An exhibition at the Kin Museum of Contemporary Art in Kiruna is showcasing the works of Johan Turi, the first Sami author to write about Sami life in his own language, to mark the handover of a long-awaited report on state abuses against the Sami people.
Exhibition highlights Turi's pioneering works
Turi's writings, drawings, paintings and Duodji (traditional Sami handicraft) form the centre of the exhibition, titled On the Ugly and the Beautiful, which draws from a quote by Turi about his belief that everything, positive and negative, has a place to be shown. His work is displayed alongside contemporary artists Outi Pieski and Johanna Minde.
Turi, who died in 1936, wanted his 1910 book Muitalus sámiid birra (An Account of the Sami) to set the record straight about the lives of Europe's only recognised Indigenous people, in the face of racist discrimination, land disputes and encroaching industry.
Historical context and contemporary relevance
Born in Guovdageainnu (Kautokeino) in 1854, Turi's family moved to Kiruna as formal national borders impacted Sami life. Museum director Maria Lind said the book, published in Sami and Danish before being translated into Swedish seven years later, is "about Sami life, small and big – external and inner life".
Lind noted that Turi "had dreamed about writing a book about the Sami with the purpose of making the population in Sweden understand how difficult it was for the Sami". She added: "He wanted the king to read his book because he felt if the king knew then things would change. Most likely the king did not read his book, but it became a success."
Parallels with today's struggles
The problems facing Sami people today are not dissimilar to those Turi would recognise, with industry – especially the search for rare earth minerals and wind energy – threatening reindeer herding and nature. Anti-Sami rhetoric is on the rise, despite the progress symbolised by the truth commission and its report, presented at Mid Sweden University in Staare.
The report is intended to form the basis for reparation and reconciliation discussions. The Kin Museum will put on a special tour of the works, after which there will be a reading of testimonies at the culture house next door.
Artists reflect on Turi's legacy
Pieski, who lives on the Finnish side of Sápmi, said she grew up with Turi's writings and drawings, in which she sees the paper as the land itself. "And then humans, animals, everything is grounded on that paper," she said. "It's not a western way of seeing a landscape as a beautiful view that you look at from a distance. But the actual place where you are, physically placed, and you are an active member of this network of land."
Her research with Eeva-Kristiina Nylander on the ládjogahpir, a traditional hat historically worn by Sami women, is also part of the exhibition, helping to bring it back into use as a "new symbol for decolonial feminism".
Pieski said that in many ways Turi's work started the current process of truth and reconciliation. "It's very sad that we are kind of in the same spot still now, 100 years later," she said. "And I know the same struggles are still existing that Johan Turi brought out with the fight for industrial land use and so on."
