Jenni Laiti

Jenni Laiti
Laiti at Kiasma in 2015
Born1981
Inari, Inari, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Known forSuohpanterror spokesperson

Jenni Laiti (born 1981) is a Sámi artist and activist associated with the Suohpanterror group and the ČSV cultural movement. She is the public spokesperson for Suohpanterror, whose members otherwise remain anonymous.[1]

Born in Inari, Finland, Laiti is based in Jokkmokk, Sweden, where she herds reindeer with her husband and two children.[2] Her father was Sámi and her mother Finnish, but Sámi was not spoken in her childhood home; she later learned the language.[3] Laiti studied Sámi handicrafts and culture at Umeå University.[4]

Laiti's art includes performance art and installation pieces, which serve as a tool for her activism on climate change, decolonization, and Sámi rights.[4][5] Laiti was the developer of the 2018 Red Line demonstration to protest the Arctic Ocean Railway. In the action, which was organized with Greenpeace, Sámi youth organization Suoma Sámi Nuorat [se], and Suohpanterror, people dressed in red clothing, many wearing traditional Sámi gákti, held red posts and banners to block the proposed railway alignment.[6]

In 2013, she edited the sixth edition of Elisabeth Utsi Gaup's Sámi-languages children's songbook, Suga Suga Su.[7]

  1. ^ Toijonen, Siskotuulikki (15 May 2016). "Suohpanterror ampuu tahallaan yli" [Suohpanterror Deliberately Overshoots]. Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  2. ^ Kudel, Silja (November 2017). "Sámi Culture Strikes Back". Blue Wings. pp. 36–37. ISSN 0358-7703. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  3. ^ Luhta (6 February 2015). "Jenni Laiti is looking out for Sámi interests". Uralistica. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  4. ^ a b "Jenni Laiti: Forewalkers". Ii, Finland: Art il Biennial. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  5. ^ Lakkala, Aletta (8 September 2018). "Punaisiin pukeutuneet ihmisjoukot vetävät Ylä-Lappiin rajoja estääkseen Jäämeren radan tulon" [Crowds dressed in red draw borders in Upper Lapland to prevent the Arctic Ocean railway from entering]. Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  6. ^ Tamminen, Jari (7 September 2018). "Jäämeren rata ei ole tervetullut" [The Arctic Ocean Railway Is Not Welcome]. Häiriköt-Päämaja (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  7. ^ Aikio, Jouni (20 November 2013). "Suga suga su -girjjis ođasmahttojuvvon preanttus" [Suga Suga Su being updated]. Yle (in Northern Sami). Retrieved 2021-09-30.