Nanny Götha Lovise Bäckman (15 November 19264 October 2021), known professionally as Louise Bäckman. was a Swedish-

Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

religious researcher.

Biography

Louise Bäckman grew up in the Sámi village of and went to Sámi residential and nomadic schools for five years. Throughout her childhood and college years, she experienced anti-Sámi prejudice, as Sámi were not allowed to live in houses, and she and her classmates were punished for speaking their mother tongue. Bäckman received her doctorate at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

in 1975 with a thesis in the history of religion on Sámi protective spirits (''sáiva''). Bäckman was appointed professor of religious history at

in 1986. She was a member of the Nathan Söderblom Society and one of the founding members of the Stockholm Sami Association in 1947. In her research, Bäckman highlighted the Sámi and, among other things, wrote about

noaidi A noaidi (, , , , , , ) is a shaman of the Sami people in the Nordic countries, playing a role in Sámi religious practices. Most ''noaidi'' practices died out during the 17th century, most likely because they resisted Christianization of the S� ...

s, or Sámi shamans, the bear in Sámi tradition, and the Sámi and settlers. She received an honorary doctorate in 2003 at

Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...

. In 2010, Bäckman received the year's development award from the Sámi Women's Forum.

Selected bibliography

* Louise Bäckman: ''Study in the pre-Christian Sámi's conceptions of the underworld with emphasis on the Scandinavian Sámi'', Stockholm University, Department of the History of Religions 1964 * Louise Bäckman: ''Sájva: notions of help and protection in sacred mountains among the Sámi'', Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion no. 13, thesis at Stockholm University 1975 * Louise Bäckman and Åke Hultcrantz: ''Studies in Lapp shamanism'', Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion no. 16, Stockholm University 1978 * Louise Bäckman and Rolf Kjellström (eds.): ''Kristoffer Sjulsson's memories: About the Vapstenlapparna in the early 1800s'', Nordic Museum 1979 in the series Acta Laponica, no. 20, ISBN 917-108-129-1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backman, Louise 1926 births 2021 deaths Swedish women academics Swedish Sámi academics Swedish historians of religion Sámi mythology Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Sámi women