See our right-hand column for announcements and news briefs. Scroll down the right-hand column to access the Archives -- links to articles posted in the main column since 2007. See details about our site, including a way to comment, in the yellow text above the Archives.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Nordic Film Series to present documentary Jan. 8

HANCOCK –- The Finlandia University Nordic Film Series continues this Thursday, Jan. 8, with the Norwegian documentary, Give Us Back Our Skeletons. Showings are at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock.

Released in 1999, Give Us Back Our Skeletons tells the story of a Sámi activist and his quest for the return of the human remains of his ancestors.

Locked up in the Anatomical Institute in Oslo, Norway, two skeletons are all that is left of Mons Somby and Aslak Hetta, two Sámi men who were executed in 1854 for murder following a rebellion against the Norwegian government.

The descendants of Mons Somby and Aslak Hetta want the remains back so that they can give them a decent burial. The question is: Are they simple criminals or national heroes? In this documentary, Niillas Somby leads the battle to have the skeletons returned.

The film is in Sámi, Norwegian and English, with English subtitles.

For additional information, please contact James Kurtti at 906-487-7302 or email james.kurtti@finlandia.edu.

No comments: