Professor Harald Gaski shares Sámi poetry, literature and art, and how language can be a source of resilience against culture suppression.
The Sámi are an ancient Arctic culture struggling for existence while adjusting to a modern way of life. They represent values that have enabled the people to survive for thousands of years in a harsh northern climate. Representing Indigenous peoples’ views and values, the Sámi have proved very resilient to outside pressures like colonization, assimilation, and suppression of culture, arts, and language. In this talk, professor Harald Gaski will take a personal approach to look at some of the reasons which have contributed to the fact that Sámi have preserved as a separate people with their own culture and language intact, although they represent a tiny minority surrounded by majority populations in both Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
About the speaker
Harald Gaski is a Professor in Sámi Culture and Literature at Sámi allaskuvla / Sámi University of Applied Sciences and at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. He is born in Deatnu (Tana) in North Norway. Gaski is the author and editor of several books on Sami literature and culture. He has also translated Sámi literature and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää’s poetry into Norwegian and English. Gaski’s research specializes on Indigenous methodologies and Sámi oral and written culture. Gaski has been instrumental in establishing Sami literature as an academic field and has been awarded for his research and writing.
Photo credit: Stig Brønbo
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