The unique images are shown in the documentary “Oldemother’s hat” on NRK1 on Thursday. The recordings were made in 1958-1959 by Tromsø Museum. The graves were opened, and the remains were moved from Gravholmen because it was feared that they could end up under water after the Pasvikelva was dammed. 21 of the skulls that were excavated 63 years ago are still at the Anatomical Institute in Oslo. For several years, Venke Tørmænen has fought to get these back to Pasvik. DESCENDANTS: Venke Tørmænen lives by Pasvikelva. Photo: EILIF ASLAKSEN / news – This is a shame. I don’t know who decided that they should be moved to Oslo, says Tørmænen to news. The 65-year-old says that she remembers how distraught and angry her aunt and grandmother were. Seeing the footage preserved by the Tromsø Museum makes a strong impression on her. – The worst thing is that this has been done in our time. I want the skulls returned here. It’s my people. They should not lie on a shelf at an institute. They are going back to the grave, she says. – Complicated matters Tørmænen has not given up hope. The Sámi Parliament has invited her to join a working group that will work with the skulls. – I think it will finally work out, she says. Senior advisor Ingeborg Larssen at the Sami Parliament leads the working group. – This is an issue that we have spent a long time on. These are complicated matters with many different considerations and considerations, she says to news. THE Parliamentary Assembly DECIDES: Senior adviser Ingeborg Larssen. Photo: Nils John Porsanger / news The Sami Parliament has spent a lot of time updating the agreement on the management of Sami remains in the Schreiner collections at the University of Oslo. C 14 dating has also been done on the remains from Pasvik. – It is important to find out as much as possible about the remains before making a decision, says Larssen. Another reason why it takes a long time to decide what should happen to the skulls is that it has been challenging to find descendants. EXCAVATION: When the old graves were taken up in 1958-1959, the skeletons were sent to Oslo. Later, most of it was sent back to Pasvik and buried in a mass grave. But 21 skulls are still in Oslo. Photo: Tromsø Museum/Siivet AS – It is the case that the Pasvik siida was dissolved as a result of the nation-states’ drawing of borders. We are not finished with that work, says Ingeborg Larssen. The senior advisor emphasizes that the collaboration between the University of Oslo, the Swedish School Sami Museum, the Sami parliaments in Norway, Finland and Sweden is good. She cannot set a time when the working group will be finished, which will give the Sámi Parliament the best possible basis. – The agreement is clear that it is the Sámi Parliament in the last instance that decides what will happen to the remains. It is in line with the UN’s declaration on indigenous peoples, says Larssen. – We have been invisible for so long In the documentary “Oldemother’s hat” Venke Tørmænen is followed over a three-year period. She finds an old photo of her great-grandmother, and decides to sew an identical hat that her great-grandmother wears. In the hour-long film, the history and fate of the Skolt Sami are also told. The East Sami, as the group is also called today, lived in what is today South Varanger and into both the Russian and Finnish sides. – We have been invisible for so long. People don’t know we exist, very few do. Everyone wants to be seen, says Tørmænen. See “Oldemother’s hat” already now: The land and people of the Pasvik Sami are divided between three states. Now Venke wants to sew the cone that her great-grandmother wore: – Then the ring is closed. The world must know that we exist. She says that family, friends and relatives have seen the film in advance. – I think I saw that there was a sense of pride among people. A bit like that; Finally, someone is telling us about us too. Venke Tørmænen hopes the film is also important for young people. – I hope that it can give them pride, and I hope that they dare to say that I, too, am Skolte Sami. That they use the old symbols, for example the cardigan. And I choose to be optimistic. If not, then we can just dig ourselves in, the whole gang, she says to news.
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Demands that skulls be sent from Oslo to Pasvik – news Sápmi
