The Sami Song Tradition of 'Joik', Past and Present
Richard Jones-Bamman, Professor of Music at Eastern Connecticut State University, will present a lecture entitled "'As long as we continue to joik': Historical and Contemporary Challenges to Sámi Identity". Prof. Jones-Bamman has spent decades researching the Sámi reindeer-herder tradition of 'joik': specific oral songs composed in honor of individuals, animals, and even objects. Joik was forbidden by Christian missionaries and the tradition fell into decline before a younger generation revived it in the early 1970s. Now it has once again become a marker of Sámi identity and is often adapted into new forms. The lecture will include recordings made during Prof. Jones-Bamman's extensive travels among the Sámi.
