Sámi  National Day 2023

February 6, 2023

Sámi Heritage and Culture

Download Carolyn Thauberger’s presentation–

Sami Culture for UBC 2021 updated 2023

The Sámi flag above is one of the two official flags of Norway. Sámi  people have established a strong political presence in Norway which now recognizes this Sámi flag as one of the country’s two official flags. They are flown together on state occasions, the Sámi flag beneath the Norwegian one. Designed by Astrid Båhl, the red part of the circle symbolises the sun, the blue part the moon. The colours red, blue, green and yellow reflect the Sámi national costume. Green symbolises nature, blue water, red fire and yellow the sun. The Sámi call themselves “The people of the sun”.

Sámi people call their home territories “Sapmi”. These lands lie across the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Russian Kola Peninsula. There are 100,000 Indigenous inhabitants in this area. Ancestors of the present-day Sámi have inhabited the area since the birth of Christ and likely much longer. At least 30,000 people of Sámi ancestry live in North America.

The Sámi are a people with a rich and powerful culture one they have held for thousands of years. They are noted for their skill in living successfully in a cold environment and for their cooperative and peaceful social connections (at least before the deliberate introduction of alcohol by politicians wanting to control the Sámi lands and gather taxes from a weakened population). Some believe Sámi people may even have come to the Sapmi areas just after the last Ice Age left 10,000 years ago. Archeological evidence is limited for a nomadic people but studies of language and culture seem to support this. Considering their success there is likely much we can learn from the Sámi about living in a northern climate and about peaceful social organization.

 

 

The AGM of the Scandinavian Cultural Society —

Monday 28^th February 2022 at 7:00 pm

Venue — Scandinavian Centre

Agenda:

• Consider the directors reports.
• Consider Financial Statements for the year ending 31^st December 2021.
• Elect directors, Group B.
• Transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting.

Attendance at this Annual General Meeting is open to all group and individual members.

Dues may be paid at or prior to the meeting.

Dated 28^th January 2022.

By order of the Board of the Scandinavian Cultural Society.

Sámi Interest Group

Karen Sorensen, Poul Jouksu, and several others have started a Sámi interest group at our Community Centre for social, cultural, and educational purposes. Please join us. Membership is not limited to those of Sámi heritage. Anyone may come who has an interest in Sámi history, decorative arts, or current Sámi political and environmental issues. There is lots we can learn and much fun to have if we are together.  

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

Indigenous Canadians, especially those in our far North have faced prejudice, environmental issues, and the loss of their traditional lands and way of life. It has been similar for the Sámi. Both peoples continue to search for the best place for themselves in modern culture and economy 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 to join our Sámi group around our Scandinavian Community Centre in Burnaby, BC.

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

 

On July 27 – 28, 2019, the Scandinavian Cultural Society organized an exhibit and information table at the Richmond Maritime Festival in the historic Britannia Shipyards site. We presented a subset of our 2018 Nordic Spirit heritage photo exhibit, focusing on the contributions of Nordic Canadians to BC’s fishing and boatbuilding industries. The history of Nordic boatbuilding grows directly from the traditions of Viking ship design, so we included information about Viking ships as background.

The Richmond Maritime Festival was a rewarding venue, with good attendance and attentive organizers. We enjoyed talking with a number of interested visitors at our exhibit.

Maria Lakes, John Stuart,  Bent Ostergaard, and Judith Anderson manned the exhibit. Here are Bent’s photos of the Festival and the Britannia Shipyard.

We are excited to participate in the 2019 Richmond Maritime Festival on July 27 and 28, in Steveston, BC.

https://www.richmondmaritimefestival.ca/

Our exhibit will feature a small sample from our 2018 Nordic Spirit exhibit — stories and images of Nordic immigrants in BC’s fishing industry. People from the Nordic countries brought with them centuries of seafaring experience and tradition, an unbroken lineage from Viking ships to the present. Their contributions to our local fishing and shipbuilding industries have been substantial.

Leif Erikson Day 2018– Celebrate with Song

Saturday, 13 October, 4:00 pm, at the Scandinavian Community Centre

We are delighted to present a special concert by the Frederiksberg Sogns Pigekor  as part of the Leif Erikson DayFestival.   This Danish girls’ choir is based in Copenhagen and includes young women 11 to 22 years old. They will visit Vancouver as part of their 2018 tour of western Canada. The group has traveled the world — Japan, Greenland and the United States, as well as various European countries. The program will be a mix of Scandinavian music and Nordic folksongs, sung in both English and Danish.

Admission is by donation.

After the choir’s performance, plan to stay for more! Music will continue as the Centre’s own Nordic Bleu Singers join forces with the Vancouver Spelmanslag in a program of Nordic folksongs, including some Icelandic favourites.