Veli-Pekka Lehtola, longtime professor of Sámi culture at the Giellagas Institute of the University of Oulu, is retiring.
The Sámi people and also the majority know Lehtola best as a writer. Lehtola has published more than a dozen works, in which he especially studied the Sámi people, the history of the Sámi country and Lapland. In his books, he has also discussed Sámi contemporary art and the development of Sámi imagery.
Lehtola describes himself as a kind of cultural interpreter. Through his own work, he has tried to tell the majority population about the Sámi.
– I have told Finns about Sámi issues so that the voice of the Sámi could be heard in Finnish society. On the other hand, I wanted to share and return to the Sámi information that had been forgotten in the archives, says Lehtola.
\”The Sami spirit comes from the mother, passion for literature from the father\”
Veli-Pekka Lehtola is from Inari. Literature and writing started to interest him already at school. The support from home also encouraged him to continue on the path of writing.
– I got the Sámi spirit from my Sámi mother, and the passion for literature is inherited from my Finnish father, who was keen on research and writing. In the 1990s, I wanted to start doing more research myself, and I started doing my dissertation. That’s where it started, says Lehtola.
– When the villagers heard that Johan Turista has become world famous, they said that you already guessed it, he didn’t know how to take care of reindeer.
– My relative has told me that it’s laziness, only reading and writing books, and not participating in real work. But that’s his point of view, laughs Lehtola.
Struggle with academic credibility
From his last book *The former live in us. Histories of the Sámi and Finland* (2022) Lehtola received the Botnia literature prize. He has also written the script for the Sámi museum Siida’s new exhibition *Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These countries are our children*.
Lehtola has written most of his productions in Finnish because he wants to increase knowledge and understanding of Sámi issues. His most important work is the book *Saamelaiset suomalaiset* (2012), which tells about the Sami people of Finland at the beginning of the 20th century.
– For me, it is the most important of the Sámi subjects. At the same time, I also came to study my own history.
Lehtola has always wanted to highlight Sámi in the academic world, although it has not always been easy. The debate and dispute about the definition of Sámi have followed him all the time he has been a professor of Sámi culture at the University of Oulu since 2005.
Lehtola has had to think about how much he can take a stand on Sámi issues without losing his academic credibility. When he wrote the book *The Sámi Dispute* (2015), many colleagues advised him that it would be better to leave the book completely unpublished.
– They said that if I publish it, I will lose my scientific credibility. But it didn’t bother me. I thought I’d go if I had to go. I knew that I could stick to a certain kind of objectivity, even though I was writing on behalf of the Sámi people, says Lehtola.
Lehtola is not afraid to bring up the Sámi perspective in her research.
– Every now and then, the issue of whether I am biased or not comes up. If I’m biased towards the Sami people, that’s fine with me.
A colleague: \”Lehtola’s importance to Sámi research is great\”
In 2004, both Lehtola and Länsman started their work at the University of Oulu. Together, the two planned the study program of Sámi culture. According to Länsman, they have been a good working couple and he praises his colleague for being reliable.
– Brother Pekka is a very open person and he does not judge, but thinks and weighs things from many angles. However, he can also make decisions. I’ve learned from him during these years that it’s good to stop and think about things, says Länsman.
According to Länsman, the importance of Veli-Pekka Lehtola for Sami research is great.
– He has written so many books and articles that he will influence Sámi research for a long time. And especially to how the Sámi and Sámi have been studied and how they will be studied in the future, says Länsman.
New challenges await
Lehtola’s retirement days have already officially begun, but he still has a lecture series to be held during the spring. He has spent almost 20 years as a professor of Sámi culture.
– It’s a long time for me, because when I was younger I was always changing jobs. It was not easy to start as a professor, but it has gone well and especially the work environment has been very important to me.
Lehtola says that working with students has moved him forward. However, now is the time for new challenges.
– Like athletes, I say that I haven’t really understood it yet. My thinking is that now I can research and write in peace when I’m away. Perhaps Sámi political history would be such a topic. I would also like to write about the history of the Sámi in a slightly different way, reflects Veli-Pekka Lehtola.