Thursday, September 13, 2018

Sami Activism Inspiring My Research




The Sami along with other first nations leaders from Canada and New Zealand have been in Finland not far from where I am living to protest a planned railway development though the Boreal Forest. The railroad would encourage more mining, forestry and other industrial development as climate change means melting Arctic sea and industry has its eye on a path to cut through areas important to the Sami for reindeer herding and for their way of life. I can't keep up with all the activism and amazing film, video, protest art and other eco-media being made in resistant to colonization and extractivism. I knew when Standing Rock took place in North Dakota it would inspire global protests..luckily these are peaceful and I haven't heard of police showing up just yet. It is significant that the Sami and allies speak out as they are ignored by the Finnish government even though the Sami have rights in the Finnish constitution. I spoke with two researchers at University of Oulu who were very helpful to me, Marko Jouste and Hannu Heikkinen.  I am preparing for my 
presentation at Vienna Anthropology Days https://vanda.univie.ac.at/home/
 and I am not organized because I can't
mention all the new material that I am
finding here.  It will be my first time at
an anthropology conference and my first time in Vienna.

Meanwhile, I went to Oulu, the bigger town around here but still a small city.


 I am standing with Sanna Koivisto's sculpture Course of Time, which shows all the various people in history from King Charles IX when Sweden ruled Finland, to a postman, a society lady, a shopkeeper and a female doctor. Sanna is one of the founders of the KulttuuriKauppila residency and art park and my good neighbor with whom I had my first sauna session of this trip...She also inspired a poem I am working on. Here is the link to the description of me that the residency put on line:
https://www.kulttuurikauppila.fi/en/news/cheryl-j-fish-kk-air-9-2018-2/

There is a wonderful Environmental Art Park in Ii, and I am including some photos of the art from there, many of whom held the residency here, or were part of the ART Ii Biennale held every two years. The one in 2016 focused on Sami artivism.

Chairs in the art park
Lena Stenberg's Upside Down
Jenni Laiti and Outi Pieski's "Forewalkers" about the
Sami philosophy of "soabalas eallin"preserving, protecting
and supporting diversity in nature and humans.


Antti ready for mushroom picking although the best ones were gone.


edible mushrooms picked
with Antti and cooked later


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