The Collection Services of the Sámi Museum
”If a picture is worth 1000 words, how much more valuable then are real items that have been used? An artifact tells something about its owner, the individual, and about the environment and the adaptation to the demands of nature and culture. We Sámi cannot have a calabash, but we do have wooden dishes like a náhppi or guksi hollowed out of a burl...” (*)
The collections of the Sámi Museum consist of artifact, photograph and archive collections, a reference library and the open-air museum. The collections are connected with living and dwellings, movement and transportation, clothing and handicraft, as well as beliefs, religion and customs. The Sámi Museum is also a Sámi Art Museum, which gathers Sámi art in its collections.
Customers who want to look at the artifact or photograph collections should make an arrangement about this with the collections curator at least a week in advance. To the extent reasonable, the customer should state the particulars of what he/she wishes to see. Depending on the scope of the study, it may be possible to agree about a research visit over the telephone or through e-mail. However, in some cases the museum may also want a written request and enough time for its decision-making, as the examination of some materials may also require permission from other institutions or private persons.
After permission has been granted, the museum will, together with the customer, fix a date and a place for the examination. Preferably, the examination will not be done in the collections facilities; instead, the material should be taken to some other room to be studied there.
The Collections and Information Services of the Sámi Museum are available from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please, contact us at +358 (0)400 891 860 in advance, if you are interested in these services.
Further information:
Áile Aikio, Collections Curator, tel. +358 (0)400 891 860, aile.aikio(at)samimuseum.fi
*)Hon. Dr. Samuli Aikio in Siiddastallan: From Lapp Communities to Modern Sámi Life. Eds. Pennanen-Näkkäläjärvi.
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