Muittut, muitalusat – The Story of the Sámi by the Sámi

The Steering Committee Sápmi of the Interreg Nord Programme has granted support for a project called “Muittut, muitalusat – The Story of the Sámi by the Sámi”. The project is a collaboration of three Sámi museums – the Sámi Museum Siida from Inari, Finland (the leader and administrator), the Swedish Mountain and Sámi Museum Ájtte from Jokkmokk, and the South Sámi Museum and Cultural Centre Sáemien Sijte from Snåsa, Norway – as well as the University of Lapland and the Luleå University of Technology. The project period is 1.1.2020 – 30.9.2022, and the budget is approximately 2 million euros.

The partner museums hold a central position in the presentation and display of Sámi culture. The project will create a new Sámi museum language, through which Sámi culture will be presented in museums and exhibitions from the point of view of the Sámi themselves. One of the objectives of the project is to strengthen Sámi identity. Museums are important destinations in their areas, and the project will be of economic importance to the entire Nordic region. The objective is to guarantee that economic life, especially tourism, can benefit from the results when developing services and products.

In the project, a new Sámi exhibition language will be developed through three exhibition pilots. The pilots will have as their themes the Drum, the Sámi costume Gákti/Gapta/Gáppte, and the Loss of language. These three topics will be developed in terms of both content and display technique in cooperation with the project partners and the Sámi community in a series of workshops. The pilots will become a permanent part of the exhibitions of Sáemien Sijte, the Sámi Museum Siida and Ájtte.

A joint exhibition language will provide the participating Sámi museums with a strong foundation for future development work and cooperation across the borders. As a result of the project, Sámi culture and heritage will grow more vital. The results of the project will be shared internationally for the use of Sámi, museum stakeholders and museum visitors.

Eeva-Kristiina Harlin (M.A.) has started as the project manager of the project The Muittut, muitalusat – The Story of the Sámi by Sámi at the end of February.

More information about the project:

Sámi Museum Siida: Sari Valkonen, Museum Director  tel. +358 40 767 1052, sari.valkonen@samimuseum.fi
Ájtte: Elisabeth Pirak-Kuoljok, Museum Director tel. +46 97117007, elisabeth.pirak-kuoljok@ajtte.com
Sáemien Sijte: Birgitta Fossum, Museum Director tel. +47 940 17 020, birgitta.fossum@saemiensijte.no

Photo: A Sámi cradle, gietkka for a doll from 1920´s. Ahola collections/Sámi Museum Siida.