Revitalization of culture: Investigation of South Sámi ornamentation in school

Revitalization of culture: Investigation of South Sámi ornamentation in school The teachers at a South Sámi primary school in Norway carried out a teaching experiment where students investigated South Sámi ornamentation (Fyhn, Dunfjeld, Dunfjeld Aagård, Eggen & Larsen, 2015). The Sámi handicraft curriculum claims, that knowledge about and experiences with Sámi ornamentation and Sámi symbols are important for self-realization and belonging (Udir, 2007). We discuss how this teaching experiment may contribute to a revitalization of South Sámi culture. We take Eriksen’s (1997) perspective, that culture is what makes communication possible. Tjaalehtjimmie, South Sámi ornamentation, is a culture-based form of expression, which has a common understanding among the South Sámi. The experiment could also lead to some learning goals in the mathematics curriculum. The students participated in a ‘journey’ where they should watch and study duedtie (saS)/ South Sámi handicraft in their school’s exhibition. The students should imagine being small bumblebees with big eyes. The intention was to view small ornaments with big eyes in order to view and recognize details in the ornaments. The bumblebees flew out on a mission; “choose one section of one object’s ornamentation, and remember it. Then ‘fly’ quickly back to the classroom and draw it”. Bishop (1990) describes mathematics as a cultural product that is developed through engaging in six basic activities that every cultural group carry out. The activities are counting, location, measuring, designing, playing, and explaining. We take Bishop’s perspective in our analysis. The “journey” is an example of Bishop’s (1988) play; the students were informed about the rules before start. All of the students noticed the gulmien borth (saS)/ triangular engraving and drew it. Gulmien borth is a universal basic shape among Indigenous peoples in the northern hemisphere, who all engrave the ornament similarly. Thus, this ornament is relevant for Sámi education generally and not just for the south Sámi area. South Sámi ornamentation is Sámi traditional knowledge, while school mathematics is an invention by Western societies. Mathematics teaching based on South Sámi ornamentation could cause suppression of values related to the culture. The teaching experiment aimed at revitalization of values connected to South Sámi ornamentation. Therefore, the students started investigating ornamentations together with a duedtie teacher. No traditional mathematics tasks were provided for the students during the experiment. The learning goals in the mathematics curriculum concern the concepts symmetry; parallel displacement, rotation and reflection. The role of the mathematics teacher was to keep these goals in mind, while the students continued investigating the ornamentations. We discuss how students’ understanding of these concepts can support their understanding of South Sámi ornamentation. References Bishop, A. (1990). Western mathematics: the secret weapon of cultural imperialism, Race & Class, 32 (2), 51-63. Dunfjeld, M. (2006). Tjaalehtjimmie. Form og innhold i sørsamisk ornamentikk. Snåsa: Saemijen Sijte. Original work published 2001 as a dissertation for the degree of dr. art. Department of art history, University of Tromsø, Norway. Eriksen, T. Hylland (1997). Kultur, kommunikasjon og makt. I T. Hylland Eriksen (Ed.). Flerkulturell forståelse (pp. 53-66). Oslo: Tano Aschehoug. Fyhn, A. B., Dunfjeld, M, Dunfjeld Aagård, A., Eggen, P. & Larsen, T. M. (2015). Utforskning av tradisjonell sørsamisk ornamentikk, Tangenten, 26 (3), 9-14. Udir (2007). Læreplan i duodji [Duodji curriculum]. Retrieved from http://data.udir.no/kl06/KHV2-01.pdf?lang=nob