15 Media
South Saami news media
For more than a century, South Saami newspapers have been published both in the South Saami language and in the majority languages of the Norwegian and Swedish nation-states. These media have been important in building a South Saami identity and public sphere. For a long time, these media have constituted a sphere of its own, existed alongside, but separate from the media of the majority. To an extent Saami language and perspectives have been represented in the Norwegian Public Broadcasting (NRK) through the Saami branch. The first Saami radio broadcast was aired in 1946, and from 1991 they also produced weekly TV shows for children. The Sameradio is accessible here:
Since 2001 the national broadcasters of Norway, Sweden and Finland have also produced TV news shows in cooperation. The Saami TV news is accessible through this link:
South Saami programming for children and youth
In recent years the NRK has strengthened its Saami program through recruiting and upscaling of staff, and content innovation. A part of this has been to present Saami and South Saami content to the whole of its Norwegian audience, e.g. programs for children. Thus signaling that (South) Saami perspectives and language is relevant to the whole nation, this marks a shift in the medial visibility in Norway. It also widenes the domains and the social impact of the South Saami language. Some recent and important examples:
- In 2013, a series for children exclusively in South Saami was aired for the first time. The series dramatizes the daily lives of two South Saami children, encountering both challenges universal for children as well as specifically South Saami experiences, e.g. the slaughtering of reindeer: Laara & Leisa – NRK TV
- In April 2023 a new South Saami podcast was launched at the NRK website: Two young South Saami girls discuss life as a young South Saami – in South Saami: https://tv.nrk.no/se?s=haevvi-soersamisk-podkast
- The Language Centre in Snåsa on Instagram follows Saami youths use their language in speaking and writing: Gieleviehkie (@gieleviehkie) • Instagram-bilder og -videoer
- Each year NRK branch for childrens produces a song and music video intended to bring pupils together through dancing. From 2020 they were also produced with Saami lyrics. In 2023 the Saami version was by the South Saami artist ÅVLA, Ole-Henrik Bjørkmo Lifjell: Check it out!
The joik/vuelie
The joik, or vuelie as it is called in South Saami, is the traditional form of Saami vocal music. It is a very important part of Saami culture. Joiking is much more than a way of singing, and a vuelie is far more than a song. It is thought of as a form of expressing oneself and of representing the world. A vuelie is not about a person or a phenomenon, rather it is a representation or a reflection. Through melody, rhythm and gestures, and with only few words if any, one characterizes a theme in a concise, carefully chosen way. A vuelie may be born out of feelings of anger, sadness or joy. It may be performed in protest, or expressing a loss or mourning where one joiks someone or something missing. It is often spontaneous, but it may also be carried through the generations. It may be solitaire, or shared or communal. The various methods, themes and modes of joiking all have specific names in South Saami.
The joik has been subject to change and innovation through the ages. Today a joik or vuelie is often accompanied by instruments, and joiking is a source of vivid experimentation with modern forms of expression.
Each year the Saami arrange their own SÀMI GRAND PRIX, where they compete in song, and in joik. The winner of 2023 is South Saami joiker Saara Hermansson. Here you may hear her joiking the bird Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus) – Goeksege in South Saami:
