What does joik mean to you?

It is an old ritual which connects us in a better state of mind. It was prohibited by the colonizers and for a long time it was considered a sin even by the Sami themselves. This is a very sensitive issue for us.

Why did you decide to sing it this morning?

It is a strategy, you see. I thought if I said words people would probably forget them. I wanted to give some kind of scent on the Sami culture by singing a joik created by my grandfather and sang by my grandchildren nowadays.

What do you expect from this meeting?

I came here to hear about the work of others. How are they are organizing the cultural systems in their countries? I am trying to keep track of this in order to contribute to our own system.

How Sami community is working for the development of its culture?

It is very hard to work as a nation, because although Sami is one nation recognized as a native culture by the Nordic Artist Council and the European Artist Council, we live in different countries with very different economic situations.

Last week we met in Helsinki, Finland and agreed that all the economical support provided by Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia should be put together in a great fund to contribute to Sami art.

How big is the art community among the Sami?

There are 200 registered.

Are some writers translated to English?

Yes, the poet Nils Aslak VallreapŠŠn and the more realistic writer Harald Gaski. You can find more material about Sami culture on the web pages: http://members.xoom.com/hommat and http://membrs.xoon.com/sabbat