How about diving into a cultural journey that goes from the Arctic to the heart of Brazil? In this blog, our intern Mira shares fascinating stories about her people, the Sámi, and unforgettable moments spent among indigenous relatives in Brazil. Come discover how traditions intersect and deep connections are formed in a unique exchange of knowledge and experiences! 

Author: Mira Rauhala 
Leia em Português 

I am writing this blog text as an intern conducting a three month internship at Meli-Bees as a part of EDUFI-internship provided by the Finnish National Agency for Education. I am an indigenous Sámi university student at University of Oulu in Finland and I major in my mother tongue davvisámegiella, North Sámi language. 

I came to Brazil to learn more about the indigenous peoples, exchange indigenous knowledge as well as creating connections with parentes, indigenous relatives. When I arrived in Brazil I didn’t speak much portuguese. However, during my stay I was able to improve my fluency and learned a few Mbyá Guaraní words as well. I was glad to be able to connect with parentes even without having a common language, which most of the time was the case. 

The beginning of my internship I was residing in Brasília, at the political center of the country. As this was my first time living in a big city abroad, I was having some anxiety going outside and exploring the town. But after getting adjusted to a new country and its culture, I felt safer and more comfortable each day. During my first weeks in Brasília I was able to take part in an event dedicated to indigenous research and science. I also paid a visit to the indigenous peoples museum. While I feel fortunate to be able to learn so much about the indigenous peoples here in Brazil as well as in the South American continent, I have been met with an urge to also share knowledge about my people, sámit. So here I am going to share a few curiosities. 

We are an arctic indigenous people and our land Sápmi spreads across four countries: the northern parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden and in Russia the Kola Peninsula. We are the only indigenous people living in the European Union. 

Panel discussion at an event in Brasília during my first weeks in Brazil. First International Meeting: Indigenous Science and Climate Justice – Between Village and University. 

Depending on the source, there are nine Sámi languages. My mother tongue davvisámegiella, North Sámi, is spoken in Finland, Norway and Sweden and is the most spoken of the Sámi languages. There is a geographical continuity of our languages, where speakers of neighboring languages can usually understand each other better than speakers from distant regions. In addition, there are many dialects within the languages, which can make it more complex, but also easier for speakers from different regions to communicate. 

Regarding our languages one could find it interesting that a standard tongue in a way does not exist. Everyone speaks in their own dialect. Sure there has to be some rules regarding written language to keep the it cohesive but one will still write in their own dialect within the common rules. For new language learners this means that when a person begins their Sámi language studies, they also start learning a certain dialect which is often the teacher’s own. 

Traditionally everything we needed came from nature and the livelihoods varied from hunting, nomadic reindeer herding and fishing lakes, rivers and the sea. Our nature also provides us with various berries and plants. However, nowadays most of us live in more modern ways and go to regular jobs. 

Probably our most common garment, in my language called gákti, can tell many stories about the person wearing it. Each of our languages has their own word for this piece of clothing. Gákti’s materials have varied depending on what has been available as well as depending on the season of the year. The basis of the design is one’s family: gákti tells which family you belong to. It can also tell your social or marital status. It is tailor-made for the person wearing it, making it a very personal garment. 

After my arrival to Brazil, I have learned about pintura from my indigenous sisters. As I was holding a presentation about my people to parentes, I received a beautiful comment at the end. In the comment a connection was made between gákti and pintura: gákti in some way resembled pintura to her. For me this was a representation of exchanging cultural knowledge in the most beautiful way: how we are able to find connections within each other’s cultures when we come together. 

One of the reasons for me to choose Brazil as an internship destination in particular was curiosity of learning about indigenous realities outside of the arctic. I was fortunate to cross paths with Luiz Felipe Medina Guarani, a young Guaraní leader. With him I was able to connect and make friendships with parentes from Guaraní communities in his territory in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where we made a field trip together. 

Community meeting in Aldeia Amambai in Mato Grosso do Sul during our field trip. 

During my stay in São Paulo, me and Luiz also visited Campinas, a city right next to São Paulo. The reason for the visit was taking part in a seminar in Unicamp, the university of Campinas. During the the seminar I presented my personal research related to my master’s thesis in Finland. The faculty had heard about our visit and kindly asked me to take part in an indigenous art project right outside the university. The art project consisted of multiple painted wood arts next to each other: each piece was a representation of different indigenous peoples. I was so happy to include my people in the project as well. 

My Sámi art to be a part of an indigenous art project at Unicamp university in Campinas. ”ČSV” is an initialism often used in Sámi activism and commonly translated to “Show Sámi Spirit” (Čájet sámi vuoiŋŋa). 

I learned a lot about indigenous life in Brazil through these friendships. I learned that there are hundreds of indigenous groups in Brazil as well as hundreds of indigenous languages, and therefore I only encountered a few stories of so many. I want to express gratitude towards my local friends who made my time in Brazil unforgettable. Without them I would not have been able to get to know Brasil in such a local way. I am truly grateful for everyone during this internship to have made me feel so welcomed.