The Bååstede project to return 1600 Sami objects from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo to Sami museums in Norway has been going on for almost ten years now. I first wrote about it on this blog six years ago, and have since explored the subject further in my forthcoming book, From Lapland to Sapmi: Collecting and Returning Sami Craft and Culture (University of Minnesota Press, 2023). As well as writing about the Norwegian repatriation project, I've also discussed similar initiatives in Finland and Sweden.
Last year, Bååstede: The Return of Sámi Cultural Heritage, profusely illustrated with photos of some of the beautiful objects from Sami history, was published in Norway by Museumsforlaget. You can read my review of it as well as more about the background of the decision to return the objects and the long process in this article from the Norwegian-American .
The subject of repatriation has also been explored in a recent virtual panel sponsored by Scandinavia House in New York. Scandinavia House has done a terrific job during the pandemic with making readings, panels, and films available online. They have a You Tube Channel where you can still catch a lot of the offerings.
Last November, they sponsored a great panel, "Repatriation and Restitution in the Nordic Countries" with Martin Appelt (Senior Researcher and Curator, National Museum of Denmark), Eero Ehanti (Head of the Conservation Department, National Museum of Finland), Eeva-Kristiina Harlin (Archeologist & Osteoarchaeologist), & Daniel Thorleifsen (Director, Greenland National Museum and Archives). In this program, they discuss topics including the restitution of Greenlandic and Sámi collections from the National Museum of Denmark and National Museum of Finland.
Photo: Gro Ween
Some of the artifacts shown in the traveling exhibition “Bååstede—Hjemkomst—Homecoming” from 2017 – 2019.
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