Ripoff!

John Trygve Solbakk has, on behalf of the copyright group Sámi kopiija, made a claim regarding two yoiks which they maintain were stolen by Virgin Records and presented as American Indian songs and dances. “Virgin has made a lot of money on this, and now we want a piece of the pie and use it to support Sami music,” says Solbakk.

The CD is Sacred Spirit, Chants and Dances from Native Americans. Virgin also represents groups such as Spice Girls and the Rolling Stones. Sacred Spirit is produced in the Netherlands by a producer who has taken the name The Fearsome Brave. The well known yoik "Normo Jovnna" has been listed on the CD as "The Counterclockwise Circle Dance."

Terje Tretnes (left) – a member of the Sámediggi in Norway – is a musician and yoiks on the CD. Channel 4 International was visiting in Kárášjohka in the early 90s, and a recording was made of Tretnes yoiking and explaining their background. When the CD was released in 1994, he tried to follow up, but Channel 4 denied having given the recordings to Virgin. It has sold over two million copies with an estimated profit of $370,000. According to the record company some of the profits were to go to the Native American Rights Fund. Solbakk won’t speculate on his prospects for success.

Indigenous Peoples' traditional knowledge has little protection against commercial exploitation. As long as things are not written down it is difficult to prove who has the rights, as well as to protect from illegal use of indigenous traditions. The problem with traditional yoiks is that they are so old that no one can say who composed them. “I hope that the work of the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will bring clarity in such cases,” says Solbakk.

Sámi Radio 12/21/07

I’m a Sami girl

Norway’s Dagbladet magazine recently interviewed Joni Mitchell :

“The other day I ran into one of my father’s cousins in the store. My father’s last name is Anderson, spelled “on” instead of “en” which is the Norwegian spelling, right? My father’s grandparents emigrated from Norway. They had their last name changed on Ellis Island for some reason. Where I come from, you don’t admit that you have Indian blood in your veins, so my father never wanted to talk about it. But my aunt has confided everything to me. When I met my father’s cousin in the store, I took the opportunity. “Do we have Sami blood in our veins?” I asked. “Oh yes, we are Lapps,” she said.

Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. She has received five regular Grammy Awards during her career, with the first coming in 1969 and the most recent in 2000. She received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

Mánáidlávlagat — a survey of Sami children's music

Ulla Pirttijärvi
Hoŋkoŋ dohkká (Hong Kong doll)

This lively children's CD features 18 tracks of children singing in North Sami and yoiking. Four traditional yoiks are present, with the rest of the music and yoiks being original material written by Ulla Pirttijärvi. The CD is the accompaniment to the Sami children's song book of the same name, also by Pirttijärvi. The doll of the title is a Sami doll made in Hong Kong, who is lying on the store shelf and longing to go back to Hong Kong. With music composed by Pirttijärvi, arranged by Johan Sara Jr., and produced by Áillohaš, Hoŋkoŋ dohkká features the singing and yoiking of children who were recorded over five days in June of 1995 at a Sápmi elementary school.

The CD with its catchy melodies and delightful singing is a must have for any Sami children's music collection, and indeed can be as much enjoyed by adults as well. The book received the Sami Council's Literature Prize in 1996. At the 2007 Sami Grand Prix Pirttijärvi was awarded the annual Áillohaš prize, which recognizes outstanding achievement in Sami music.



Various artists
Ima ipmašat (Ima wonders)

Inger-Mari (aka Ima) Aikio Arianack is an accomplished writer and poet from Ohcejohka, Sápmi on the Finnish side, whose poems have been set to music in the past. This time an entire album, aimed at teenagers, is dedicated to her writing. This new star studded album features the likes of Mari Boine, Sofia Jannok, Niko Valkeapää, Johan Kitti, Jiella, and rOlfFa. 12 from among Sápmi's best musical talent composed music for one of Ima's songs for youth. Each artist brings to the record their own unique style, and the album is filled with so many genres it cannot fail to find something to please everyone. From rap to pop to folk to trance to dance to heavy metal and back again, it's all here. Young people and adults alike will enjoy this colorful collection of songs in North Sami.

Read Árran's translations of some of Ima's earlier poems.

Ella Holm Bull
Laavlomh maanide (Children's songs)

Children's music in South Sami language featuring Ella Holm Bull, Ida Bransfjell, Ajlin Jonetta Jonassen, Lisa Mortensson Bryhildsvoll, and Anna Sofie Bull Kuhmunen. Released in 1997, the album was produced and arranged by Frode Fjellheim. Ella Holm Bull spent her entire life revitalizing the South Sami culture and language. Before passing away in 2006, she won numerous awards for her publishing and translations. This album was part of her effort to preserve South Sami language, and all songs are written and composed by Ella Holm Bull. She also put out a Christmas album.


Catarina Utsi & Åse Blind with Vardagsgruppen
Suga Suga Su

Internationally recognizable children's classic songs are playfully sung in North Sami on this well produced album. Such beloved children's favorites as "Eei Eei O," "Bingo Was His Name," and many more are presented. Recorded in 1989, this CD also accompanies a children's song book of the same name.


Karen Anne Buljo
Ábifruvvá (Lady of the Sea)

Yoik as you've never heard it before, the Coastal Sami way. Karen Anne Buljo's collection of children's songs as she heard them growing up are each performed traditionally (a cappella,) and then given modern arrangements. Ábifruvvá was nominated in 2007 for Solo Album of the Year by the Norwegian Folk Music Awards. We find yoiks of Stallo, ladybugs, butterflies, and the Lady of the Sea among others. Produced and arranged by Georg Buljo, who also produced Lars Ánte Kuhmunen's Birrasis. Lyrics in North Sami, Norwegian, and English accompany the CD.


Laavlomh maanide and Ábifruvvá may be ordered through Iđut. Shopping cart in Norwegian, further inquiries contact Iđut. Iđut CDs currently cost 200 NOK ($37 USD.)

Ima ipmašat, Hoŋkoŋ dohkká, and Suga Suga Su CDs and song books can be purchased from DAT. Music can be purchased separately from song books. CDs from DAT are currently 165 NOK ($30 USD.)

All albums above, except at the moment Ima ipmašat, are also available for digital purchase through one or more of the following digital music services. iTunes, Emusic, This is Music from Norway, and Listen to Norway.

Lars Ánte Kuhmunen

Lars Ánte Kuhmunen is a 30 year old reindeer herder and yoiker from Rensjön, near Giron, Sápmi on the Swedish side. His debut CD Birrasis was released in 2005 on Iđut and won Best New Artist at the 2006 Norwegian Folk Music Awards. Lars Ánte performs regularly at Sápmi music festivals and elsewhere in Scandinavia and Europe, but his main livelihood is still herding. He has performed with Beaivváš Sámi Teáhter, and was the subject of a Swedish national television documentary in 2006.

Birrasis combines atmospheric music with traditional yoik with an ambient tone that fans of Wimme Saari will recognize. Many of the album's tracks are reminiscent of Wimme's style, and the two tracks "Bajil (From above)" and "Dološ áigi (Times gone by,)" are more in the Áillohaš style. If you have these two artists in your collection already, then Birrasis would make a nice complement.

The CD is designed with beautiful art work and photographs, such as the one above of Lars Ánte out with the reindeer. Lyrics are given in North Sami and Swedish, but included also are titles and a paragraph explaining what each song is about in English.

Some album highlights

"Johtit jollasiid (Following the path)" is a playful, melodic tune you can get in your head as Lars Ánte takes you along the path following the reindeer. He explains:
"When you follow the reindeer in late autumn, there is often snow on the ground. There are only a few hours of daylight, and you want to make the best use of the light to get to specific places with the reindeer. When the animals start moving, you hope that they will move quickly. Sometimes other people have been in the in same area with their herds, which have left a path through the snow. The reindeer find it easier to follow the path that has already been stamped in the snow, and they move quickly. It's enjoyable to move your herds when they are following the jolas, the path. This composition describes the movement of the herd of reindeer in the jolas."

"Giđđavuoiŋŋat (Soul of Spring)" is a yoik which samples a recording of Lars Ánte yoiking when he was a 12 year old.

"Láhtti, juolggit, gieđat (Floor, feet, hands)" as the name might tell you is quite danceable.

"Gabna duottar" Lars Ánte won the yoik division of the Sami Grand Prix in 2000 with this yoik, which is here presented in line with the trance, ambient theme of the album.

Lyrics and melodies for the album's 11 tracks are by Lars Ánte. The record's producer Georg Buljo also composed the music based on those melodies.

Visit Lars Ánte's myspace to preview tracks from the album. Watch video of Lars Ánte's 2006 acoustic performance of "Sami vearaldat" on Sami television. The video may take a few minutes to load, Lars Ánte appears in the last five minutes.

Birrasis may purchased as a CD for $37 USD through Iđut. Shopping cart in Norwegian, further inquiries contact Iđut. Or purchase mp3 through one of these digital music services: iTunes, Emusic, Listen to Norway, and This is Music From Norway.

Evolving gákti

Inga Porsanger (above) of Kárášjoga specializes in traditional clothing in new forms. With modern cuts and vibrant colors, she transforms beloved familiar garments into new and exciting creations. Boot bands in every color of the rainbow are her trademark.

“It is a little different. On the one hand it is something familiar, and at the same it can feel a little strange.” Porsanger says of her own work.

It is not the broad strokes that she remakes when she designs new creations. The traditional form is sacred, but she experiments with colors and fabrics. Porsanger pulls out a typical woman’s blue gakti. “The gákti itself is a traditional gákti, but it becomes more exciting when it is sewn in denim. I call this the blue jean gákti.”

Inga finds support from a colleague in a neighboring county. Risten Rávdná Hætta Gaup (right) was the first seamstress to make modern versions of traditional Sami clothing. When she sensed that the traditional clothes were on the way out, she started her own shop in 1974.

“People were beginning to go around in the usual Norwegian clothes. It seemed we were beginning to lose Sami identity, and I didn’t want that to happen,” says Hætta Gaup. So she made modern versions of the Sami gákti, which are known to this day. She is happy that Porsanger is leading this legacy onward. “I should have been doing what Inga is doing myself,” she says.

Not everyone likes that this evolution is going forward. Ellen Marie Turi Gaup (left) has banked on traditional products. She says that of course there is a need for change, but only to a certain degree.

“It would have been unacceptable if the elders had worn pink boot bands. At the same time, I think it’s great that young people use traditional attire in new shapes and colors, even a pink gákti,” says Turi Gaup.

The Sami gákti has always been happy in combinations of strong colors. Turi Gaup has adorned her everyday gákti with a pink scarf for this occasion. Even so she has a hard time imagining herself in a pink gákti. “The only way I could challenge traditional limits would be if I were younger,” laughs Turi Gaup.

NRK Sami Radio 11/23/07
Photos: Sara Beate Eira/NRK

Inga Porsanger works with soft duodji and her company Inka Duodji is based in Kárášjoga, Norway. The website is currently only in Norwegian, but you can view some of her work online and email inka@e-vei.no for further inquiries.

Show and Tell

“I was showing my class my gákti. I really like my gákti.” Diane Jensen Connel wearing her west Finnmark coastal gákti.