Panel Talk - Who Tells the Arctic Story? Appropriation Risks

Hosted by Jillat – Sami Dance Center and NANU Sámi Arts International. Location Tonsalen - Folkets Hus Umeå. Thursday the 18th of June, 1.00 - 2.00PM

The Arctic is often described from the outside: as wilderness, resource, climate symbol, exotic backdrop or future frontier. But who has the right, knowledge and responsibility to tell Arctic stories? This panel addresses the risks of appropriation when northern and Indigenous cultures, aesthetics and political struggles are used without deep understanding, consent or accountability.

Hosted by Jillat – Sami Dance Center and NANU Sámi Arts International, the conversation opens a necessary discussion about representation, authorship and power in the arts. How do we distinguish between exchange, inspiration and extraction? What responsibilities do artists, institutions, funders and festivals carry when presenting work connected to Arctic and Indigenous contexts?

This panel does not offer simple rules. Instead, it invites a more careful and honest conversation about how stories…