ABSTRACT
Nils-Aslak Valkeapaa was someone who often functioned at the margins that divided his culture from that of the dominant Scandinavian societies. This chapter deals primarily with the social and historical contexts that made it possible for such a cultural hero to emerge and thrive. It begins with his work as a young artist and the profound impact he had on launching a complete revitalization of joik in Sami culture. This is followed by his role as an observer of developments within Sami culture in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period in which his artistic output grew both more introspective and more complex. The chapter presents the circumstances leading up to Valkeapaa's first recordings, Joikuja Lapland, released in EP format in 1969. One clear measure of the importance of Valkeapaa's initial venture into commercial music was the extent to which this first recording served as a model for others to imitate or develop.
