On April 28, please join ASF for a virtual round-table discussion on Indigenous Activism in the Nordic Countries, with Sámi artist Sofia Jannok, Inuk anthropologist and Indigenous rights activist Qivioq Nivi Løvstrøm, & Sámi activist Beaska Niilas, moderated by Iñupiaq Inuit wildlife and conservation biologist Victoria Qutuuq Buschman. In their discussion, the panelists will look at what comprises activism in the Nordic countries and the issues being addressed.
They will also look at common misconceptions about Indigenous peoples and their rights, how Indigenous activists today are engaging with climate change, and how others can best support activism in the Arctic countries.
The event will take place via Zoom webinar; please register at the link above. Questions can be shared in the chat during the event or emailed in advance to info@amscan.org.
About the panelists
Sofia Jannok, born and raised in Sápmi, is a twice-Grammy-nominated artist from Sweden. Her music contains beats, power yoiks, pop tunes and innovative vastness. Her voice carries dynamic landscapes and no matter whether the lyrics are in English, Swedish or Sámi Sofia Jannok embraces each sound with every album and distinctly reveals her clear message through music. She has been a winner of the SKAP Music Prize, 2008, and Prince Eugen’s Cultural Prize, 2009; nominated for the Grammy awards in Sweden in 2010 & 2014; and winner of the Nils Aslak Valkeapää Music Prize, among many others.
Qivioq Nivi Løvstrøm is an Inuk anthropologist and indigenous rights activist from Greenland. She has experience in working for the Human Rights Council of Greenland, and for the Foreign Ministry of Greenland. She is also a former co-chair of Global Indigenous Youth Caucus and is currently an advisor for the GIYC, as well as a board member for Nordic Summer University.
Beaska Niilas, from Deatnu on the Norwegian side of Sápmi, is among other things a father of two, traditional Sámi duojár, hunter, gatherer, activist and politician. Nature has been in the center of his life since his childhood, and growing up the land was his playing field and his friend. He has done many different things in his life, but the only formal education he has is a certificate of apprenticeship in duodji. He has worked as an actor in both Beaivváš Sámi National Theatre and Giron Sámi Theatre, and has also been a teacher andworked as a fisherman. For approximately the last ten years he has been part of the Sámi politics, and has defended land and waters in Sápmi and beyond as an activist.
About the moderator
Victoria Qutuuq Buschman is an Iñupiaq Inuit wildlife and conservation biologist, raised between the vast tundra of Utqiaġvik, Alaska and the tall redwoods of northern California. She has lived and worked across the Arctic in an effort to promote how Indigenous Peoples fundamentally shape Arctic biodiversity conservation, from research, to management, to actualizing the dreams of new protected areas. Her role in research is to challenge the colonial legacy of conservation and instead promote partnerships with Indigenous communities, knowledge, and governance to develop ethically-conscious, culturally-relevant, and fully knowledge-based conservation efforts in the Arctic.
She is currently a PhD candidate at University of Washington, Seattle, a Conservation Research Fellow at Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (Nuuk, Greenland), Indigenous Knowledge and Conservation Advisor at Arctic Education Alliance (Nuuk, Greenland) a consultant for the Inuit Circumpolar Council, and an IASC Indigenous Fellow, among other affiliations.