Tales of a Sea Sámi

This is a growing collection of Videos and Podcasts that I have made based on Cassette Tapes that my Father recorded many years ago. Her asked me to copy them somehow and to publish them so that others will know what it was like for a Sámi child growing up in the world. For many years, I struggled with completing this request for my father, but I think the technology has now moved to a state where this becomes possible.

Here are my Father’s words, spoken in his voice in Finnish. And an AI assisted voice in English.

To produce each video, I spend many hours searching through on-line digital archives, looking for photos of the area, so that I could see what the countryside and the times looked like, in addition to listening to his words.

I will continue to add to this collection as I work my way through the cassette tapes. I hope that you will find this useful. Please leave comments on YouTube, or drop me a note through Facebook or other social media.

The audio for these videos are spoken by my Father in the Finnish language, with English subtitles. I will soon add CC captions to other languages as well.

TALES OF A SEA SAMI – PODCASTS

As I transcribe my Father’s words into an spoken AI version of his voice speaking in English – He tells a story better than I can. I will post these as Podcasts both in Finnish and English so that his stories can be heard by a wider audience. These will be posted onto YouTube Podcasts and YouTube Music. I may add these to other Podcast channels at a later time. The podcasts will have CC translations into other languages.

I located Maria’s Birth Record – born 1873, and I noticed that Johan Dahl had changed the birth record to acknowledge that he was the real father. (not sure what happened there, but there must be a story..?)

Tales of the Sea Sámi

As I listened to my Father’s tales, I thought about what it must have been like for my Sámi grandmother – to spend the winters living in a dark turf hut, often getting snowed in. To use a small seal oil candle, stitching reindeer leather and knitting with her nalbinding needles – to make crafts she could sell in the spring to the ‘wealthy’ Sámi reindeer herders. Life must have been really really hard for them. But from my Dad’s perspective, it was just how it was, and they got on the best that they could – happy when they had caught a grouse, so they would have a bit of food to put into their mouths.

YouTube Podcasts

Tales of a Sea Sámi – ENGLISH VERSION – EPISODE 1 – EARLY CHILDHOOD in Petsamo – Pechenga

In Episode 1 – Lapsuus – Early Childhood Memories – my father is born – on the same night as his father dies from poisoning due to a rusty nail. He has 7 brothers and 1 sister. After his father’s death his mother moves back to live in Petsamo (a village with only 5 families) with her 8 children. She builds a small turf hut for her family to live in. He explains how his mother hunted for grouse and rabbits in order to feed her family.

Tales of a Sea Sámi – FINNISH VERSION – EPISODE 1 – EARLY CHILDHOOD in Petsamo – Pechenga