Jokkmokk winter market

Michiel — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:17:25 +0000

I spent last week in Jokkmokk. And attended the winter market here. Not because I wanted to photograph all the people here dressed in fur. No. My reasen for being here is that this market in february is the biggest Sami gathering of the year. A perfect moment to fish for more facts about the Swedish racial biology period, and personal histories from Sami people. I also got some really useful connections such as an adres to stay at if i’ll visit russian Sapmi ( Sami country). And things like phone numbers to publishers specialized in documentary stories.
Thanks to the article written in the Sami magazine (edition January) about me and my work a lot of people recognized me and my bus and came for coffe, facts, and photography.
I also met Anders Sunna, and visual artist working on his family history, and expressing the family suffering during 1972′s forceful movement of their Sami village, all carried out by the Swedish government. I’m going to visit this village and it’s inhabitants the 8′th of february.

To give an image of what the market is like, other than al the meeting. Here are some captured moments from the week.

[portfolio_slideshow exclude="1,2,3,4"]

Link: Anders Sunna, Sami visual artist

Hitting the road again.

Michiel — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:21:02 +0000

Finally I’m of the flue and now preparing/repairing the bus for the big tour. Starting the last week of january.
Just two days ago i got interviewed by Anna Skielta who works for the Sami information center, which is linked to the Sami parliament.
This is great because the website samer.se is the main Sami website in Sweden. And so i’m hoping for more stories and history,
that people would like to share with me in favour of my Lapponensis project.

Link: To the interview/article

Stuck

Michiel — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:32:15 +0000

I was on the road back home, I have to catch my plane on thursday. Well, there’s a change of plans. The right front wheel is jammed, probably frozen breaks, and hopefully nothing worse. On site I tried to knock them loose, but I didn’t succeed, not even with my axe. I got towed back to Umea. I’m now spending the weekend near the Mercedes mechanics, waiting for some help on monday. Damn.

[portfolio_slideshow exclude="1,2,3,4"]

Umeå

Michiel — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:55:13 +0000

I drove south to the city of Umeå. I’m here because I heard of a forced relocation of a Sami settlement in the 70′s. This is basically the same thing Australia did with it’s indigenous people, moving them/schooling them, and in this way taking away their language, land and identity. The biggest difference is the swedish approach of sweeping things under the rug. They have a very weird way of handeling their own history with the Sami people. On thursday I’m meeting a young Sami man, Anders Sunna, who’s whole family and village was forced to move over 200 km away. They are still prosecuting against the state of Sweden. Tomorrow I’ll sweep the university archives for some images or maps of this ” relocation”.

-This is going to be a perfect chapter to photograph within the Lapponensis project. For it is obviously connected to the racial biology, precent and past.

Link: Swedish documentary on the norwegian handeling of Sami rebellions.

Samefolket

Michiel — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:11:52 +0000

Today I was interviewed by the Sami-magazine and newspaper;Samefolket. It’s not a big paper, but it has been around since 1918 and is still today an important Swedish-Sami mediaportal. I’m in their first edition of 2011, January. For me, the fact that my project is presented in this magazine, is of a symbolic value. And of course the great attention it will get from it’s Sami readers.
So, I hoop i’ll get more stories and contacts on behalf of this publicity.

Link: Samefolket magazine online

Racebiologists on vacation 1925

Michiel — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:47:26 +0000

I’m now looking into the period where the exotism and romantic feelings for the Sami people turned into Racial biology.
At some point these scientists and anthropologists just snapped…
I found an photo album, where the racial biologists were doing their measuring and having a vacation among the Sami people !? At the same time.

[portfolio_slideshow exclude="1,2,3,4"]

Sauna stories

Michiel — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:07:43 +0000

Well… I was really cold yesterday, and I went to the county Sauna in Jokkmokk. Most of the time this is the place for the worst jokes and rumors, and maybe some stories from the local old Sami men ” lapp-gubbar”. But. When I stept into the dry/hot Sauna the whole Asylum seekers centrum was there. No swedes no Sami. 2 Afghan 1 nigerian, 1 algerian, 1 norwegian and 1 swedish/dutch guy, me. Nevertheless I was happily surprised they all talked/battled about each other’s ugly women. The rumors and jokes where the same.

Day three with the “western Kikkejaur” reindeer herders.

Michiel — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:51:54 +0000

When driving to Jokkmokk, I drove from eastern Kikkejaur to western Kikkejaur. Passing an other forest-Sami community. Everyone I spoke with wanted to tell me about the differences between the communities! Forest Sami aren’t as known of as the mountain Sami. It’s a big brother little brother thing. The forest Sami seem to be the underdog here.
Some things that differ them from the mountain Sami are:
Their reindeer are slightly bigger and the meat contains more fat.
The Sami themselves are just a bit taller, and have noticeably longer faces. -> That’s probably why the mountain-Sami are more known of, they often look more “exotic” to the outsider.
And the biggest difference: the Forest Sami have to deal with Forest companies, energy plants, Swedish cities expanding etc. The mountain Sami on the other hand experience more difficulties from the expanding winter tourism and hydro energy plants.

[portfolio_slideshow exclude="1,2,3,4"]

Day two in Långträsk

Michiel — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:21:33 +0000

The Sami in Långträsk (the area is called Eastern Kikkejaur) and their situation I told you about yesterday, was problematic. Their slaughtering area was squeezed in between the forest (which they don’t own) and the rail-road track. The day started by gathering and marking the reindeer. It’s a mostly silent job. The only sound heard is the clicking of the hooves, and some Sami pushing the reindeer in the right direction. They slaughter some on site, for food. And the rest is loaded on to a truck for transport to the slaughtering house, a few 100 km away.
Ingenuity and adaptation is highly necessary for the Sami reindeer-culture’s survival.
[portfolio_slideshow exclude="1,2,3,4"]

Långträsk

Michiel — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:24:33 +0000

I’m in the forest near Långträsk, after photographing two Sami who are suffering from the ECO energy plans, I invited myself to their reindeer area and the place in the forest where they are going to slaughter some reindeer tomorrow.
At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, when the sun had set, and the Arctic night fell, I made some spaghetti for dinner. Cooking with Manfrotto, my tripod.

[portfolio_slideshow exclude="1,2,3,4"]