Niko-Mihkal Valkeapää (born 30 December 1968 in

Enontekiö Enontekiö (; sme, Eanodat ; sv, Enontekis; smn, Iänudâh; sms, Jeänõk) is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland with approx. inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very spars ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a

Sami 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 ...

musician,

joik A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europ ...

er (Sami folk singer), teacher, actor and politician.

Biography

He has been described as "one of Sami music's foremost performers." Valkeapää has been living in

Kautokeino Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other village ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

since 1990.mic.no,
A Search for Identity
', 6 February 2005, retrieved 11 January 2009 He is godson of Sami artist and joiker

Nils-Aslak Valkeapää Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, known as ''Áillohaš'' in the Northern Sami language (23 March 1943 – 26 November 2001), was a Finnish Sami writer, musician and artist. He was born in Enontekiö in Lapland province, Finland. He lived most of his ...

. He won the

Sámi Grand Prix The Sámi Grand Prix, often abbreviated as SGP, is a Sámi yoik and song competition organized annually by the Sámi Music Festival organization ( se, Sámi musihkkafestivála, no, Samisk Musikkfestival), featuring participants from all cor ...

(1994, 1995), received the

Spellemann Spellemann is a folk music album by Norwegian singer Elisabeth Andreassen. It was released in Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the wester ...

award in 2003 (open class) with his debut album, and the Liet Ynternasjonaal award, the international music prize for minority music. He has toured across Norway, including the

Nattjazz Bergen International Jazz Festival or Nattjazz, is one of the largest jazz festivals of Norway. The festival has a musical profile with an emphasis on ethnic and jazz, contemporary jazz. It is held annually in late May, coinciding with Festspil ...

festival in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, and the Northern Norway music festival Riddu Riđđu in Manndalen, Norway. His work has been considered part of the "third wave" of modern Sami music culture, which he has done much work on, among others Georg Buljo.

Awards

In 2005, Valkeapää received the Áillohaš Music Award, a Sámi music award conferred by the municipality of

and the Kautokeino Sámi Association to honor the significant contributions the recipient or recipients has made to the diverse world of Sámi music.

Discography

*''Niko Valkeapää'', Duippidit, 2003 *''Sierra'', Duippidit, 2004 *''Birrat birra'', Duippidit, 2008 *''Gusto'', Duippidit, 2012 *''ÄÄ'', Duippidit, 2012 *''Ráfi - Tranquility'', Duippidit, 2015 *''Gáldu - Source'', Duippidit, 2019

Also appears on

*''Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia'', 3CD-set, Nascente 2011

References

External links

A study of Riddu Riddu Festivála and its role as a cultural tool for ethnic revitalization Riddu Riddu, Joik or rock-n-roll?

Music Information Centre Norway; Niko Valkeapää: Niko Valkeapää, ''Listen to Norway continues with Niko Valkeapää: Niko Valkeapää''

Niko Valkeapää Folkelarm 2008
1968 births Finnish Sámi people Living people People from Enontekiö Finnish Sámi musicians Áillohaš Music Award winners Spellemannprisen winners People from Kautokeino {{Finland-musician-stub