The Potential of Sámi/Indigenous Festivals to Inform and Bridge Formal Education Systems

Abstract

This article aims to explore how Indigenous knowledge and skills acquired at Sámi festivals can supplement and critically inform knowledge in the Norwegian formal education system. The empirical data for this study are derived from extensive fieldwork (2009–2019) comprising observations of Riddu Riđđu festival participants, and semi-structured in-depth interviews with open-ended questions conducted with festival participants and volunteers who also work at different educational and cultural institutions, such as schools, language centres, libraries, and museums. We applied an Indigenous paradigm and methodology (Koukkanen, 2000; Smith, 2010) that favours land- or place-based pedagogies (Thornton, et al., 2021; Wildcat et al., 2014), along with a holistic research method approach. The results show that Sámi/Indigenous festivals have been and still are crucial in revitalising Sámi cultures and ways of knowing that are still marginalised in mainstream education systems. The Indigenous knowledge and skills acquired at Sámi and other Indigenous festivals have the potential to supplement and critically inform knowledge in formal education systems such as schools, teacher education, libraries, and museums.