ABSTRACT
Sacred mountains are among the most important tradition-bearers in Sámi culture. UN human rights give indigenous peoples’ sacred places a particular protection. Development on Tromsdalstinden was stopped during plans for Olympic Games in Tromso for this reason. In the spring-summer, it is land for reindeer herding. The performance came forth as ‘indigenous’ through Erena Rhose’s presence and performance, and as ‘indigenous religion’ through invocations of Mother Earth, holism, animism, and the sacred. Sacred sites among the Maori were among the most specific examples presented, due to the presence and contributions of Rhose. The ceremony at Uranienborgparken gathered some 25 shamans, including Rhose, the Sámi noaidi Nadia Fenina, Jane Folsted, and Hege Dalen. The distinctions between shamanism in the past and the present disappeared and Sámi-ness, indigeneity, and shamanism merged. Once known as folk religion, superstition, or magic, Sámi relationships to nature are increasingly perceived as environmentally sensitive and as contributions to sustainable usage and being.
