Main exhibition renewal

The new joint permanent exhibition of the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre

Siida’s new exhibition is called “Enâmeh láá mii párnáh – These lands are our children”, according to the Inari Sámi poem written by Matti Morottaja from Inari. The name of the exhibition summarizes the most important messages of nature and cultural topics.

The cultural contents of the exhibition reflect on how the past lives in us – each of us has a diverse heritage of different eras, which we utilise when adapting to changes around us. The nature perspective highlights climate history, specifically after the last Ice Age, and also speculates what will happen to the climate in the future. Nature topics are discussed through the conservation areas of Northern Lapland, their different habitat types, and the species living in them.

The principal architect of the new exhibition is Harri Koskinen from Friends of Industry Ltd. The manuscript for the cultural section was prepared by professor Veli-Pekka Lehtola. Outi Pieski serves as the artistic director of the cultural section. The manuscript of the nature section is by biologist Matti Mela.

The renewal of the cultural section of Siida’s main exhibition is financed by Kone Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation/Museum Vision, the Ministry of Education and Culture subsidy, and Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation. Muittut, muitalusat – the story of the Sámi by the Sámi, an Interreg project related to the renewal of the exhibition, is also under way at the Sámi Museum. Metsähallitus received the funding for renewing the nature section of Siida’s permanent exhibition from the government’s amending budget.