| Summary: | Three members of Extending the Link (ETL), an on campus student documentary team, will focus on the value of knowing your own heritage and using it as inspiration for respecting others. The motivation for this Thursday Forum comes from ETL's eighth film, Obbasa Ain Gállit: We Continue, which shows the path of modern indigenous communities, through the lens of the Sámi. Obbasa Ain Gállit: The last recognized indigenous group in Europe, the Sámi reside in Sápmi (Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia). Additionally, there is a large Sámi-American population in the United States, specifically in Minnesota, near Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth. In the fall of 2014, the twelve-member team filmed throughout Minnesota. In December, five members of the Extending the Link team traveled to Norway and Sweden to meet with members of the Sámi community, including Sámi Parliament members, teachers, authors, and artists. The Sámi have fought to preserve their heritage, language and culture despite heavy pressures from national governments and colonization to assimilate to modern society. The Sámi have combated traditional stereotypes, environmental destruction, and language loss. Through perseverance and pride in their people, they have successfully brought their Sámi culture and values into the 21st century.The Sámi story illustrates the importance of knowing one's own heritage, including the history of the land one calls home. The Sámi show how indigenous narratives have survived through every wrinkle in earth's time, and will continue on through the modern pursuit of preserving land and cultural traditions.
|
|---|