Nils-Aslak Valkeapää

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Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, known as Áillohaš in the Sami language (March 23, 1943 - November 26, 2001) was a Sami writer, musician and artist of Finnish citizenship born in Enontekiö in the Finnish part of Lapland. Significant portions of his life he lived in Käsivarsi, close to the border to Sweden, and also in Skibotn in Norway. It is sometimes said that Valkeapää is the Sami person who is most well known internationally. Valkeapää was born in a family of the traditional trade of herding reindeer, but was trained as a school teacher.

The traditional sami singing joik was important in his art, in music as well as in painting and in writing. The joik also was the first genre he got recognised in. During the 1960s, young Sami searched for their cultural roots and Valkeapää was one of the most prominent persons as a joiker. His first recording, Jojkuja from 1968 contained modernised joik. Valkeapeää wrote the music to the motion picture Ofelaš, internationally known as The Pathfinder 1987, that was directed by Nils Gaup. He performed at the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

As a writer, he mainly wrote in Sami and was translated to Finnish, the Nordic languages as well as to other languages. He is particularly well known in Norway. The first thing he published, was a political pamphlet. He eventually published eight collections of poems. One of the more well known is Beaivi áhčážan that has been translated to English titled The Sun, My Father.

Nils-Aslak Valkeapää died in Espoo at age of 58.