The matter in summary: The opening ceremony of Bodø as European Capital of Culture included several Sami elements, including a performance by the Sami artist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, who displayed the message “This is Sami land”. Reactions to the Sami content have been strong, with many Bodoers expressing their displeasure on social media. Bodø mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen distances himself from disparaging statements about the Sami and encourages people to come to their senses. The program manager for the opening show, Henrik Sand Dagfinrud, believes the debate shows that the show had the right balance and that there is a discussion that needs to be had. 14-year-old Thea-Wictoria Naustvik has reacted to the comments and expresses her support for the Sami content in the show. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On Saturday, there was a large-scale opening ceremony marking that Bodø is the European Capital of Culture in 2024 – the largest cultural project in Northern Norway ever. The show started with the joiker John André Eira, there were several elements with Sami dancers and the Sami artist and activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen ended the ball by unfolding her jacket and displaying the message “This is Sami land”. The Sami content has caused a lot of bodo reviews to go off the rails in social media. After several hundred comments in several forums and several cases in the media, Bodø mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen went out today with a strong call to people to come to their senses. One of the many features during the opening party was Sami dancing. Photo: Jan Langhaug / NTB – It is allowed to agree or disagree. Art must create engagement and debate. What is not acceptable are derogatory statements about the Sami that are expressed on social media and comment fields. I am also aware that Sami people have been subjected to incitement. This is not good, and I strongly distance myself from that, says Ingebrigtsen. Some of the comments in social media against the Sami in recent days “certainly many hidden cheats in circulation”[…]It is not me who will learn Sami, it is the Sami who will learn Norwegian[…]» «Was this from Bodø or Kautokeino? Visually, this was great, but too little to do with Bodø.” “No wonder the southerner thinks the street is clean here, this was depressing.” Understandable that the debate is coming Theater reviewer and community debater Anki Gerhardsen says she can understand the fierce debate that has arisen after the opening show. 15,000 people flocked to Molobukta in Bodø to catch the opening show for Bodø 2024. But there are divided opinions after the NOK 10 million opening party Photo: Ola Helness / news She thinks something is due to Ella Maria Hætta Isaksen’s stunt. – She is more or less saying that the non-Sámi part of the people in Salten do not belong here. So when the public comes to Bodø2024’s opening show, they can be a silent observer or a bearer of Norwegian guilt. I think these are two roles that are demanding to stand in without feeling uncomfortable. – The impression you are left with after seeing the opening show is that you will not be included if you do not have a Sami background. There is an absence of “we”, says theater reviewer Anki Gerhardsen. Photo: news TV At the same time, Gerhardsen thinks it is very nice that Sami artists are promoted. – There is an incredible amount of exciting things happening on the Sami art scene. The problem is that these artists failed to create a community in which the entire population is included. – There was no common “we”. It became “us” and “them”. I miss a community. Which artists make it is entirely secondary. The absence of a “we”, believes Gerhardsen. Young people react One of those who have reacted to all the comments that abound in social media is 14-year-old Thea-Wictoria Naustvik. – Tomorrow we will raise our flags and be proud of our origins. As a Sami myself, it is clear that I am affected by the negative comments. Photo: Thomas Fredrik Kristensen / news “I am a Sami myself and I am simply pissed off when I see what you write”. That’s what Thea-Wictoria Naustvik wrote in one of Bodø’s largest Facebook groups. Her post currently has over 150 comments. Some of them cross the line, says the 14-year-old. – There is a lot of Sami history in Bodø from way back in time. Therefore, I think it was quite right that there was a lot about the Sami at the opening show. Bodø mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen gives Thea-Victoria his full support. – In Bodø, we must respect each other and be open to our different ways of living. It is as simple and as difficult as “be unto others as you would have others do unto you.” Queen Sonja receives a Sami buttercup as a gift before the opening party. Photo: Andreas Nilsen Trygstad / news Disagree with the criticism The program manager with the artistic responsibility for the opening show, Henrik Sand Dagfinrud, thinks the balance between the Sami and the other content was fine. He caught up with the debate afterwards and says that the tone in certain cases has crossed the line. – It has been quite cloudy at times. Many of the comments have been unnecessary and uninformed. And then I think that it shows that the show had exactly the balance it needed, and that this is a discussion we have to have. Henrik Sand Dagfinrud, program director in Bodø2024. Photo: BODØ 2024 The program manager believes that it is good for Bodø2024 that the opening has created debate. – For Bodø2024, it is clearly a good sign that this is being discussed. Had this been over by the time people left the show, it would have felt like a failure for us. The fact that we now have a relevant debate that concerns us and the area we live in is a sign of health. news has tried to get a comment from Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen about the reactions from people in Bodø. She has not responded to our inquiry. Earlier today, she answered why she turned her jacket inside out with the text “This is Sami land” during the opening show. – That’s how I am. It has become part of my image that I have to speak up when something is wrong. Some people are provoked and don’t like it, while others are more fans of what I do.
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The mayor against Sámi after culture city festival – news Nordland
