“Everybody Knew Čuoppomáddu Stories”. On Human/Other‑Than‑Human Relations in Stuornjárga as Revealed Through the Márka‑Sámi Toponyms

• Published in: Lagoonscapes
• Main Author: Erika De Vivo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Linguistic landscape; Márka‑Sámi identity; Indigenous Sámi values; Indigenous Sámi worldviews; Other‑than‑human entities; Arctic; Sámi
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2318/1877690; https://doi.org/10.30687/LGSP/2785-2709/2022/01/001; https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni4/riviste/the-venice-journal-of-environmental-humanities/2022/1/everybody-knew-cuoppomaddu-stories-on-humanotherth/

The Sámi people share their ancestral homeland (Sápmi, sub/Arctic Europe) not only with animals, plants, trees, rocks, colonial-settlers and more recent immigrants but also with other-than-human beings. For centuries, the Sámi have co-constructed Sápmi’s landscape with these entities through respect and reciprocity. Despite enforced conversion, elements of Sámi Indigenous worldviews persisted. Enshrined in placenames, collective memory of interactions with other-than-human beings has been passed down through generations. The paper highlights the importance that toponyms have in transmitting cultural values, identity, and a sense of belonging.