Living in two worlds

That is the name of an exhibition, which started today in Kiruna. It was made by young people, from three minoritiy peoples: Sámi, Jews and Roma. It is about what is is to be young and be 100% Swedish as well as 100% Sámi, or Jew or Roma. The exhibition is documentet at http://www.riksutstallningar.se/templates/Exhibition____5691.aspx (in swedish but there are some pics also). It is not about historical issues, not about the classical view of Sámi with reindeer in the mountains, but rather about identity in a modern world. The exhibition is good, and even better to hear the participants, eleven young people, telling about their experiences together. A report (also in swedish) can be downloaded at the website of the exhibition.
The experiences would be much the same I suspect, for young people belonging to other minority peoples in other countries. It would not be bad for Riksutställningar to have some info on this exhibition in English, in fact...
Well if you happen to be in Kiruna during the summer have a look at the exhibition which is in the town hall.

The Swedish government does not know...

Yesterday, the Sámi TV news Ođđasat did say that Sweden will not ratify ILO 169 (about indigenous peoples rights) within the near future. The responsible minister, Eskil Erlandsson, has put a comission at work to investigate things and they will be ready not before 2010...
Prime Minister Reinfeldt said to the reporter that he did not have anything to say, he had to get more knowledge first. Erlandsson said plainly that he did not know...

Now, the Swedish state has been looking into the matter for the last ten (yes, 10) years. But the prime minister and the repsonsible minister for Sámi affairs do not know... How can they be in office for 2 years and in parliament much longer and not know? Both seem to know much about many things, but ILO 169 they do not know how to handle. Not after 10 years of studies which are available to them. Why is that? It might be that they are simply not interested. Even if the minister responsible should be interested - and the Prime Minister should be as well. After all, the Sámi are an indigenous people in Sweden and as such an important group.

But maybe they are not interested. They are much more interested of other things, maybe, which gives them more votes in the next elections. The other possibility would be - and I hope sincerely that that is not true - that they conciously try potpone the ratification by investigating the whole question endlessly. That they know what they want - no ILO 169 - but do not dare say it. Yes, I hope that simple ignorance is behind this new investigation, as bad as that is.
But in that case - mr Reinfeldt and mr Erlandsson - you should be able to read a little bit faster. Some laws are passed with an incredible tempo in this country - to the extend that some find i too hasty and not well prepared. So you should be able to do this really fast as well. With those 10 years of investigations and discussions behind you. See to it that the ratification is done before Christmas (this year). You can.

By the way - if it so difficult for a minister responsible for Sámi affairs - why not take an expert to the job? In other words - a Sámi person? It is strange that the Sámi minister in this country never ever has been a Sámi.

Doing Sámi church

Developing Sámi ways of doing chuch and theology is not so much a theoretical issue, even if that plas a role as well. Sámi ways of doing churh must spring out of living Sámi culture. One way of doing this is by means of a "Sámi church workplace" if that would be an acceptable translation of Samisk gudstjänstverkstad in Swedish.

Last weekend Luleå Diocese of the Church of Sweden organised one together with the church in Vittangi in the Sámi village Badje Sohppar.

Around 30 participants gathered friday evening and Saturday. There were some talks of a practical nature (about symbols in Sámi culture, about yoik in church) and then all split in groups. Working with music, with handicraft to have in church and also a childrens group. Beatiful creative things came out which were used in church that Sunday. The church really was transformed. There was no preaching but in stead some people told a little story from their life, illustrating a short Bible reading. In the evening, some of us sat late and tried to put all different elements into a service.

A weekend like this gives a lot of experiences which can be used in further development of Sámi church life.

Australian craniums given back

Today, Lund University in Sweden gave two craniums of Australian aboriginals back to the Australian state. The craniums were bought in London at the end of the 19th century for one pound. The craniums were given back in a ceremony attended by the Australian ambassador and a representant for the aboriginal population of Australia. The craniums will first go to the National Museum of Australia, in order to determine from what area or people they come.
Ambassador Howard Brown said that it is very important for Australia and its government to repatriate Aboriginal bones to their land. Also the principal of the University, Göran Bexell, said it is an important issue to repatriate those craniums.

And it is. Earlier, the Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm has given back alltogether 32 Aboriginal craniums, on two occasions 2004 and 2007. Australia has a formal repatriation program and has put 23 million SEK (4 million US$) into that. Last autumn, Australia demanded the two craniums from Lund and the result of an according to ambassador Brown good cooperation with Sweden came today.
It is to be hoped, that also the demanded repatriation of remnants of the own indigenous population, the Sámi, from different institutions, will be a fact as soon as possible. It is difficult to see why the process in that case must take so much more time if the Sámi parliament so clearly put forward a demand ...

Read the press release of Lund University (in swedish) at http://www.newsdesk.se/view/pressrelease/lunds-universitet-aaterlaemnar-aboriginiska-kranier-196788 and http://www.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=708&news_item=2372
See also http://sydsvenskan.se/lund/article302259.ece and http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_889467.svd, two newspaper articles in Swedish as well.

No rebellion to Sweden!

Nils Gaups Sámi film The rebellion at Kautokeino has come - in Norway. A film about an important event i Sámi history, showing what colonisation could do to a people. But no, the Swedish Film Institute does not take it to Sweden according to the Swedish Radio website. It is not interesting enough. We saw a fragment at the Jokkmokk film festival last summer - very promising indeed!
The attitude of the film institute is a scandal. Why do they not take their responsibility as a cultural institution? Should they not promote Sámi film, the Sámi being a people of four nations, among them Sweden? And the event described in the film - the "rebellion" at Kautokeino had to do a lot with Sweden as well. It is connected to the Swedish priest Lars Levi Laestadius movement (laestadianism). One could wonder whteher this refusal of the Film Institute to take it to Sweden is another expression of a colonialistic or discriminating attitude of parts of Swedish society. It shows the need for a Sámi film institute...

http://www.sr.se/sameradion/nyheter/artikel.asp?artikel=1846113

Sámi National Day

Yesterday the Sámi National Day (Sámi Álbmoga Beaivi) was celebrated. In Kiruna, it was organised by the Sámi Association and the Sámi Parliament. There was an official meeting at the town hall in the afternoon, with talks and music. In the evening there was a Sámi service at the Kiruna Church, organised by the churches in Kiruna together. In my sermon based on Acts 17:22 ff I stressed the appropriateness of celebrating a day like this in church. Different peoples are all Gods creation, all cultures and languages are created by God as Paul stresses. God is a God of diversity. Diversity in unity.

Becoming a follower of Christ does not imply, to abandon your ethnic identidy and culture, as some have understood it (but no westerner does that, and in missions leaving the supposed pagan culture hase mostly ment to become part of western culture - as a Native American friend put it: why should I leave my own sinful culture just to become part of another sinful culture, i.e. the western culture?). It means becoming a Sámi (or whatever is your culture) follower of Christ. To become a Christian as a Sámi. That is important. The church incarnating in your own culture, rather than make people turn their back on their heritages. Of course God has always been present in Sámi and any other culture, even if He has not always been recognized. Paul says that in the text. Sámi have felt the holiness of Creation, the spiritual dimension of nature - somehing western tehology often has missed. Then of course Paul talks about Christ making the Creator known in a new way, and calls upon the Athenians and upon the Sami and all others to become followers of Christ.

When the Sámi - as Sámi, with the whole of their culture - take their place in the circle, together with all other peoples, and Christ is in the centre of that circle the circle becomes whole, as it was meant to be by the Creator in the beginnings of time.

If anyone would care to read the sermon (I warn you it is in Sámi) i will happily email it to you.

Sami national day

Tomorrow is the Sámi national day, celebrated by Sámi in all countries. In Kiruna it will be celebrated at the town hall, in the afternoon, and new for this year, with a Sámi service in Kiruna Church organised by the Church of Sweden, the Mission Covenant Church and the local pentecostal church. You are welcome to join at 18.00. It will be in Sámi and in Swedish. I just finished preparing the sermon, which will focus on Pauls words at the Areopagos in Athens, about all peoples being created by God.
Would you know more - come and listen (if you have the luck of being in town of course :-)