Project description

Oummu rââst raaj – People cross the borders -project on revitalization of Skolt Saami language and culture in Inari and Sør-Varanger municipalities

Project name: Oummu rââst raaj – People cross the borders

Project duration: September 2024 – August 2026

Lead partners EU / Norway: Inari municipality / Sør-Varanger municipality

Ä’vv Skolt Saami Museum is taking part in a cross-border Finnish-Norwegian projectOummu rââst raaj – People cross the bordersas one of the main partners on the Norwegian side. The project, which was launched in Sør-Varanger in November 2024, is co-funded by the Interreg Aurora Programme. It aims at strengthening the Skolt Saami language and culture environment across the border. As a result of this 2-year project, common language use arena for Skolt Saami living in Norway and Finland will be established.

Nuõrttsäämkiõll, the Skolt Saami language, is on the UNESCO endangered languages list, and has a critical status in both Finland, Norway and Russia. The overall number of Skolt Saami speakers is small. According to Torkel Rasmussen, Associated Professor at the UiT, in Norway there are about 400 Skolt Sami, and 10-12 speakers. In Finland the number of Skolt Saami is estimated to be 600-700, with about 300 speakers. It is of vital importance to increase the number of speakers in order to preserve the language.

In past years, interest from the Skolt Saami community to take back own language and culture has sufficiently increased. In Northern Finland systematic language revitalisation work has already shown good results. Building closer connections between Norway and Finland is essential for Skolt Saami communities across the borders.

Skolt Saami language has no official status in Norway – unlike the situation in Finland. The Sámi Parliament in Norway has adopted Skolt Saami as one of its official languages, but much more efforts are needed to keep the language alive. Ä’vv Skolt Saami Museum – opened in 2017 in Neiden – became a significant contribution to revitalizing of Skolt Saami culture, and its competence will be highly used by the project.

Sør-Varanger municipality is leading the project on the Norwegian side together with Ä’vv Skolt Saami Museum and Norrõs Skolt Saami Association with support of the Sámi Parliament in Norway. Use of local knowledge and expertise is especially important in promoting Skolt Saami culture. Therefore, Pikene på Broen, Sør-Varanger Culture School, Pasvik Folk High School, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Norwegian Barents Secretariat have also been invited to the projects’ network on the Norwegian side. Cooperation with Inari municipality – the lead EU partner of the project – and Skolt Saami institutions on the Finnish side will benefit to the local activities.

Many exciting activities are planned by the project. Development and piloting of an online Skolt Saami language course by the Sámi Education Institute in Inari, summer and winter camps to explore Skolt Saami traditions, joint study tours to Skolt Saami traditional settlements in Finland and Norway, joint artistic performance of Skolt Saami artists and Pikene på Broen are a few to name.

More about the project (in Finnish): https://www.inari.fi/fi/palvelut/sivistyspalvelut/people-cross-the-borders-koltansaamen-kielen-ja-kulttuurin-edistamishanke-2024-2026.html

Information about the project at Interreg Aurora webpage: https://www.interregaurora.eu/approved-projects/oummu-raast-raaj-people-cross-the-borders/

Contacts:

Maria Dianova

Project leader on the Norwegian side

Sør-Varanger Municipality

Department for Culture and Leisure

mdian@svk.no

Hanna-Maaria Kiprianoff

Museum manager

Ä’vv Skolt Saami Museum

hmki@dvmv.no