Indigenous Literature—Sápmi
“Can you hear the sound of life / in the roaring of the creek / in the blowing of the wind / That is all I want to say / that is all…" - Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
“Can you hear the sound of life in the roaring of the creek in the blowing of the wind That is all I want to say that is all … My life is simple and easy I like to be lazy look into the talking fire … and hear the yoiks of the ocean I can not carry the grief of the day It has to travel from day to day and let life live”— from ‘BLUETHROAT, TWITTER, SING’ in Trekways of the Wind by Nils-Aslak
In the mid-2010’s my partner was in the process of trying to get Polish citizenship for himself & his father whose family was expelled from Poland in the early twentieth century & part of that process included him taking a DNA test as part of the evidence requirements. At the time, the place he purchased the test from was running a promotion which allowed him to get a free test, which he gave to me to take—just for fun.
This was how I found out that the “family mythology” on my mother’s side was largely untrue & that, instead of being mostly ethnically German, French, & Scottish like we’d always been told (there had been multiple mysterious “adoptions” in our family history records), we were in fact mostly “Norwegian”—at least, that was the area on the map the test pulled the density of my “relatives” from. Except, that particular area was not really Norway, but Sápmi. In addition, my maternal haplogroup—a mitochondrial dna marker that is passed on matrilineally—is the most common haplogroup among the Sámi people. All of which meant that at least one of my more recent ancestors, likely as recent as the mid-1800s, was Sámi.
I had only tangentially heard of the Sámi people before that moment & I had absolutely no idea which of my ancestors—who were all poor farmers or working class folks, most of whose final resting places are unknown—was the Sámi person who by choice or by abduction or by a sense of hopeless desperation, became severed from their cultural & spiritual birthright as one of the last remaining (recognized) Indigenous peoples of europe.
Ever since I discovered this devastatingly lost part of my heritage, I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about the folk of Sápmi, their history, their contemporary lifeways, their art, their efforts to reclaim their lands from the colonial governments of scandinavia, & of course, their literature. I’ve attended documentary screenings, musical & theater performances, participated in bookclubs, engaged with & supported Sámi youth activist efforts, & read every single book that has been translated into English that I can access.
I don’t know, nor will I likely ever know, my ancestor’s story, choices, reasons, or experiences—let alone their name—but I hope that by reconnecting in these small but intentional ways, I can, in some respect, fill that emptiness, kiss that scar, & honor the memories & inheritance that have been lost.
& I hope you find something in this list that inspires you to discover more about these remarkable people of the Arctic, the long winter nights, the reindeer road, the yoik, the lavvu, & the rolling, resilient lands of the northern lights, the midnight-sun—of Sápmi.
Xx ceallaigh 🥀📖
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Click on the star ratings beside the titles I’ve read to read my reviews/thoughts about the book.
"To be without the reindeer's gaze was impossible The herd's body became our bodies our family … The herd was what nourished my blood it fashioned me with its word — The source of my life's pattern."— from Ædnan by Linnea Axelsson
by Sámi authors:
ÆDNAN by Linnea Axelsson (2018) & translated into English by Saskia Vogel (2024) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —literary poetry historical fiction
FIRE FROM THE SKY (Swedish: Himlabrand) by Moa Backe Åstot (2021), & translated by Eva Apelqvist (2023) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —YA contemporary queer romance
STOLEN (Swedish: Stöld, book one in the Sápmitrilogin) by Ann-Helén Laestadius (2021), & translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles (2023) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —contemporary literary fiction (Check CWs)
& the sequel, PUNISHED, which was just released this month (Feb 2025)
→ “Why are we still calling it ‘Lapland’?: An essay about calling things by their real names,” by Petra Laiti (2024)
THE NIGHT BETWEEN THE DAYS (Norwegian: Natten mellom dagene) by Ailo Gaup (1992), & translated into English by John Weinstock (2010) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —contemporary literary fiction: & one of my favorite books of all time. Cannot recommend this book enough & am just gutted it’s currently out of print & really difficult to find. A “loose continuation” of Trommereisen (In Search of the Drum, 1988–which is even more devastatingly out-of-print, I only know one person who’s read this book in English), Natten mellom dagene tells the story of Jon & his partner Lajla who travel north from Oslo to Sápmi one autumn, called to discover secrets about themselves & their pasts & to find their paths into the future with the help of their own intuition, internal & external teachers, the silence & darkness of the forest, the forces of nature, healing, dreams & magic.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DAWN (North Sámi: Čábbámus iđitguovssu), by Elle Márjá Vars (2005) translated by Laura A. Janda, —YA contemporary fiction: about a neurodivergent Sámi teenager discovering her identity & passion through art.
THE SÁMI PEOPLE: Traditions in Transition, by Veli-Pekka Lehtola (2002) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —This is the first book you should get if you’re interested in an introduction to learning more about the Sámi people. Professor Lehtola is a North Sámi and his short book is the best introduction to the Sámi people and the history of their lands and culture that you can find in English. He covers the important changes that have faced his people over the past few hundred years, paying particularly close attention to the activist and artistic movements that are rejuvenating the indigenous communities of Northern Scandinavia.
TREKWAYS OF THE WIND by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (1994) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —an omnibus edition of three works that comprise a collection of lyrical writing, gorgeous illustration, & vocal musical annotation for yoik. Part I “WHITE SPRING NIGHTS” speaks primarily to Sámi life, its beauty & rewards, its struggles & yearnings, Part II “BLUETHROAT, TWITTER, SING” to interiority & Indigenous philosophy; personal reflection, memory, & feeling; & respect & pride for old Sápmi. Part III “STREAMS’ SILVER VEINS” expands its focus to travel, visiting Indigenous lands & communities around the world. Valkeapää speaks intimately & emotionally about kinship & the universality of the Indigenous perspective—“and all this / so familiar / have I been / here before”—land back & Indigenous sovereignty activism, as well as the unshakeable persistence of Indigenous realities & Spirit.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE SÁMI (North Sámi: Muitalus sámiid birra.) by Johan Turi (1910), as re-edited by Mikael Svonni according to Turi’s original notes (2010), & translated into English by Thomas A DuBois (2011) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —a creative merging of “history, oral tradition, ethnographic description & personal reminiscence into a single, varied whole. Rather than falling into predefined Western categories of discourse, Turi set out to adapt Sámi narrative traditions to the new task of writing a book…” &, as a result, producing “an eclectic, reflexive, subtly polemic work that presents Sámi views in an uncompromisingly Sámi way.”
BY THE FIRE: Sámi Folktales and Legends, collected & illustrated by Emilie Demant Hatt (1922), & translated from the Danish by Barbara Sjoholm (2019) —folk stories “…offers insights into the fascinating Sami storytelling tradition—where motifs from Cinderella and legends about sea monsters intertwine in milieus as diverse as icy mountains and tobacco fields. Barbara Sjoholm's translation renders these wonderful stories in all their darkness and power. (Coppélie Cocq, Umea University)"
“Her grandmother had a word for everything, but only in Sámi. In Swedish, Áhkku felt she had too few words, but sometimes she couldn't speak Sámi without having to mix in some Swedish… According to Áhkku, Swedish was missing the melody of the heart.”
— from Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
by non-Sámi authors:
ANTIPHONY (Norwegian: Vekselsang) by Laila Stien (1997), translated by John Weinstock (2006) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ —contemporary literary fiction: framed as an anti- or non-ethnographic work that “in a sense, blur[s] the lines between the center/periphery (narrator/Sámi women).” Stien is a Norwegian novelist, poet, & translator who lives in Finnmark with her Sámi husband & children. I recommend reading this book after reading Axelsson’s Ædnan (above) as they’re very much in conversation with each other. Also see: Toni Morrison’s What Moves at the Margins as a good companion reading.
WITH THE LAPPS IN THE HIGH MOUNTAINS: A Woman Among the Sámi, 1907-1908, by Emilie Demant Hatt, translated by Barbara Sjoholm (xx) — “classic travel literature” … “an early contribution to ethnographic writing”, the narrative of Emilie Demant Hatt’s, a single white Danish woman & artist, then in her 30’s, nine-month stay with a Sámi family, living with them in their lavvu in Swedish Sápmi over the winter months of 1907-8, tells “vividly of daily life, women’s work, children’s play, and the care of reindeer herds in” Sápmi “a century ago.”
FROM LAPLAND TO SÁPMI: Collecting and Returning Sámi Craft and Culture, by Barbara Sjoholm (2023) ★ ★ ★ ★ —I was generously gifted a copy of this book by Minnesota Press when it came out two years ago & found it to be a very thorough & fascinating read. Though much of the book focuses on the history of colonial collection & the fate of Sámi material culture in white western european museums, the last section of the book is the most rewarding to read as Sjoholm here focuses on the history & tradition of Sámi material culture from Sámi perspectives & oral histories as well as the current efforts being made by artists & activists across Sápmi to encourage & secure the rematriation of all of Sápmi’s material heritage back to the lands where it belongs, where its people still value & maintain their vibrant & deeply (indeed, eternally) Indigenous lifestyle.
THE PALACE OF THE SNOW QUEEN: Winter Travels in Lapland, by Barbara Sjoholm (2007) ★ ★ ★ ★ —travelogue essays: There were a couple of problematic things about this travelogue written by a white american woman on a trip across Sápmi (referred to as the now discredited name “Lapland” throughout the book as well as in the subtitle) but overall my recollection of the essays was that of a very thoughtful & compassionate sort of awakening of this traveler being truly educated & dare I say radicalized? by her experiences in Sápmi. It has since been re-released (in 2023) but I don’t have a copy of the later edition so I don’t know what kinds of changes were made (particularly to the text) beyond the subtitle being changed to “Winter Travels in Lapland and Sápmi”.
BENEATH THE ICE: In Search of the Sámi by Kenneth Steven (2017) ★ ★ ★ ★ .5 —travelogue essays: This was a book I came across in my early days of reading & researching about the Sámi & Sápmi (yes because of a dna test i took, leave me alone) & even though I don’t really remember it now—I read it in 2020—my review from that reading was overwhelmingly positive so it’s likely worth a read if you’re curious. A good reading companion for it would be Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place (read my ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ review here).
"When the darkness draws the Sami to the campfire, when the stew kettle hangs on its sooty chain and steam and smoke rise up through the tent opening to the clouds and night sky, then rest comes, memories slip in, like dreams to a sleeper.... The spirit of Fairy Tale perches at the edge of the hearth. ... Outside in the deepest night wander the dead, the spirits, the evil thoughts one person sends another... Here inside the tent is the campfire; here is home, the great safe place."
- from the Introduction to By the Fire: Sámi Folktales & Legends
Where to find these books:
Your local library/libraries & their consortiums. This is where my friend who I mentioned above found the copy of Ailo Gaup’s In Search of the Drum that she was able to read. Very, very jealous of her.
University libraries near you. Sometimes university libraries will offer annual access cards or memberships to locals either for free or a small charge.
Nordic Studies Press is “an independent publisher dedicated to producing and distributing a beautiful series of books and musical works related to the countries of the Nordic region – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.” They have published a few of the books I’ve mentioned above & include a section of Sámi Literature & Culture Books on their website.
Back Home Books: Swedish, Finnish, and Sámi Books is an independent online bookstore based in Buffalo NY that imports books from Sweden & Finland that can be difficult, even impossible, to find in the US. (They are also super sweet & will try to find you the book you’re looking for even if it isn’t listed on their website.)
Fortunately Sámi literature has become much more accessible in the past decade or so & I only anticipate more titles & more availability to appear in this category over the coming years.
Some of my favorite Sámi artists & activists:
Ella Marie -
Hildá Länsman -
Ida Helene Benonisen - poet (TikTok, YouTube)
Read more about Benonisen & their work here: “Overcoming Shame, Becoming Visible, and Claiming Sámi Identity Through Spoken Word” by Camilla Lindschouw (Oct 2023)
We are Children of the mighty sun itself We are The joik that fills the gaps between Nordland’s trees We are summer nights in the midnight sun We are the circle in the flag where red meets blue We are tough against the soft Where the sea crashes against the sheer mountain We have treaded terrain unknown to others We are the song and the circle that never shatters— from “We ARE” by Ida Helene Benonisen
Petra Laiti - activist, artist, musician
→ “Why are we still calling it ‘Lapland’?: An essay about calling things by their real names,” by Petra Laiti (2024)
Katarina Blind
More Resources:
The Reindeer belong to the Wind / Porot kuuluvat tuulelle (2016 film)
a Finnish documentary (with English subtitles) that “gives a voice to the Käsivarsi reindeer herding co-operative members. They describe in their own words what threats their traditional livelihood is facing in modern times.” I had the privilege of watching a screening of this documentary during a Sápmi National Day initiative in 2021 hosted by Native Spirit UK & the british museum & was absolutely blown away by how beautiful, informative, fascinating, & moving it was. It is currently available to rent on vimeo.
Riddu Riđđu Festivála - Álgoálbmot festivála Gáivuonas, Sámis
Norway, Sweden and Finland all have separate Sámi broadcasting stations (NRK Sápmi, SR Sameradion, SVT Sápmi and YLE Sápmi).
NRK Sápmi is the main one I refer to more regularly so I will personally recommend it as a starting point for keeping up to date on Sámi news, current events, politics, initiatives, culture, & Sámi sovereignty rights & environmental activism. (NRK Sápmi is part of the NRK broadcasting conglomerate, NRK Sápmi is Norway's largest indigenous media company whose main mission is to produce media content for Sápmelaččat, but NRK Sápmi also shares information and knowledge about Sámi society with the rest of the population.)
I have also shared & saved quite a bit of information, photographs, videos, books, & other resources for Sámi authors, artists, events, initiatives, & activism in this highlight on my instagram account.
Please let me know in the comments or by DM—either here or on any of my socials (@ceallaighsbooks pretty much everywhere except twitter)—if you know of any titles or shops that should be included in this post! <3
“Ski stroke by ski stroke song after song we spread out the landscape of our kin in his body — Singing forth the world around us”— from Ædnan by Linnea Axelsson
