Open lecture: Possible motives for cultural appropriation of Sámi yoiking in Finnish music

The ApproFI project warmly invites you to an open keynote lecture and discussion on the theme of cultural appropriation.

The lecture, titled “Possible motives for cultural appropriation of Sámi yoiking in Finnish music” will be given by Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, followed by comments and discussion led by Dr. Renae Watchman. Time for questions and comments from the audience will follow. Näkkäläjärvi will deliver her keynote lecture remotely, while Watchman will be present in person. The lecture is open to all, no registration needed!

Pirita Näkkäläjärvi is a Doctoral Researcher at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, and the President of the Sámi Parliament of Finland. In her lecture, she will consider the appropriation of Sámi yoiking in Finnish music. The Sámi vocal tradition of yoiking has inspired many, but the time is now ripe for critically examining its appropriation, for understanding how music can discriminate, and for learning from past mistakes. Näkkäläjärvi will begin to chart the possible motives behind the cultural appropriation of Sámi yoiking through the lens of settler colonialism. She will also offer suggestions of how to cooperate with the Sámi music field in a sustainable manner that benefits everyone.

Dr. Renae Watchman will serve as discussant. She is an Associate Professor at the Indigenous Studies Department at McMaster University, and is Diné (Navajo), with family originally from Shiprock, New Mexico. Dr. Watchman teaches courses in Indigenous literary studies and Indigenous film. Her book Restoring Relations Through Stories: from Dinétah to Denendeh (University of Arizona Press / University of Regina Press, 2024), introduces, synthesizes, and analyzes traditional stories by Diné and Dene storytellers in orature and film. Dr. Watchman holds a PhD in German Studies from Stanford University, and her publications include the edited volume Indianthusiasm: Indigenous Responses (co-edited with Harmut Lutz and Florentine Strzelczyk, Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2020).

This event is part of the ApproFI project’s symposium Cultural Appropriation in Context: Histories, Encounters, and Power. The ApproFI project (full title “Fake, Steal, Borrow? The Appropriation of Indigenous Cultures in Finland throughout the 1900s”) is funded by the Kone Foundation.

Everyone is warmly welcome to join us on May 22!