Sami at the Centre, February 3 and 4, 2018

Thank you for your help with Sámi Culture and Design

The Scandinavian Cultural Society wishes to thank everyone who shared their precious artefacts and who helped with the Sámi event February 3^rd and 4^th. It was such a success. Everybody said so. It was the powerful feeling of community that people most noted.  Our American visitors particularly remarked on that. Perhaps it is a Sámi thing, but it is also just Scandinavian. 

Indeed, support came from every direction. Our own members and groups such as the Swedish Cultural Society and the US Pacific Sámi Searvi were everywhere, working hard. Wherever a hand was need it was there, quietly reaching to help. Leena in our office sent everyone on her list a note about the show. It took only 34 emails between me and Lloyd Binder in Tuktoyaktuk to make arrangements for his best reindeer meat. It came in plastic bags but those were wrapped in a green hide, dripping hairs. Very authentic. An Air Canada Cargo pilot personally put that meat into Poul Erik’s hands with apologies for accidently shipping it back to sender when we didn’t answer our phone. Like some other things, it may taste better if it crosses the Arctic Circle twice. Dave Buckman caught or otherwise acquired the fish. Gunnar Jensen and his wife spent over four hours slicing reindeer meat (and his finger) into 1/8 inch thick pieces and then came back the next day to spend an equal amount of time helping cook it. Didn’t it taste great? The lavvu went up and down safely so our children had that wonderful place to spend their day. Poul Erik slept in it for two nights, guarding. The dinner was cooked and served in a kitchen as hot as the ovens. The fish might have baked if we just set it on the counter. Even recalcitrant microphones and laptops kept going, though sometimes that trick took a Group of Seven. Each of over 100 articles on display was fetched, marked down, tagged, set into a safe spot to be admired, and most important, returned to its owner.

You liked the show. At least 30 of you told me so personally and no doubt many others in the SCS got similar messages. The presenters and award winning films worked well together and gave us pretty fair view of Sámi life then and now. Nobody went home early. It was an outstanding example of our whole community working together to make something special. That is just what we do at our Scandinavian Community Centre.

Here are links to some items from the weekend that were of particular interest to many participants.  

reindeer meat price list

Sámi recipes

Sámi National Anthem Whitehorn translation

 Sami program

Carolyn Thauberger on behalf of

Poul Erik Rasmussen, President,

Scandinavian Cultural Society

Kirsten Svineng (“Mamma Karasjok”, 1891 – 1980) was a Sami woman who lived most of her life in Karasjok, the Sami settlement that is now the home of the Norwegian Sami Parliament. She was an important Norwegian hero, showing exceptional courage during the Nazi occupation of Norway from 1940 to 1945. Hundreds of Serbian  prisoners of war were sent  to work under terrible conditions in occupied Norway, and one of the worst forced-labour camps was just outside Karasjok. Kirsten Svineng, along with other brave Karasjok citizens, risked her life to help the prisoners by giving  them food and sheltering escapees in her home. From there, she helped the escapees on their way to safety in Russia, and, incredibly, a number managed to get back to Yugoslavia. After the war ended, those former prisoners told their stories to Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. in 1957, he invited Mamma Karasjok to Belgrade for a special ceremony of recognition. It was her first trip outside Norway.

While she was still alive, the Norwegian author Per Hansson wrote her biography, Mamma Karasjok (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag 1970). Hansson’s book is a beautifully written tribute to this remarkable Sami woman. There does not seem to be a published translation to English, so Judith Anderson is working on the project. We will post chapters as the translations are completed.

Mamma Karasjok translation Chapter 1

Mamma Karasjok translation Chapter 2

Mamma Karasjok translation Chapter 3

Sami Interest Group

Karen Sørenson, Tor and Laura Olufsen and several others are hoping to start a Sami interest group at our Community Centre for social, cultural, and educational purposes. Please join us. Membership is not limited to those of Sami heritage. Anyone may join who has an interest in Sami history, decorative arts, or current Sami political and environmental issues. There is much we can learn and much fun to have if we are together.   

People of Sami heritage traditionally herded reindeer in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. According to Dr. Zita McRobbie (talking at our Leif Erikson Day, September 30, 2017), DNA studies suggest the Sami were already together as a people before the last Ice Age, far earlier than other Scandinavians became distinct. Their culture is famous for the ability of its people to survive for millennia in a harsh environment, for peaceful co-existence among subgroups, and for the beauty and deep meaning in its decorative arts. It is a culture well worth our interest and attention.  

Indigenous Canadians, especially those in our own far North have faced prejudice, environmental issues, and encroachment on their traditional lands and way of life. It has been the similar for the Sami. Both peoples continue to search for the best place for themselves in modern culture while keeping the traditions of their heritage. We will talk about this, too, and see how we can work together.

Let us know if you are interested and help us form a Sami group around our Centre.

Contact Carolyn Thauberger 778 228-2334 or cthauber12@gmail.com