At the suggestion of my advisor, this semester I’m auditing a course on indigenous rights. Besides being known for studying the Arctic, the University of Tromsø is also one of the best places to study Sami culture. Sami are the group of indigenous people that live in northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Since I knew very little about the Sami before arriving in Tromsø, I thought sitting in on this course would be a good way to learn about this population and their status within Norwegian society. The Sami history is not unlike the history of the Native Americans in the U.S. – the Sami were historically pushed off of their lands, mistreated, and made to adapt to Norwegian life at the expense of their own culture, language, and practice. However, in recent decades Norway has attempted to provide reparations to the Sami people, and they now have their own parliament, a university, and a growing movement to revive and celebrate Sami language and culture.
As part of this course, last week we went on a 4-day excursion to Finnmark, an area located even farther north than Tromsø. On this trip, we traveled 8+ hours to Karasjok (via Alta), where we stayed for two nights, and then went to Kautokeino, where we stayed for our last night.
The drive from Tromsø to Karasjok, along the fjords in the midst of autumn, was absolutely stunning. So gorgeous that I even managed to stay awake for most (okay, some) of it!
The drive was so beautiful that we begged the bus driver to pull over so we could take pictures.
We stopped in Alta on the way to see the famous Alta rock carvings, a UNESCO world heritage site (along with UVA, which you’ll know if you’ve spoken to Marcus for more than 2 minutes). The oldest rock carvings date from 4200 BC. It’s amazing to me that people were able to survive and flourish in the arctic so long ago – I feel like I can barely take the cold when I’m well-equipped with down coats, woolen leggings, and a constant supply of hot beverages, so the fact that people managed to do it without any of our modern conveniences is awe-inspiring.
The rock carvings provide interesting insight into the daily lives of these ancient civilizations, as they depict reindeer herding, boats, and deep-sea fishing (shown by a picture of a boat with a very, very, very long fishing line and a tiny fish at the end of the line way down the rock).
The scenery around the rock carvings in Alta was almost as astounding as the rock carvings themselves.
In Karasjok, our 23-person group was housed in five lovely cabins. I stayed with my friends Denise (Canada), Nola (Netherlands), and Mikala (Denmark).
Denise and Nola in our cabin living room, and our adorable wood-burning stove.
Our cabin even had its own sauna, and the campground itself had an outdoor hot tub next to a large sauna, so we spent our second night in Finnmark sitting in the hot tub watching the northern lights, which is arguably the best way I’ve ever spent a Monday night. The only hazard was that it was so cold outside that every time someone moved from the hot tub to the sauna, the water that dripped off of them froze, and more than one person slipped on the icy steps getting in and out of the hot tub. Those foolish enough to leave their towels outside later found them frozen solid.
The view from our campgrounds.
The next day, we visited the Sami Parliament building in Karasjok, which is housed in an architecturally stunning building made of wood and glass to complement the nature surrounding it. There, a representative from the Parliament gave us a tour and spoke to us a bit about how the Sami Parliament works. Interesting questions arise in response to this kind of government-within-a-government (not dissimilarly to the way the Tibetan Parliament has to work in exile). For example, who is counted as a Sami and can vote for Parliament members? It seems that a lot of the Sami classification is tied to self-identification, Sami language, and, understandably, ancestry, but there are certainly some blurred lines, especially among the youth population who may have Sami ancestry but have been raised in a fully Norwegian lifestyle.
Views of the Sami Parliament – their public library (left) and view of outside (right).
This gorgeous mural covered an entire wall of the Sami Parliament’s official chambers.
A traditional Sami dwelling, which we saw at the outdoor public Sami park.
The following day, we drove to Kautokeino, where we visited the Sami University College, which is unique as a research institution that conducts research in the indigenous Sami language – an incredibly unusual resource for an indigenous population to have. Then, following our relocation to our new campground, we ate dinner in a traditional Sami dwelling, a lavvu, which look quite similar to a Native American tipi. Sitting on reindeer skins around a fire, we enjoyed a delicious reindeer stew.
Our last stop in Kautokeino was Juhl’s Silver Gallery. Although Juhl’s specializes in exquisite silversmithing and makes elaborate jewelry often worn in Sami weddings and other cultural celebrations, the whole shop was a work of art in itself. Mr. and Mrs. Juhl built and designed the house themselves over decades, and have done most of the construction by hand. The shop contained Sami artifacts, gorgeous jewelry, trinkets from all over the world, several fireplaces and lounging areas, and a chicken coop. It was truly one of the most unique places I’ve ever visited. 
Juhl’s Silver Gallery, and also the home of Mr. and Mrs. Juhl’s
A door, a wall, and a ceiling in Juhl’s
The “living room,” or one of the jewelry showrooms, was designed to mimic the snow drifts that would form between the house and the garage before this room was added on to the house.
Mr. Juhl’s latest work in progess: a life-size mosaic of his own thumbprint, which will be displayed outside on the lawn once completed, his way of putting his literal thumbprint on his life’s work.
Since we drove back through Finland, the entire bus just had to make a stop to get reindeer meat, alcohol, and candy: reindeer meat because it’s much more abundant in Finnish shops (although it can certainly be found in Tromsø), and alcohol and candy because both are heavily taxed in Norway and are much cheaper to purchase outside of the country. Alcohol is so heavily regulated in Norway that anything stronger than 4.5% alcohol has to be bought at the “Vinnmonopolet” or “Wine Monopoly,” which is government run and only open at very specific times – so from 11am-2pm on Saturday you can see long lines of Norwegians making their alcohol purchases for the weekend! While I think I got my money’s worth by stocking up, I will say I had to make two trips up and down the stairs to my apartment when I got back, because five bottles of wine weigh a lot!
Tromsø Fancy 
First, you write beautifully!
Second, another fabulous experience. I wish the US was as supportive of our native populations as it appears Norway is. I think it’s great that there is a University devoted to educating people on the Sami culture. Such a sign of respect.
Third, I am jealous as hell. Here I lay, on my couch in my pjs living vicariously.
Soak it all in. Write it all down. Keep living it fully. You are a marvel to me.
Love you muchly.
Aunt Karen
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Has Uncle Jay made a snarky comment about understanding the plight of the Sami because of his fraternity affiliation?
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