the Scandinavian Cultural Center on?
Nipmuc Land
nativeland.ca
Further Resources:
Websites:
Saami Council English link:
saamicouncil.net/en/home
Sámediggi: Sámi Parliament (enable Google Translate for English)
sametinget.no/about-the-sami-parliament/?sprak=12
Pacific Sámi Searvi: pacificsami.org
Sámi Cultural Center of North America: samiculturalcenter.org
(Located in Duluth, Minnesota)
Media:
Ted Talk by Sofia Jannok:
youtube.com/watch?v=5GZu8xECOdw
Sameblod/Sámi Blood Movie (Amazon Prime)
Stolen Movie (Netflix)
Nils-Aslak Valkeapää/Áillohaš:
Trekways of the Wind book (English translation)
Ædnan book by Linnea Axelsson, available in Swedish and English
Stolen book by Ann-Helén Laestadius
We Stopped Forgetting book by Ellen Marie Jensen
Báiki International Sámi Journal:
samiculturalcenter.org/baiki-the-north-american-sami-journal/
Liberating Sápmi book by Gabriel Kuhn
Art, Academia and Duodji
Joar Nango:
archive.pinupmagazine.org/articles/interview-mimi-zeiger-joar-sami-architecture-joar-nango
The website of academic Liisa-Rávná Finbog
https://liisaravna.blog/
Lectures by Master Regalia Maker and Duojár: Anna-Stina Svakko
astudesign.com/
Facebook Groups & Pages:
Sámi of America
Sami Sidda
Lær Samisk (Learn a Sámi Language)
Canadians with Sami Ancestry
Saami (Sámi) Genealogy
Sami Cultural Center of North America
Learn Northern Sami
Colour Your Past
Instagram:
@gruvfrittjokkmokk @samediggi @samekofter @samesystrar
@sameradionochsvtsapmi @sami.easter.festival @ridduriddu
@nuoraidraddi @nuoraidmagasiidna @pacificsamisearvi @samiskt_sprakcentrum @samiskhus_oslo
Nipmuc Nation:
www.nipmucnation.org/history
Donate: /www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=R3Z7GRCKY4P9A