ABSTRACT
On 19 June 2019, the legal ownership of 1,639 dávvera (Lule Sámi for artefacts, things, or treasures of special value) was formally transferred to various Sámi museums as a result of the historic Bååstede project. In line with the Sámi's legal right to manage their own cultural heritage as Indigenous Peoples, Bååstede aimed to repatriate parts of the Sámi collection shared between the two Oslo-based museums, the Norsk Folkemuseum and the Kulturhistorisk museum (Museum of Cultural History). Árran Julevsáme guovdásj (Árran Lule Sámi Centre) in Ájluokta/Drag, located in the Norwegian part of Sábme, was one of these Sámi museums. This chapter examines the negotiations that took place between Árran and the Norsk Folkemuseum during Bååstede, including discussion of how Árran presented their views regarding these dávvera, and what sorts of arguments were highlighted during the negotiations. It also sheds light on how replicas and the history of collecting dávvera reveal both tensions and the collaborative will embodied within the Bååstede project.
