Glad that the Poala-Ánde drum will stay at home in Sápmi
Sami Parliament President Silje Karine Muotka and Sami Parliament Councilor Maja Kristine Jåma are pleased with the final decision that Poala-Ánde, Anders Poulsson’s drum will remain at one of the Sami museums.
On Monday, the message came from the Danish Minister of Culture, Ane Halsboe Jørgensen, that she has formally given a separation of the Sami drum.
–It is only natural that the drum gets its permanent place in a Sami museum, which belongs to history, says Halsboe Jørgensen.
–We are happy that Poala-Ánde, Anders Poulsson’s drum will remain at home in Sápmi. Now we can tell and show our story on our own terms, says a happy Sami Parliament president Silje Karine Muotka.
The drum was seized in East Finnmark in 1692
Anders Poulsson’s drum was seized in Finnmark in 1692 and was forwarded to Copenhagen, and has since been part of the royal art chamber collection at the National Museum in Copenhagen. From 1979, the drum has been lent from the National Museum in Copenhagen to Samiid Vuorká-Dávvirat and RiddoDuottarMuseat in Kárášjohka -Karasjok.
“The Sami Parliament would like to thank the National Museum in Copenhagen, indigenous politicians in Denmark, the Danish Minister of Culture, former Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo and the museum management in Kárášjohka who have managed to reach an agreement that the ownership will be transferred from Denmark back to the same,” says Muotka.
Indigenous peoples around the world have been exposed to processes that have made cultural heritage particularly important. Both as a basis for knowledge of history and as part of ceremonial practices. Today, a number of processes are underway in which nations and countries can return their cultural-historical objects.
–Cultural heritage is an important part of all people’s identity and belonging. Knowing its history is a central part of our formation as an individual and as a society. In Sápmi, there are a number of reversals of cultural objects, and the Sami Parliament must continue to support this and be clear that it is the same itself that must own, manage and disseminate its own cultural heritage, says Sami Parliament Councilor Maja Kristine Jåma.
Today it is difficult to get or no drums left in Sápmi, and the Poala-Ánde drum is therefore particularly important to the Sami people.
The Sami Parliament will now start planning a celebration in collaboration with RiddoDuottarMuseat for the presentation of the drum, says Muotka.
Former Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo approached HM Queen Margrethe of Denmark directly to make the Queen aware of this matter.
Well, the Danish Minister of Culture and the Danish Ministry of Culture have decided that the Poala-Ánde drum will remain at home in Sápmi.