Vepsebolet

Norwegian: Der det jeg kaller fylket mitt for ofte, vepsebol. Oss mot dem, nordmenn og samer, sykehuset skal bli her og ikke noe sykehus dit. Det er en kunstig konflikt, vi burde samles sammen mot Herskerstaten istedet. Staten liker når folk krangler med hverandre og ikke ser uretten som faktisk foregår i samfunnet. Min mening og mitt synspunkt

(this is about our region and the ‘divide and conquer’ policy of our government toward us. We are One against the Rulers only if we stop fighting each other).

btw, there are only two hospitals in Finnmark currently. No hospital in the biggest city of Alta. It’s not right to say this is fair and just.

On activism, identity and experience

It just hit me how I really feel about the State and the treatment of ethnic minorities in our society. This topic has been important to me my whole life really, especially after 2007 when I began researching our family history. I know some other Norwegians may see me as extreme. I’m really tired of people being hostile towards the Saami people and other minority groups, and I must apologize for being inconsiderate earlier in my blog history. The Saami people are right to be skeptical of the State, and I really think people should let the Saami be heard. We are all in this together, and we should not fight among ourselves. Unite the North, revive LOR (or in Norwegian; Landsorganisasjonen for Romanifolket) and Kven language education for all Kven youths ❤

this also includes refugees, immigrants and other minority populations. Also the substance users, the psychiatric patients, the bullied, the abused etc. And I’m on the strong left-wing of anarchist political opinions. War is wrong, and Palestine matters for all of mankind ❤

Never forget your humanity, share real compassion with all other living beings and respect their true Nature ❤

Skam og stolthet, shame and pride

I feel ambivalent about my family history, I wish I wasn’t feeling so much shame in our shared experiences with the System. Being indigenous is actually a good thing, and we also have real Finnish sisu. But my father was so horribly bullied for his ethnicity that he cannot embrace it.

Shame on Norwegian society and politicians, in the past and currently.

edit: I don’t hate my country, I live here and we must keep fighting ❤

another edit: det er hovedsakelig det at Norge nå anerkjenner Palestina. Et godt valg. Jeg glemmer aldri 💔

Han Mikkel – Unit five

this song makes me cry every time I listen

Some lyrics: vi fikk en ny gutt i klassen, og vi så ka han va, fra han satt seg ned på plassen, bynte vi å si ifra

vi så at han va same, men vi kalte han fjellfinn

og så va vi i gang

Look at the tags if you know my history, my family history, if you are curious or for any empathy related reason 💔

I know it’s real

I’ve thought about my overall point of view on the Mountain Saami a lot recently. And I want to clarify that I know racism, discrimination and Norwegianization are very relevant also to the Saami people that are more well-known. The Saami people as a whole are experiencing significant injustice and in several cases actual hate-crimes due to their unique ethnicity.

edit: Btw, an update on my page https://polarnightblog.wordpress.com/about-my-psychotic-condition-the-mind/

and this updated page, I write about my life in general https://polarnightblog.wordpress.com/about-me-2/

Norwegian: Jeg er samisk og alle samer er viktige, vi er ekte urfolk, uavhengig av språk og resultat på DNA-tester. Som jeg har nevnt tidligere på bloggen min har nesten hele min familie erfaring med diskriminering basert på vår etnisitet og språk, og det skal man aldri glemme. Og hele det samiske folk bærer på tung erfaring gjennom mange århundrer, inkludert de samene som oftest er i media. Urfolks rettigheter er ikke småting og kulturene må aldri bli borte. Jeg er en stolt same ❤

the Sea Saami culture, plus other Northern history

This ethnic group is an interesting aspect of Northern Norwegian origins and culture. I have several Sea Saami ancestors, who spoke both in Norwegian and traditional Saami language. My father especially has Sea Saami origins from his fathers side. My mothers side has more Mountain Saami and Kven/Finnish origins. The Mountain Saami are traditionally semi-nomadic, they often keep reindeer to this day. (Do NOT call someone Lapp or even fjellfinn, it’s very offensive to many Saami people. I use Mountain Saami term because it’s kind of difficult to explain all the important details).

As the Sea Saami lived near the Sea, they regularly met Norwegians and sometimes foreign groups from Southern Europe. Btw, the City Saami are the most common Saami identity in modern Norway.

And Saami languages are very different from Norwegian and English languages, for many it’s kind of difficult to really get to know the languages well and speak fluently. Finnish language is even more complex, I really love Finland and Finnish language/cultures. I visited Northern Finland (parts of Lappland county) in summer of 2016 with a large group of Kven people and genealogists. It was a lot of fun and deeply interesting experience.

There are good reasons for these conflicts

I’m Northern. I have a lot of Southern Scandinavian ancestry also. The things that make me quite angry are: the mainstream media, the Norwegian politicians and of course the Norwegian State itself.

I’m an anarchist, and I’m getting better at seeing through the State’s lies and behaviour toward the North and our environment. Also the Norwegianization policy is not really gone, especially for Kven people and the Romani people. (And also including the South Saami and the Sea Saami, among other Saami groups and other ethnic minorities like the Forest Finns).

I grew up with a very left-wing family, I’m just slightly more radical. And my best friends were foreign.

I’m not a fan of the Progress Party (or Fremskrittspartiet in Norwegian). They are so strange in their worldviews in my honest opinion.

Sometimes I get a little bit too angry in my writing, I’m really just saying there are reasons for this. I will apologize if I go too far.

And to my fellow Norwegians I say; dette er mitt eget synspunkt, og jeg mener det jeg skriver på bloggen min. Håper dere forstår det jeg prøver å si og at dere tar egne valg i livet.

more about the Kven/Finnish peoples, identity

edit: I added more text about the Saami peoples difficulties in Norway. It was important to clarify I’m not anti-Saami in any way, all minorities matter ❤

Many people don’t understand the significant Kven heritage importance in the North, especially the Norwegian State. There are some difficult subjects/topics in our culture, like the relationship with the Saami identity and Norwegianization.

I had a conversation with someone a long time ago about this, they didn’t think the Kven people were truly a big part of Northern Norwegian history and that we (Kven people) are basically all immigrants. Also they said Norwegianization was much worse for the Saami people, this is simply not true at all btw as all Finnish-origin Finnmark natives know very well. She wasn’t from Finnmark, that matters a lot in my country. Other people don’t know our history, mostly because the State doesn’t want to let people know our cultures and languages. (edit: this is true for all ethnic minority languages in Norway, including the North Saami language).

I really don’t care for this dishonesty from the State, they didn’t mention the Romani people either; despite horrible discrimination against Traveller peoples in Norway. In the recent Sannhets- og forsoningskommisjonen, that is. They focused almost entirely on the Saami people in that report, and the media didn’t ask questions about why the Romani were being left out. (Btw the Saami are absolutely right to be angry and upset with the State and the assimilation policies it still supports).

Our people have lived in Norway for many centuries. It’s very strange how the Saami are given much, much more importance and respect in modern Norway. I really identify as Saami also, and this controversial topic about importance really is discrimination based on ethnicity. I really don’t like these strange double standards to be honest. And it’s not all Saami people and cultures that get more importance actually. The South Saami and the Sea Saami for instance are rarely mentioned in the Norwegian media. I really don’t know why, it’s very strange. I absolutely don’t mean the other Saami groups are not discriminated against, including the Mountain Saami and the City Saami, and it’s just as wrong as discrimination against all other ethnic minorities.

it’s like a hornets nest often. Some Saami people (especially Saami politicians) get very angry if someone just mention Kven influences in the Saami heritage. I should mention this is a difficult topic in our culture, some Norwegians are hostile to all Northern people (other Norwegians who live in Finnmark, Troms and Nordland, the Saami, Kven people among others).

I wish we could see that we are actually united, and the State is guilty of this artificial divide.

I really mean it; we are one ❤

The conflicts between the North and the State

It’s not just the wind-mills, the expropriation of land and politicians.

We are being ignored and rejected because of our different cultures and origins, no matter what the Capital Southern region is telling us. The policy of Fornorskning/Norwegianization has prevented many people from learning their ancestors languages/other cultural aspects, and the Saami people were targets of scientific racism. Not only in Norway, but also very significant in Sweden.

And the issues are still significant today, don’t let the State and Norwegian media fool you. It’s ongoing, not just a thing of the past. They are anti-Northern. And we have people from the North defending this policy, it’s just wrong.

It’s not just a matter of words, they need to show that they care about our cultures in actual policy. This absolutely includes the Kven people in addition to the Saami, and actually all the ethnic minorities in Norway are suffering from this, including the Romani people.

Talvi/Winter/Dálvi/vinter

Where I live, we have very long winters. Actually it’s still winter here now, and the spring season is very short-lasting.

The words in the title all mean ‘winter’. I know some Kven/Finnish language and some North Saami language as well. These are the other languages in addition to the Norwegian and English in the title. I’m Norwegian-speaking in everyday life. I would likely have been multi-lingual from the day I could understand and speak if not for the policy of Fornorskning/Norwegianization. But I studied Kven and Saami languages as a teenager because I wanted to know more languages, and to understand my roots from the inside.

The Norwegian State really tried to silence us. But we have fighter spirits and souls of Fire; in our hearts and minds we are free.

Life is wonderful; and if we didn’t have wars and global injustice almost everyone would be aware of this 💔

United and Peaceful, love and respect 💙❄️

Many locals don’t think I’m a local, or even from this country.

I get asked where I’m from quite often. I don’t know if it’s my appearance, the way I speak or the way I act; maybe it’s all of these? I have some non-European ancestry, in addition to my deep Northern European roots.

I wonder if other autistic people have this experience more often than most neurotypical people. I assume it’s not equal, but I could be mistaken.

I have taken DNA-tests; I write about this in one of the pages on this blog and it’s quite interesting research, at least according to my own opinion. The interesting parts being knowing where you come from and who made you possible by chance.

(Not that my ancestry is particularly interesting to you, of course. We are equal in this life, and your roots are part of the Network of people on Earth. Literally, haplogroups and DNA-matching are biological Networks).

I live in the Darkness

I can’t tolerate strong lights in my eyes, I need it to be quite dark (or even entirely) to function. This is mostly because of my medical conditions, including severe headaches. And I just prefer dark environments overall, maybe because I am used to Arctic winters. Once the Sun is back again, it takes some time getting used to it. I miss the sunshine when there are polar nights, cold weather and snow here. But every season has it’s own benefits, including the winter.

In the summer when we have the Midnight sun, I get insomnia. I deal with this using special dark curtains in front of my window and also take my sleeping pills as needed.

One thing I like about our Arctic summers is when you can sit outside in the sun, drinking something cold and refreshing. And I like when it’s just the right temperature outside, like around 20 degrees celsius.

I’m going to enjoy tomorrow as well, I will go outside to get some medications at my local pharmacy. I’m also going to send someone a package with the mail service. Have a nice day everyone ❤

Saami identity and language

As I have mentioned earlier, I identify as Saami. I also know some North Saami language, I got some Saami language education in the late 2000s.

The Saami people were targets of Fornorskning/Norwegianization for centuries, and many people don’t know about their Saami ancestry.

Some people think you cannot identify as Saami if you don’t know/speak the language, and that you have to own reindeer to be a real Saami person. I don’t agree with this notion. I’ve also taken DNA-tests, it shows Finnish and Saami origins according to my genetic results. DNA-matching also shows that I have many Saami relatives I didn’t know about. And I also do family research, and there are many Saami and Kven/Finnish ancestors in my family tree going back multiple centuries. I also have other Arctic indigenous/Inuit and Siberian origins from a couple of generations ago. (I took two DNA-tests, one said a couple percent Inuit and the other said Siberian and Mongolian origins).

We need to keep the languages alive and in active use. And we should not call people fake just because they don’t know the language, all people with Saami roots are real indigenous people. This is my opinion and point of view, and many people agree. Love your culture, it’s unique and special and don’t let anyone put you down ❤

DNA-testing again

I’m going to ask my grandmother if she can convince my father to take the test also. I’m so curious where his family is from originally, and if my/our family research is correct.

The difficult part is that I don’t know him and that he has heavy substance addictions and is chronically unstable. I hope he will understand why I want this from him, and that he does not need to worry about the results. If he really doesn’t want to, I must respect that and I will.

update: She will ask him very soon, I’m writing another update when I know more ❤

update: my father agreed to take the DNA-test 🥰

another update: he took the test and I’m going to send both tests to the USA. A couple of weeks later we will know the results. I will update here after the results are ready.

Another update: they sent them to the USA themselves, we will know the results of both tests in May ❤

update: both the DNA-tests are ready. My grandmother has Scandinavian, Scottish, Finnish/Saami, Baltic and Central Asian origins (according to MyHeritage, and our family research supports these results also). My father has Scandinavian, Finnish/Saami, Greek/Southern Italian, Inuit, Central Asian, indigenous American and West Asian roots. Btw I suspected the Inuit to show up in his result because my own test result includes it. I think everything is worth researching, we share a lot of DNA-matches (some were very surprising, my two grandmothers are distant cousins by DNA).

I love the North

Today is special to many people in the North, and also to many who live in Southern regions. It’s Samefolkets dag, an important day for the Saami people. And everyone is welcome here, whether they are Norwegian, Romani, Saami, Kven, of non-European origins etc. And we are as one, united in our humanity ❤

edit: I should mention that I really believe in diversity and unity, including here in the North. Everyone belongs ❤

Norwegian language blog?

I wonder if I should have a blog where I write in my native language? Pros and cons? Useful or wasting my time?

my genetic ethnicity

edit: I have somewhat significant non-European results according to the tests; mostly Arctic indigenous, Siberian, Northern East Asian and Central/South Asian and North African results. And added some text about culture. Removed some text.

I’ve taken several DNA-tests last year, as have many close family members and extended family. My own backround is mostly Scandinavian, Finnish and Saami, some significant Arctic indigenous, Siberian, Northern East Asian (Mongolian), Central Asian + South Asian and North African. Also some East African, and possibly Melanesian+Polynesian roots further back in history.

Other ethnicities found in my close/extended family include Baltic, Eastern European, Western Germanic European, different Southern European origins (possibly Spanish, documented Italian) and likely Celtic/Scottish/Irish origins. Also some West Asian, Chinese and Korean origins. And of course also the groups I have in my own DNA-test results.

I identify with my European ancestry (especially with the Saami, Kven/Finnish and many Scandinavian regions found in our family-tree) and the other ancestries are significant and have become a part of our family culture as well. I have done research on Inuit/other Arctic indigenous culture also, and my family agree it’s interesting. And the Saami and Inuit peoples culture are both somewhat similar, and quite different. My opinion is that all ethnic groups are worth learning about, regardless of DNA-tests.

And I love music, including folk/world music. I mostly listen to electronic music such as drum&bass and psytrance.

I’m also researching the pharmacogenetics, including my own results and my current medications. I think it’s worth it.

I’ve learned things that inspired me to research these populations and I have family all over the World. We are as one, united in our humanity ❤

I’m a proud Kven

I have a lot of Finnish/Kven ancestry and I feel welcome in the community. It really feels like home, even when visiting strangers! I have a wonderful Kven costume, made for me when I was super-thin so sadly it doesn’t fit me anymore 😔

edit: I forgot to clarify that the Kven people are ethnic minorities of Norway and that we originally came from Northern parts of Finland and Sweden, especially the border regions and the Torne River Valley. The language is somewhat similar to Finnish. And I have Finnish Karelian roots, from regions close to Russia.

Remember 16th of March, it’s the official Kven Day. The Saami people also have events on 6th of February, it’s a great thing. People wear their traditional clothing, like the Kven costume or different Saami costumes. And all people are welcome to celebrate.

I have taken courses in Kven language and know some North Saami language from my youth education. It’s not common to get Saami language education in the area where I spent my youth. Actually it’s not common in most other places, too. I’m passionate about this and I have also done lots of family research/genealogy. Me and many in my close and extended family have taken different DNA-tests also. I have Northern European origins, including Finnish. I’m also part Siberian/Arctic indigenous, plus several other ethnicities.

Our government doesn’t really care about the Kven people or even the Saami, who are indigenous people in Scandinavia, Finland and parts of Northern Russia. Our languages are endangered, partly because the Norwegian State/other governments tried to stop our people from using them with the harsh policy of Fornorskning/Norwegianization/other assimilation policies.

The culture is important to me and to many others in the North, and also to many of the Kven and Saami people who live in Southern regions. Many in my family really enjoy coffee, I love my Earl Grey tea. I’m also quite interested in astrology, I was born in the late summer. There is a certain Saami author, Odd Mathis Hætta, who has written several books about Saami history. (Btw, Odd is a normal Scandinavian name).

Finnish, Saami and Kven languages are a big part of our culture. The languages are very different from the Norwegian language, because Norwegian is a Germanic type of language (like English), and the other languages (Saami languages, Kven and Finnish) are Finno-Ugric/Uralic origin languages. Norwegian and Finnish language are not mutually intelligible.

Society (and the State) quite often views the Kven people as immigrants, even though we have been living in Norway for many centuries and the land borders were not set when most of us came to Norway. It’s also strange how the Saami and Kven cultures are treated so differently by both general society and the State, whether it’s Norway or other countries where both Saami and Kven people are inhabiting the land. This includes some regions in the United States among many other countries. And all the Arctic indigenous languages are important to keep alive, and in active use.

If you have roots in Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland and other Arctic locations, I really recommend doing family research. And if you wish to know more, try to find a community of like-minded individuals. I’m a member of Norske Kveners forbund. And both the North and global South need to unite for our rights as human beings and fight against the environmental crimes and destruction of land.

They tried to silence us, but we are strong and determined.

Finnish sisu ❤

I think that we should preserve our languages for future generations, and that we are united in this effort.