Dear colleges and friends,

I would like to welcome you to Sápmi and especially to Alta. 

Even though Alta is a small town, Alta is of great importance to us Sami in many ways. 

Alta has Nothern Europe`s largest concentration of rock art. 

The rock art was inscribed on UNESCO`s World Heritage List in 1985 as the only prehistoric monument in Norway.

The rock art here in Alta comprises both carvings and rock paintings as old as 2000 to 7000 years. 

The rock art is closely connected to the landscape, and have a close connection with the sea. 

The rock art of Alta provides an insight into real-life events, myths and legends. 

In the figures we can see people, animals like elks, bears and wolves, birds like geese, ducks, swans, fish like halibut and salmon, whales and boats. 

Rock art depicting activities as hunting, trapping and fishing, as well as rituals. 

Alta has an old seasami culture. It would be interesting to learn more about the link between the rock art in Alta and the Sami culture. Also from a Sami perspective.

It is always a question of who tells our story?  Who owns the story? And can there be stories that havent been told yet?

Our cultural heritage reflects vital knowledge of our past and present.

The passing of knowledge from one generation to the next.

Knowing our history is a central part of our formation as individuals and as a society. Cultural heritage is an important part of all people's identity and belonging. Our cultural heritage means a lot to us. This applies to all people.

Indigenous peoples all over the world have been exposed to processes that have made cultural heritage particularly important, both as a basis for knowledge about history and as part of ceremonial practices. 

Unfortunately, due to colonial structures Indigenous peoples often experience lack of access to our own cultural heritage. This is also the situation for us saemie - the Sami people.

For the Sámi Parliament it is of vital importance that Sami cultural heritage is owned and managed by Sami museums on behalf of the Sami people.

Sami cultural heritage is owned by the Sami people, and management of cultural heritage comes as a result of the Sami's right to self-determination. This is recognized through the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Article 3 and the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CP) Article 1.

Ceremonial cultural and historical objects must be given special attention. Most of the central ceremonial cultural and historical objects such as gievvrie - Sami sacred drums are today located outside Sápmi. 15 of them are still in Germany.

Dear colleges,

Changes in history can give us hope for the future. 

Denmark have repatriated a number of artifacts back to Kalaallit Nuunat – Greenland.

As a result of the Bååstede-project in Norway half (1600) of the Sami artifacts that was in museums in Oslo are today owned and managed by our Sami museums.

In Finland the Sami artifacts are in the Siida museum in Anar/Inari, and as I understand Sweeden is opening up for discussions around the sami artifacts in Nordiska Museet in Stockholm.

2023 was a significant year for årjelsamie – the sami in the south.

The homecoming of the Freavnantjahken gievrie the Freavna drum from Meiningen to Sápmi, after 300 years, was an event of hope for the future. 

Dear friends,

Let me quote the Former President of the Sámi parliament, Aili Keskitalo: 

“The ancient Sami artifacts are a window to our forefathers and a connection to our foremothers.

In July 2019 there was a small delegation following the former president Aili Keskitalo to her visit to Berlin. Among them was the director of the RidduDuttarMusaet Anne May Olli. In Belin the delegation was well received by professor dr Elisabeth Tietmeyer, the director at the MEK, The Museum Europäischer Kulturen. This meeting was the starting point for this fantastic cooperation and the project Dávvirat Duisskas.

The project Dávvirat Duiskkas, sami artifacts in German museum, is a project that gives us hope. A key element is establishing a good and trustful cooperation between Sami and German museums. 

Representatives from Sami museums have been very well received by German colleges in all their visits in 14 museums in Germany. And representatives from german museums hopefully have the same experience when they visit our six sami museumunits.

During the process it has been important to share information with colleges from the Ájtte museum in Sweeden as well as the Siida museum in Finland. 

As well as mapping the artifacts the cooperation also provided a platform for professional exchanges of knowledge.

In this five years there are already interesting results. For me it was interesting to know the large number of Sami artifacts in German collections (around 3400) It is also interesting to understand how many of our gievrie – our sacred drums (15) we still find in German museums.

I am very pleased that the Ministry of culture and equality has provided funding for the continuation of the project. It will provide fundamental knowledge about the different artifacts in the museums in Germany. 

Hopefully the continuation of this important project will be a way to open the window to our forefathers and to connect with our foremothers.

I am looking forward to spending these days together with You here in Alta. 

Thank You for your kind attention!