Arctic Birdie

Kulturkraft is a school project that has been initiated to make Swedish, Saami and Finnish culture meet without people cussing at each other. As a part of this project one class of Saami kids are making contributions to an art exhibition that will open later this spring. Art was one of last things on their minds though.

Sanna-Marja: I drew a wolf that took me, I don’t know, maybe 40 minutes, the contours were ready, and I just filled it in. That old woman I drew from a photograph. It’s not anyone I know, it was just a picture. The bird and the northern lights are nothing, I’ve just cut it out of paper. I guess I could go on studying or working with art. It beats math.

During the summer my family and me live in our tent, but I prefer living in the city. And I hate fishing, I’ve never even caught a fish. Oh, actually once I really did catch a fish. It was the tiniest thing you ever saw.

Niklas: It is more comfortable in the city, but I love being able to go swimming in the tarn during the summer. It’s pitch black.

I’ve never driven a snow scooter, no way, I’m only 14. I’ll be 15 next year, which means I can get granted exemption, so I’ll be able to drive a scooter. I’ll apply for it this autumn, and I’ll have it for the winter in time for when we move the reindeers. That means I’ll be able to drive if my dad or my brothers and sisters or my grandmother is around. And then when I’m 16 I’ll get my proper scooter license. It’s gonna be good to be finally driving it legally.

Once when we were moving the reindeers and we were up in the helicopter, my cousin started feeling queasy. So the pilot gave him his cap and went, “If you need to puke, puke in this.” And my cousin puked in his cap. Then they threw it out the window.

Marja-Susanna: Niklas and me are third cousins. We have our reindeers in the same area, but they’re not together. I stay in a big house during the summer, Niklas has a tiny house that looks like a tent where they live maybe five people.

I have relatives who are artists and craftsmen, but I haven’t taken after them what so ever. We made a slideshow too, with pictures from when we moved the reindeers, and we recorded the sound of the reindeers’ hooves. But right in the middle of the recording you can hear Sanni go, “Hey Niklas, are so proud of your iPod you need to show it off like that?” So we’ll have to do it over. I haven’t kept any of my drawings though, I threw them away.

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