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Film short abstract:

The salmon boat, luossafanas in Sámi, is an epitome of the Deatnu Sámi culture based on salmon and salmon fishing. The boat embodies the community’s knowledge, skills and represents the social connections and practices, helping the community to remember and carry them forward into the future.

Film long abstract:

The long and streamlined boat, customary to Deatnu river, known as luossafanas in Sámi, is a significant epitome of the Deatnu Sámi culture based on salmon and salmon fishing. This boat embodies the community’s historical knowledge and skills in navigating the river and catching salmon. It also represents shared social connections and practices, helping the community to remember these traditions and to carry them forward into the future. The research project DEATNU – Bringing institutional virtues into governance: Integrating the Scientific, Indigenous, and Local Knowing in Teno River Salmon Policy and Administration, funded by the Academy of Finland, and Interreg Aurora-funded MÁHTUT – Sámi knowledge and practices in the Era of the Green Transition -project collaborated with Sámi boatbuilder Jouni Laiti in order to carve a traditional poling boat. Eventually, the finished boat was added to the University of Lapland’s art collection in October 2024.