Speaker
Description
The paper highlights how activities (outdoor activities and sports) offered to children and young people below 18 years old at Sàmi/indigenous festivals in Norway might function in decolonization against Norwegianization, and how the festivals have influence on the local community. There is lack of knowledge about indigenous festivals in the Nordic countries. The aim is to fill this gap with presenting the participants expression of the institutional importance of indigenous peoples' festivals both for Sàmis and indigenous peoples in other countries. The activities offered in close collaboration with the local public schools and language centres in the region. The governing bodies and participants at eight Sámi/indigenous festivals in Norway state that to participate at indigenous festivals increases their cultural and environmental understanding and extends their knowledge in both Sámi and the culture of other indigenous peoples. The various activities offered to children and young people seems to be crucial in the revitalization of Sámi culture. To even extend the influence, there is a need for even closer collaboration with the schools and the language centres. Indigenous paradigm and indigenous methodology are applied with an intersectional approach where aspects as gender, age, ethnicity, and nationality are intertwined. The article is based on long-term fieldwork in the period 2009-2019. The data used are documents, field-conversations, observation notes, and 42 in-depth interviews. Sami festivals prove to be an important arena for highlighting and revitalizing Sámi and indigenous culture, and the festivals are of great importance in the local communities where they are situated.
