Stolen a book about the Sapmi nation

As a young man I recall seeing news clips about exotic Laplanders wearing colorful clothing and on skis herding reindeer.  For several years similar clips reminded me that they were found mostly in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland.  The term "indigenous" was one way to label them.

"Stolen" (2021) upends some of those ideas.  I had seen the movie and more recently read the book (that always deepens understanding).  The area is more properly labelled "Sapmi" and includes parts of Russia.  "Laplanders" is considered a slur and they prefer to be called Sami.  

The term "indigenous" is sometimes applied.  Definitions vary, but one perspective is those who identified as such, feeling they are different in culture and too often suffer discrimination.  As an outsider I believe the Sami qualify as indigenous.  Outsiders view the indigenous as primitive and strange.  We miss understanding their culture that would not only help us to better communicate with them, but also how we might benefit. 

Their status has been elevated by contact and intermixing, but the underlying dynamic is caste as they are seen as inferior beings.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/02/caste-origins-of-our-discontents.html 

Reindeer herding is integral to their culture.  At the beginning a Sami nine year old, Elsa witnessed a familiar Swedish man kill her reindeer and threaten her.  She does report the death, but refrains from identifying the man.  We follow her as she ages.  The local Sami feel a need to be on guard against outsiders stealing or killing their reindeer.  They have adapted to modern times by using fencing and snowmobiles are ubiquitous.  

They do suffer discrimination in various manners.  They were resented for their privileges (only they have the right to kill reindeer).  The Swedish police are slow to respond to attacks on Sami or their reindeer.   A slur is to be called "Lapp" or worse "Lapp whore".  Some Sami work in factories, but are mocked for their reindeer connections.  Sami clothing is mocked.  Elsa's mother is Swedish and is frowned upon by some Sami as "rivgu". 

Elsa and her family clash with Robert Isaksson, a belligerent Swede who hurt others, but never seems to be punished for it.  There is one sympathetic policeman who wrestles with his sense of fairness and his ambition.  

We learn about a Norwegian organization, SANKS (The Sami Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Mental Health and Substance Abuse) that uses psychology and understanding of the Sami culture to help with mental health.  Elsa's brother seeks help from them.

The climax involves some moral choices and guilt feelings.  An interesting read to help understand how minorities try to fit in while maintaining their uniqueness.

After the story has been told Ann-Helen offers some suggestions for discussion.

Earlier I did a post on the film.  Check it out  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/02/stolen-film-on-saami-people.html

 Note the different spellings:  Sami and Saami.

A Two Spirit Journey

The Canada Reads contest has interested me for several years.  There are great books, but even more the discussions that are part of the contest are very engaging. This past year the five contestants were known ahead of time and I was able to reserve all five of them at my local library.  I read four of them, but "A Two Spirit Journey" (2016), subtitled "The Autobiography Of A Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder" the actual winner, was not available in time and in fact I only got a copy recently, well after the contest had been decided.

Ma-nee Chacaby is a very interesting person and this story is one of the most honest told by an indigenous woman.  Born of ambiguous parentage in remote northern Ontario she was abused and sexually abused.  She was surrounded by alcoholism and started drinking at an early age.  She and her near age friends indulged in sniffing exhaust fumes.  She was forced to move several times and until she was about 20 did not speak much English, relying on Ojibwa and Cree.

Her story includes being raped, beaten and getting drunk.  On the positive side she learned survival skills such as hunting, trapping and tanning animal hides.   Her step father wanted her to realize that hunting is not bad and is needed for survival.  At a very young age she was able to sell fur to the Hudson's Bay Company who set up an account for her that she let build up until at an older age she used it for a building project.

As she aged she tried to stop drinking, but usually failed until she got involved with Alcoholics Anonymous in Thunder Bay and even then struggled for awhile.  Towards the end of the book she boasts that she had not drunk any alcohol for over 30 years.

She goes through some relationships giving birth to 3 children and fostering children.   She helps counsel others not to drink and delivered several babies, including for strangers.  She got involved with translating information from English to Ojibwa and Cree, but as her vision deteriorated she had to give that up.

Through Alcoholics Anonymous she attended a segment for lesbians that awakened her interest.  She did not understand her attraction to women and kept it secret.  Eventually she broke through her hesitation lived with at least three women and got involved with Pride promotions.  At one time she dressed up as Elvis Presley for an event. 

She wanted to tell her story not only for herself, but for her children, grandchildren and other relatives.  She had met Mary Louise Plummer, a social scientist and writer.  As it happened circumstances conspired  to free Mary Louise and she agreed.  At the time she was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  They connected through the internet and conducted over a hundred hours of interviews sorting many details.  Other writers of indigenous stories failed to credit the actual person, but Mary Louise felt that Ma-nee was unusually open about her history and as a natural story teller was given primary credit.

Shayla Stonechild was the champion for "A Two-Spirit Journey" was very well prepared and articulate.  She is an indigenous model, actress and health advocate.  If not for her ability I might have been tempted to not bother as I had already read the other four books and had already written a blog on them.  I am glad I listened to her and got to read a very interesting book.

There are many decisions to make when selecting a book you hope to immerse yourself with and one tool for me has been the Canada Reads contest.  Not only are good books involved, but with a champion for each book over four episodes you get insight.  If you are interested the CBC holds this contest once a year around March and can be seen on television or the internet.  This particular book is well worth an effort, but the contest will suggest others.

This first link is to the 2025 Canada Reads with the four other contenders.

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/03/canada-reads.html

There were a lot of books from this contest over the years that I enjoyed reading and watching the contest.   For me it has been mind opening.

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/09/indian-horse-by-richard-wagamese.html 

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/10/canada-reads.html

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/the-book-of-negroes.html 

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/09/ducks-my-first-graphic-novel.html 

http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/09/hotline-canada-reads-nomination.html 

Kaali Paani

 This story is set in a remote area, Adaman and Nicobar Islands which are part of India, but under some protection because of indigenous people.  Tourists are not allowed into areas set aside for the indigenous tribes and there is a limit for most visitors.  

The series starts in 2027 and tourists are being given greater freedom to visit.  

 The Trolley dilemma presented early to illustrate that sometimes choices can involve choosing between 5 strangers and one that is loved.  A lot of the characters face such dilemmas.  Another series with a trolley theme:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/02/the-trolley.html

The head doctor establishes herself as ruthless.  Borrowing from an American television plot she questions an elderly woman suffering from an undiagnosed illness implying that the real cause is sexual relations in a home for the aged that turns out to be true..  

As disaster approaches in the form of a pandemic the film provides many scenarios.  Some are plotting an escape from the island while others are searching for an antidote.  The Orakas are to be protected mainly through isolation.  Skepticism, deception and selfishness all play a role.

The Orakas were depicted as humans, not wanting Indian intervention and respecting nature.  They were not unified, but were shown arguing about what they should do.  There is a bit of twist from what happened to the North American indigenous that did not have immunity from such European diseases as measles. 

The end might have been predictable for a few, but really was stunning.  One of my top ten.

Sameer Saxena and Amit Golani (also writer) shared directing and producing.  Sameer is a showrunner for this film with 14 credits as a producer, 7 as a director and 5 as a writer. including "Jaadugar" (2022). He had started as a engineer student.  His partner did write for one episode as well as director and producer.  He has 4 writing credits, 5 directing credits and 3 producing credits also including "Jaadugar" (2022).    See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/07/jaadugar.html

Biswapati Sarkar, wrote most of the script.  He has 10 credits as a writer. and 12 as an actor including "Jaadugar" (2022)A childhood visit to the Adaman Islands helped inspire the script.  He was familiar with a Cellular Jail were Indian dissidents were imprisoned during British colonial times.

Rachita Arora provided the music.  She is a composer and playback singer with 16 film credits including "Newton" (2017) and "Sacred Games" (2018-2019).  She started with composing theatre music.   She researches relevant material for a film "to find the music inside." 

Cinematography was handled by 3 different men.  Dhananjay Navagrah has 19 credits including "Article 15 (2015) and "Anek" (2020).  Barney Crocker has over 70 credits including "Casino Royale" (2006) and "Ted Lasso" (2020-2021) 11 episodes.  Ewan Mulligan has over 60 credits including "Article  15" (2015) and "Anek" (2020).  There is a lot of lush scenery, but although the jungle was meant to convey its true beauty it was also to convey claustrophobia.  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/09/article-15.html

Dev Rao Jadhar was the editor.  He has 15 credits including "Badhaai Ho" (2018) and "Jaadugar" (2022).  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/03/badhaai-do-lgbt-film-from-conservative.html

Ashutosh Gowariker played Zibran Qadri, the military leader.  He started as an actor in both Hindi and Marathi films.  He then moved into directing,writing and producer.  His credits include "Lagaan Once Upon a Time in India" (2001), my favorite Bollywood film, "Swades" (2004), "Jodhaa Akbar" (2008) and "Mohenjo Daro" (2016).  A post outlining the work for Oscar nominated film  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/07/the-making-of-lagaan-chale-chalo-lunacy.html

Arushi Sharma played Jyotsana Dey.  Her parents were both judges while she set out to be an engineer.  She has 5 film credits including "Tamasha" (2015) and "Jaadugar" (2022).   Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/02/tamasha-wonderful-story.html

Amey Wagh played Ketan Sharma, a manipulative officer.  He had a career in both Marathi and Hindi films, altogether 36 credits including 2 episodes with "Sacred Games" (2019) and 9 episodes with "The Great Indian Murder" (2022).

Radhika Mehrotra played Ritu Gagra, a post doc student who looked for a plant as an antidote.  She has 2 film credits.

Sukant Goel played Chiranjeevi, the half Oraka tourist guide.  He was in chemical engineering and got involved with theatre.  He has 15 credits including "Shaitan" (2011), "Kapoor & Sons" (2016) and "Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar" (2021).

Mona Singh played Dr. Singh, the head doctor.  She has 26 credits including "3 Idiots" (2009) and "Laal Singh Chaddha" (2022).  A popular television host she won an award as best female television person of the year for 2004.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/10/the-bollywood-version-of-forrest-gump.html

Rajes Khattar played Saurah Wani, a rich man with connections wanting to escape.   He is fluent in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.  Frequently used as a dubber including for actors like Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr., Mads Mikklesen, Samuel L. Jackson and more.  As an actor he has 51 credits including "Khiladi 786" (2012).  

David Warawa played Osei, an Oraka leader.  Born in Africa, he is based in Vienna, Austria and is an international award winning actor who speaks English, German, Shona and Italian.  He has 78 acting credits, 9 for producing and one as writer

Plans are already being made for a second series.  I look forward to it.