Our Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These lands are our children exhibition is close to one year old now. The past year has been busy, as our exhibition has been seen by 65 000 visitors. Before the busy summer season, it is time for maintenance work in the joint permanent exhibition of Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida. At the same time we will do maintenance in the public areas.

Due to the maintenance Siida and restaurant Sarrit will be closed Thursday – Monday, May 4^th – 8^th 2023. We will be open again regularly from Tuesday May 9^th onwards.

The launching of the collection provides an opportunity to study Sámi traditional clothing digitally no matter where you live.

The Sámi living in Finland wear five different Sámi attires depending on which family and area they come from. The collections of the Sámi Museum contain almost three hundred dresses from different areas and periods. The launching of the collection in the Finna Services provides an opportunity to study Sámi traditional clothing digitally no matter where you live. In the autumn of 2022 the attires were photographed anew, and details of the dresses can also be studied better now.

As an estimated 60 percent of the Finnish Sámi live outside the Finnish Sámi Area, the Museum also wants to be accessible to them. You can get more information on the dresses and the photographs on them from the Collection Services of the Sámi Museum. The photographs presented in Finna are not reproducable in print, and they have been licensed with the licence Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

The ten-year-old Finna Service is a combination of several search services and home to millions of items of cultural and academic materials in Finland. Hundreds of Finnish organisations such as archives, libraries and museums offer their unique contents in Finna. The Finna Service is kept up and developed by the National Library of Finland in cooperation with archives, libraries, museums and other partners. The Sámi Museum has its own Finna view at https://siida.finna.fi.

The Sámi National Day in Siida also launches the ten-year anniversary of the Finna Service. During the day, Finna’s experts show the Finna search services to the public, giving guidance on their use.

“During the anniversary of Finna, we want to inspire people to have a look at millions of items of materials, so we are happy to be able to open this jubilee year with the launching of such an important collection. Starting the year with hundreds of Sámi dresses is also in order because we will be working on a North Sámi version of the Finna Services during the year”, Erkki Tolonen, Finna’s Head of Development, says.

 

Have a great Sámi National Day! Buori sámi álbmotbeaivvi!

Pyeri säämi aalmugpeivi! Šiõǥǥ saaʹmi meeʹrsažpeeiʹv!

 

Further information:

Sámi Museum Siida

Marjo-Riitta Rantamäki, Deputy Curator, tel. +358 40 5715670, marjo-riitta.rantamaki(at)samimuseum.fi

 

Finna

Erkki Tolonen, Head of Development, tel. +358 29 414 4588, erkki.tolonen(at)helsinki.fi

Year 2022 was unpredictable, eventful, and busy, in regards to exhibition visitors in Siida Sámi Museum and Nature Centre, especially in the summer and autumn. According to statistics Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida had 55 143 exhibition visitors in 2022, which is close to the all time record.

Events around the world, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, have affected the number of visitors in Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida. Notable about 2022 is also that for the first five months of the year the Siida-building was under renovations and renewal, during which visitors were only able to visit the Sámi Museum’s open-air museum. On the first of June the new joint permanent exhibition of Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These lands are our children, as well as the temporary exhibitions Oainnus – glimpse into Sámi visual art and Mu áiggis, du báikkis -In My Time, In Your Place, were opened. With the opening of the new main exhibition the number of visitors increased significantly.

Direct comparison, with previous years’ exhibition visitor numbers, is not possible. In 2020 and 2021 the visitor numbers are greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, and in 2019 Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida had a record breaking number of exhibition visitors (64 000). When compared to 2021, exhibition visitor numbers increased by 102 %. In comparison to the
record-breaking year 2019, there were 14 % less visitors. The busiest time of year was the summer season, as usual, when just in June-September there were 37 000 exhibition visitors, which is almost 70 % of whole years visitors.

Just under half of the exhibition visitors were Finnish, as the post-pandemic revival of international tourism has increased the number of international visitors in Siida Sámi Museum and Nature Centre closer to the pre-pandemic numbers. Most of the international visitors were from France (8,5 %) and Germany (8,4 %). These two nationalities have kept the top two spots for years. German tourists tend to visit more during the summer time, while the French favor the winter season.

The popularity of guided tours increased significantly in 2022, when there were 274 guided tours in six different languages. In the previous year there were just 45 guided tours. The increase is explained by the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, which has led to an increase in popularity of group travel. Guided tours are carried out in the joint main exhibition of Sámi Museum and Nature Centre as well as in the Sámi Museum’s open-air museum.

In the Sámi Museum’s Skolt Sámi Heritage House in Sevettijärvi, there were 635 visitors in 2022. The Heritage House is open only during the summer season and has free entry. The Heritage House and the Open-Air Museum on its grounds contain information on Skolt Sámi history and display the living and construction methods from two different eras.

The new and improved Siida‘s first temporary exhibitions are festive art exhibitions. Selected treasures of Sámi art collections as well as brand new paintings and lithographic works made with historical stone printing are on display. The temporary exhibitions of the Sámi Museum and the Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida will open on Friday 3 June 2022. Come and experience some stunning and impressive art.

 

Oainnus

The Oainnus ‒ A View for Sámi Art exhibition is an interesting cross-section of Sámi art from the 1920s to the early 2000s. The works of art include graphics, paintings, copper plate engravings and embroidery as well as two mixed media pieces. The traditions of Sámi visual language date back thousands of years, to the rock art of a northern hunting people, and hundreds of years, to the symbolism of the Sámi drums. The Sámi arts and crafts, or duodji, provides visual art with its own nuances – as also do the continuous changes that take place in Sámi culture in the middle ground between the traditions of Sámi society and multicultural influences. In their work, contemporary Sámi artists are equally affected by the Western art education that they have received.

 

The Oainnus exhibition is based on the collection of the Sámi association Johtti Sápmelaččat (Jutaavat saamelaiset in Finnish), complemented with the Sámi Museum Siida’s own collection. The Oainnus exhibition has been curated by Veli-Pekka Lehtola, Professor of Sámi Culture.  “With this exhibition, we invite 100 years of Sámi art to join the celebration of new Siida,” says Veli‑Pekka Lehtola.

 

In My Time, In Your Place

The In My Time, In Your Place exhibition showcases the works of an artist from Nuorgam, Elina Länsman. In her work, the artist reflects on the relation with place and surroundings, in which the natural environment of the north and the reindeer herding culture have a strong presence. The works on exhibit are stories combining elements of the seen and the heard, the experienced and the imagined. The subjects of her work are drawn from the surrounding life, including the existential experience of the place and the crossroads of realities. The works are something between abstract and figurative art. They enable the viewer to wander in the worlds of the artworks from the viewpoint of their own experiences.

 

Elina Länsman’s works feature large paintings and stone lithographs. The complex colours and bold brush strokes of her oil paintings will make you think, whether you look at them from afar or at a close distance.  “Lithographs are created slowly by working the stone, one layer of colour at a time – it is the opposite of a fast lifestyle,” describes Elina Länsman.

 

The Oainnus exhibition produced by the Sámi Museum will be on display in Siida until 4 December 2022. The exhibition In my Time, In Your Place, organised by Northern Lapland Nature Centre, will be on display until 7 January 2023. Siida will be open during the summer season from 1 June to 30 September 2022 every day from 9 am to 6 pm. In the winter season, from 1 October 2022 onwards, Siida will be open from Mon to Sat, 10 am to 5 pm. Please note the exceptional opening hours on holidays, which you can check on Siida’s website at www.siida.fi/en/.

 

Further information:

• Project secretary Minna Lehtola, Sámi Museum, tel.int. +358 40 570 8137, minna.lehtola(at)samimuseum.fi
• Artist Elina Länsman, tel.int. +358 44 526 1979, elinalansman(at)gmail.com
• Customer service in Sámi Museum Siida, tel.int. +358 400 898 212, siida(at)samimuseum.fi

The opening of the Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida’s exhibition Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These lands are our children and the renovated Siida will be celebrated on Wednesday, 1 June 2022. On the inauguration day, Siida hosts an open house. Programmes connected with the new exhibition will be offered until Saturday, 4 June.

Siida’s massive extension and renovation project has been completed and we are busy building the new permanent exhibition. The new, grand Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These lands are our children exhibition will be opened for the public on Wednesday, 1 June 2022. On the inauguration day, Siida hosts an open house from 10:00 to 16:00. During the day, visitors will be guided to the many themes of the exhibition by the experts and artists who were involved in creating the exhibition, and entertained by local musicians.

Invited groups will celebrate at Siida on Thursday, 2 June, and Friday, 3 June. The groups that have booked their visits in advance will be offered thematic programmes. Thursday will be a particularly lively day, with children and young people from all around Sápmi coming to celebrate the occasion. On Friday, senior citizens will arrive at Siida.

On Friday, 3 June, there will be a book release of Veli-Pekka Lehtola’s Entiset elävät meissä: Saamelaisten historiat ja Suomi (“The past lives in us: Sámi histories and Finland”) at Siida’s auditorium from 17:30 to 19:00. Lehtola is Professor of Sámi Culture at the Oulu University Giellagas Institute and has written the manuscript for the cultural part of the new permanent exhibition. The book release is open for everybody.

On Saturday, 4 June, the exhibition experts will tell about the exhibition and discuss it with the public. The last session of this programme will start at 15:00.

Siida will be open for the public throughout the week despite special theme days and invited groups visiting the house. All visitors are welcome to Siida.

Starting on 2 June, Siida will be open according to its summer opening hours: from 9:00 to 18:00 every day. A more detailed programme of the opening week, with updates, is available at www.siida.fi and on social media. Siida’s museum shop SiidaShop serves the public in the renovated facilities during Siida’s opening hours and as an online store at www.siidashop.fi. There will be opening bargains and new products starting on 1 June. Restaurant Sarrit also serves the public in the opening week.

 

Further information:

Pia Nikula, Inauguration Coordinator, +358 40 621 2663, pia.nikula(at)samimuseum.fi

Senate Properties, which is responsible for state facilities, has implemented an extensive renovation and expansion project at the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida in Inari. The extension was completed in spring 2021, and now the second phase of the project has been completed. It included, among other things, the renovation of workspaces and building services. The renovated Siida will open to the public in June of 2022.

With the renovation and extension, the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida has gained museum and nature centre facilities that meet the current technical and functional requirements. The renovated and expanded Siida building will serve the increased activities and visitor numbers even better.

“In the second phase, which has now been completed, the personnel workspaces have been renovated, the lobby has been expanded, and repair and renovation measures connected to construction, HVAC and electricity have been carried out. Special attention has been paid to ensuring good indoor conditions, to lighting, acoustics and safety solutions, as well as energy efficiency”, says Miikka Teppo, Construction Project Manager at Senate Properties.

Sakela Rakennus Oy, the contractor for the renovation, handed over the premises to Senate Properties on 25 March 2022. Senate Properties was the client of the construction project. Work will continue in the outer areas during the coming summer of 2022.

In addition to the renovation and extension, the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre at Siida have been planning a new joint main exhibition. The exhibition called “Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These lands are our children” sums up the main messages of topics related to nature and culture. Construction of the exhibition is underway, and the exhibition will open to the public on 1 June 2022.

“We cannot wait to move to the renewed Siida. From the point of view of customer service, we are very satisfied with the facilities, as the renovation will enable us to better serve the growing customer flows. Also, modern technology installed in the exhibition space enables a better visitor experience. Our staff has participated in the design process of the workspaces, and as a result, the Siida building offers workspaces for various needs”, Eija Ojanlatva, acting Museum Director, and Pirjo Seurujärvi, National Park Superintendent say cheerfully.

 

A protected site of Senate Properties

The Siida building has not been officially protected, but Senate Properties has defined Siida as an unofficially protected site, which means that the building will be managed and repaired according to the same principles as officially protected buildings.

“In the building, the entrances and lines of sight have been kept open and the main views are highlighted in the building. Original surfaces, such as concrete floors, have been preserved and restored in the building. The site’s design language has also been preserved, and rounded corners are an essential part of it. Among the furniture, the auditorium benches were refurbished for use”, says Miikka Teppo.

The Board of Directors of Senate Properties made an investment decision for the project in December 2019. The Sámi Museum Foundation is Siida’s main tenant, and it further sublets the premises to the Northern Lapland Nature Centre of Metsähallitus and Restaurant Sarrit.

 

Further information:

Miikka Teppo, Senate Properties, tel. +358 40 180 0929, miikka.teppo(at)senaatti.fi
Eija Ojanlatva, acting Museum Director at The Sámi Museum Siida, +358 40 167 6145, eija.ojanlatva(at)samimuseum.fi
Pirjo Seurujärvi, National Park Superintendent at Metsähallitus / Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida, +358 40 012 5782, pirjo.seurujarvi(at)metsa.fi

The last Sámi remains excavated from cemeteries in the Sámi homeland will be reburied in Inari and Utsjoki after the Sámi Church Days on 7–8 August. The deceased were laid to rest with funeral rites at the time of their burial, and the reburials will take place in a church ceremony following the order for the burial of the dead. The remains have been stored at the Sámi Museum Siida since 2001.

The Sámi remains will be interred at the cemetery on Vanhahautuumaasaari Island in Inari on Sunday 7 August 2022, and at Mantojärvi in Utsjoki and the Orthodox cemetery in Nellim on Monday 8 August 2022.

Events

On Sunday 7 August 2022 at 15.00, an event will be held in Inari at the lávvu reserved for the Sámi Church Days, where the programme will include telling the history of the remains. The reburial will take place at the cemetery on Vanhahautuumaasaari Island in Inari, where the remains and members of the funeral procession will be transported. At the lávvu, attendees will watch the reburial via live stream.

The events will continue on Monday 8 August 2022 at 10.00 in Utsjoki, where the remains will be reburied at the old cemetery at Mantojärvi. A coffee and discussion event for the funeral procession will be held in the churchyard.

The Skolt Sámi remains will be buried at the Orthodox cemetery in Nellim on Monday 8 August 2022 at an event starting at 15.00. A coffee and discussion event will be held for the members of the funeral procession at the Nellim clubhouse.

All of the events will be streamed live.

The reburial is an event that affects the entire Finnish and Nordic Sámi community. Similar events have been held earlier in the Sámi Homeland: on Vanhahautuumaasaari in Inari in 1995, in Alta, Norway in 1997, in Neiden, Norway in 2011 and in Lycksele, Sweden in 2019.

Committee responsible for the arrangements

The Sámi Museum Siida has set up a committee to handle the arrangements for the reburials. The members of the committee represent the Sámi Parliament (Leo Aikio, Anu Avaskari, Vuokko Hirvonen), the Skolt Sámi Siida Council (Hanna-Maaria Kiprianoff), the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (Tuomo Huusko, Erva Niittyvuopio), the Sámi Work Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (Veli-Pekka Lehtola), the Orthodox Parish of Lapland (Jaakko Vainio), the University of Helsinki (Hanna Snellman), the Ministry of Education and Culture (Hanna Kiiskinen) and the Sámi Museum Siida (Minna Lehtola, Eija Ojanlatva).

Background

In 1995, the remains of 95 Sámi were returned to the cemetery on Vanhahautuumaasaari Island in Inari from the anatomical collection of the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Helsinki. At that time, the initiative for the reburial came from the Church Council of Inari Parish.

However, there were still other Sámi remains in the collection, and a committee established by the university took inventory of them. In 1998–1999, the committee discussed questions related to the ownership of the extensive collection of human skeletons collected in the 19th and 20th centuries and the principles of using the remains for research purposes. With regard to the Sámi remains, the committee also worked together with the Sámi Parliament.

As proposed by the committee, the Sámi remains in the anatomical collection of the University were repatriated to the Sámi homeland in 2001, to the Sámi Museum Siida in Inari. The Sámi Museum has stored the remains of 172 deceased persons appropriately since their repatriation. As agreed, permission to examine the remains has not been granted during that period.

Inquiries:
Eija Ojanlatva, Deputy Director of the Sámi Museum Siida, tel. +358 40 1676 145, eija.ojanlatva(at)samimuseum.fi

Like everywhere else, the Covid-19 pandemic can be seen in the number of visitors in The Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Center Siida.

In 2021 a total of 27 400 people bought tickets to the exhibitions, which is 30 % less than in 2020, and 57 % less than the pre-pandemic year of 2019. The pandemic hasn’t been the only explanation to this drop in visitors, as Sámi museum and Nature center Siida was closed all of May, and in this ongoing winter season our opening hours have been shorter than on previous years.

The renovation of Siida-building started in June 2021, and all exhibitions were in the Sámi museum’s open-air museum. Open-air museum visits take place outside, rain or shine, which has affected the appeal to buy a ticket and visit the open-air museum. During autumn 2021 lighting was installed in the open-air museum. Sámi museum and Nature Center Siida’s new exhibition will open on June 1^st, 2022, after which you can visit both inside and outside exhibitions.

Like on previous years, the busiest season of 2021 was during the summer months, with July having the most visitors all year. 75% of visitors were Finnish, whereas in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 only 39% were Finnish.  Out of all the foreign visitors most were from Germany.

When comparing different ticket types sold, we can see a clear trend of group travel changing into solo- or family travel. This trend could already be seen before the pandemic, but covid has clearly emphasized this change. People clearly want to travel safely with only their closest family.

In the Sámi Museum’s Skolt Sámi Heritage House in Sevettijärvi there were 832 visitors in 2021. The Heritage House is open only during the summer season. The Heritage House and the Open-Air Museum on its grounds contain information on Skolt Sámi history and display the living and construction methods from two different eras.

The opening of Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Center Siida’s new exhibition Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These lands are our children, will be postponed until the beginning of June 2022.

We will be celebrating the new joint exhibition and the new and improved Siida on the 1^st of June, side by side with the beginning of the reindeer herding yearly cycle. By moving the opening, we want to make sure, that our exhibitions are finished with care and thus will serve our guests in the best possible way.

Before the opening of the new exhibition, Siida’s exhibitions are in the Sámi Museum’s open-air museum, and ticket prices are reduced. Also, all guided tours take place in the open-air museum, until the new exhibition has been opened.

Sámi museum’s customer service, ticket sales, Siida Shop, Metsähallitus’ customer service and tourist information will serve in a temporary building on the grounds of Siida, until the end of the renovation and from April 1^st onwards in the renewed lobby in Siida.

Restaurant Sarrit serves within Siida’s opening hours.

 

We are open

In winter 2021-2022 (Open-Air Museum, customer services, restaurant):
October 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022, Mon to Sat 10am to 4pm (closed on Sun)
*Christmas 2021: 24.12. 10-14, 25.12. 12-16)
April 1st to May 31st 2022, Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm (closed on Sun).

In summertime 2022 (renewed Siida):
June 1st to September 30th, every day from 9am to 6pm.

 

Located in Inari, Siida houses the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre as well as Restaurant Sarrit. The Sámi Museum Foundation is responsible for operations at Sámi Museum. The Northern Lapland Nature Centre is part of Metsähallitus’ national network of nature centres.

More information: Head of Sales and Marketing Minna Muurahainen, +358 405816434, minna.muurahainen(at)samimuseum.fi

 

The Sámi Museum Siida will celebrate the homecoming of the Sámi collection from the National Museum of Finland by arranging an open celebration on Thursday, 9 September 2021, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Restaurant Sarrit, in the Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida in Inari.

The Sámi collection of the Finnish National Museum will come to Inari this autumn, and now is the time to celebrate. The return of the collection, or repatriation, is a result of years of cooperation between the National Museum and the Sámi Museum Siida. The Sámi collection of the National Museum of Finland comprises over 2000 items that were collected in 1830–1998. The Sámi Museum will place the collection in its new collections unit that was completed in the spring of 2021. The repatriation, the new collections unit and Siida’s renovation will enable us to do new kind of communal collection work and artefact research.

At the jubilee, there will be a photograph show of the items, and some of the actual artefacts can also be viewed on the spot. In addition, our cooperation partners will extend their greetings, and local Sámi artists will perform. The occasion will be held in Finnish and Sámi.

We will follow the valid coronavirus restrictions during the celebration, so there is a limit to the number of people that can participate. Come to Siida only if you have no coronavirus symptoms. We recommend that you wear a face mask in Siida.

The Homecoming jubilee will be streamed. If you are not able to come to Siida, you can arrange your own nice communal event, for example in your own livingroom.

The Sámi Museum Siida is delighted to welcome everyone to the celebration. At Restaurant Sarrit coffee will be served.

 

Further information:

Repatriation:  Anni Guttorm, Curator, tel. +358 400 891 860, anni.guttorm(at)samimuseum.fi

Event organised by: Pia Nikula, Audience Development, tel. +358 40 621 2663, pia.nikula(at)samimuseum.fi