The earth, my mother

Jorda, min mor, 2006 (org. Eanni, eannázan, 2001 - var den siste boka av Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (1943-

2001) som ble publisert mens han levde. Den er nå gjendiktet til engelsk av Harald Gaski, Lars

Nordström og Ralph Salisbury, The Earth, My Mother. The Earth, My Mother has at long last joined The Sun, My Father.

The Earth, My Mother, originally published as Eanni, eannázan in 2001, became Nils-Aslak

Valkeapää's (1943-2001) final book.

Harald Gaski, Lars Nordström and Ralph Salisbury have once more translated one of the

author's major literary works into English.

The Sun, My Father (1997), originally published as Beaivi áhcázan (1988), won the Nordic

Council's Literature Prize in 1991. In this new translation the Sami perspective has been

expanded to embrace indigenous people around the world. The Sami stood in the center

of The Sun, My Father, while the speaker in The Earth, My Mother travels far and wide

to visit jungles and deserts and their indigenous peoples. It is always clear that the speaker

comes as a guest, and he does not pretend to be like them even though he registers

kindred values and ways of life.

The book combines poetry, original art work as well as color and black-and-white

photographs - a composition technique that reflects Nils-Aslak Valkeapää's unique creative aesthetic. In this book the indigenous peoples' voices are expressed through poetry and imagery. The contrasts between insight and primitiveness in the traditional western sense of these words are transformed into a message about humanity's relationship to the earth - something which we all depend on for our existence. As part of this there is also a cosmic and religious dimension of indigenous peoples' faith and gratitude for everything that makes life beautiful and good.

The images are, in addition to the author's personal photographs and paintings, collected

from various archives and photographers.