The President of the Sami Parliament has sent a letter to HM Queen Margrethe about the repatriation of Sami drums
Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo has sent a letter to HM Queen Margrethe in a case that is important to her and the Sami people, and which also affects the Danish people and Danish institutions.
The case concerns a Sami ceremonial object, a drum, which she wants to be repatriated to Sápmi.
–This drum is part of our cultural heritage, and belongs to Sápmi. When Anders Poulsen was killed, it was the King of Denmark / Norway who got his seized drum. I now appeal to Denmark’s head of state, HM Queen Margrethe to help us, says Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo.
–Såpmelaééaid meavrresgårit – Sami drums – is an important part of the Sami cultural heritage, and are objects of special importance in a ceremonial context. Today we have few or no drums left in Såpmi. Throughout history, a number of Sami cultural-historical objects have been removed and found in various museums in the Nordic countries and Europe. Most Sami drums are today outside Såpmi. Cultural heritage is an important part of all people’s identity and belonging. Knowing its history is a central part of our shaping as an individual and as a society. This also applies to indigenous peoples, said Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo in the letter.
–At one of our Sami museums, RiddoDuottarMuseat in Kåråöjohka-Karasjok, we have for several years had the pleasure of being able to take care of and show Poala-Ande, Anders Poulsson’s drum to the Sami people and to others who visit the museum. As far as we know, Poala -Spirate – Anders Poulsson was arrested in Nesseby, Finnmark, in 1691 for possession of a drum. The drum was seized in 1692 and sent to Copenhagen, and has since been part of the royal art chamber collection for the National Museum in Copenhagen. During interrogation and the trial in 1692, he knew about the syrnbolene on the drum and how it was used. Anders Poulsson is said to have been killed in custody before the verdict was handed down. Since 1979, Anders Poulsson’s drum has been lent from the National Museum in Copenhagen to the Sami Collections and RiddoDuottarMuseat in Kåråöjohka- Karasjok. This lending agreement expires on 1 December 2021 following a loan agreement from 2016. The National Museum in Copenhagen has attached a number of terms to the loan agreements, and it appears that RiddoDuottarMuseat has managed to fulfill these terms, the President of the Sami Parliament has written in the letter.
RiddoDuottarMuseat Wants to see this important drum in Kåråöjohka —Karasjok, and has asked the Sami Parliament to get involved in the matter.
–I know that Denmark has returned and rowed cultural-historical objects back to Kalaallit Nunaat-Greenland through the project Utimut. This is an inspiration and can form the basis for a similar return process from Denmark back to the Sami people, since Denmark was previously a colonial power over Norway, including over the same. In Norway, a large repatriation project is now being carried out Bååstede, where 1600 Sami cultural history objects are transferred from the Norwegian Folk Museum and Cultural History Museum in Oslo to six Sami museum sites, the Sami Parliament president has written in the letter.
–Sami drums are an important part of the Sámi cultural heritage, and of particular importance in a ceremonial context. It will be of great importance if Anders Poulsson’s drum is owned, stored and disseminated in a Sami context. I would like to propose an agreement on a return of Anders Poulsson’s drum to the Sami people and to Såpmi. Such an agreement on return to the Sami museum in Kåråäjohka – Karasjok could be a good start and a mark of an exchange of Sami cultural heritage between Denmark and Såpmi, Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo has written at the end of the letter she has been sent to HM Queen Margrethe in Denmark.