Knowledge Makers Visit Sápmi for Cultural Experiential Learning Opportunity!
Dr. Rod McCormick and Jeneen Herns-Jensen from the All My Relations research center, Alexis Gottfriedson from the Office of the VP Research, Sandra Bandura from the Science dept, Elder Bob Jensen, two parents and 5 students just returned on February 25th from Norway.
This experiential Indigenous learning experience is the 3rd opportunity we’ve been able to organize thanks to a grant from Universities Canada Global Skills Opportunity which is now sunsetting as of March 2025.
On this exciting 10 day trip, staff and students traveled to Oslo first where they got to experience Norwegian city life for two days. During this time, the group went to multiple local museums to learn the unique history of the region as it is portrayed by the Norwegian cultural majority. This included learning the unique cultural context of how Sámi Indigenous peoples’ are portrayed to visitors prior to spending time within the community itself.
Much like the North American context, Sámi Indigenous peoples in Norway are portrayed in a past tense lens that glosses over current struggles, culture, positive accomplishments and thriving communities.
Next, we made the exciting trip up to the Arctic Circle to visit Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino) and our hosts from Sámi Allaskuvla (Sami University of Applied Sciences)
Liv Inger Somby who is the Director of Sámi Allaskuvla prepared a generous programme for us to learn about their Indigenous created and run school, fellow faculty, students and political activists fighting for Sámi rights.
We learned unique strategies that teachers, educators and community created learning materials thanks to Adviser Lisa Baal and Adviser Risten Márjá Ánne Gaup. Were given a tour and learned about the art and traditional duodji, by Samuel Valkeapää and Inga Påve Idivuoma,
Alexis Gottfriedson shared about Tk’emlups to Secwepemc to our hosts, and Dr. McCormick & Jeneen Herns-Jensen shared about the Indigenous research happening at Thompson Rivers University today.
We were then honoured to learn the history about Sámi allaskuvla and the institutional accreditation aim regarding World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC), by former rector Jan Henry Keskitalo. As well as the political achievements and working at global level at United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) by former President of the Sámi Parliament, Aili Keskitalo
This beautiful day culminated in an amazing meal prepared fresh for us featuring a mix of traditional and modern Sámi cuisine. We all sat down in a lavvu to enjoy this meal together, share stories and learn more about each other.
We were also shown the Sámi highschool where students learned practical skills such as reindeer husbandry, how to fix snowmobiles, traditional duodji and so much more. The layout of this building was built directly off of inspiration from the reindeer and the landscape itself, and was an incredible experience to see students learning in an Indigenous language as their first!
In addition to this, our hosts also toured us around the Sámi theatre, and other local highlights such as Juhls Silver Gallery.
Our hosts at Sámi Allaskuvla were incredibly insightful and gracious, and we encourage you to visit their website to learn more about their programming at https://samas.no/en
During our last weekend in Sápmi, we were hosted by Sokki Adventures and we got to experience some really exciting moments of what it’s like to be a rendeer herder!
Our cohort rode on sleighs attached to the back of snowmobiles, roped their own reindeer (which was very hard!), were pulled on an exciting reindeer sleigh ride, and then had a filling reindeer stew and fresh berry juice.
This experience was an incredible highlight of just how much hard work goes into herding reindeer, and the intensity of living in the arctic circle.
This experience was a powerful reminder of how much all Indigenous communities share, and how much we can learn from each others successes in language revitalization, educational initiatives and community based learning. We are all facing an uncertain future, with tense political discourse and increasingly less human rights. The strength we retain when we connect across the globe, share strategy and focus on the potential significantly addresses the often lack of capacity that individual nations have to address complex issues.
Through the process of engaging students in hands-on learning by doing, they are better able to connect and understand the threads that weave us all together. My hope for the students that participated in this experience is that they feel empowered, have a broader view of global Indigenous issues, and appreciate the importance of community.
Thanks for reading!
