“You should not be a person of only one occupation.” The Sámi scholar in pedagogy, Aimo Aikio, explains this phrase in his book Olmmoš han gal birge (2010, 20-30). The phrase says a lot about the Sámi traditional way of thinking and living, and about Sámi birgengoansta, coping skills. In the Northern Sámi language we have the terms birget, and ceavzit: birget means coping and managing practically ...

How can we investigate relational connections to the land? How can we do so within relational contexts from a Sámi perspective? In this chapter I focus on relational contexts that refer to the interaction between humans and the land itself, as a mutual interaction. Meahcci, the place that forms part of my title, has many meanings. In this chapter, I present a short investigation of stories connected ...

In the beginning of the 2000’s a meeting takes place at one of the major hospitals in Northern Norway, between a Sámi patient Juvvá, and his roommate, a retired Norwegian engineer. The engineer shows a negative attitude towards his Sámi roommate. Based on a symptomatic reading of three stories, this article presents a character analysis of Juvvá’s birgengoansttat, coping skills, in his encounter ...