On Wednesday 19 June, a historic agreement on the repatriation of around 1600 artefacts from the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History and the Museum of Cultural History will be signed to the Sámi museums in Norway. The signing will take place at at the RDM-Kautokeino Open-Air Museum in Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino
This happens on the day 7 years after the cooperation agreement for the return of the artefacts was signed in Karasjok on 19 June 2012. The agreement will be signed by Sámi Parliament President Aili Keskitalo, the directors from the two Norwegian museums and representatives from the Sámi museums. CEO Terje Ansgar Eriksen signs the agreement on behalf of Dálááiggi musea – Museum of Contemporary Sámi History, at Davvi álbmogiid guovddáš – Centre for Northern Peoples.
Bååstede – Returning Sami cultural heritage
The rollback project was named Bååstede - re-establishing Sámi cultural heritage. A key starting point has been the right to manage and convey one's own cultural heritage on one's own terms.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, 4,200 items were collected from all over Sápmi for the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Oslo, which later became part of the Museum of Cultural History. The items were eventually deposited at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. This Sami collection in Oslo was primarily assembled before Sami institutions existed.
Coming home
The items will now be incorporated into their original linguistic and cultural environments, and thus, among other things, contribute to the revitalisation of duodji and language. They will be an important knowledge base for the Sámi people, who have lost much over the ages as a result of Norwegianisation and war. The hope is that after the return, the project partners will have better conditions for working together on research and dissemination.
With the agreement now being signed, the first part of the project is complete. There is still a need for funding for the upgrade of storage facilities and exhibition spaces at the Sami museums, as well as for strengthening the expertise in handling the artefacts. All of this must be in place before the cultural heritage can return home.
Read more about Bååstede:
Båååstede - the return of Sami cultural heritage
From the exhibition Bååstede at the Centre for Northern Peoples