Gustav Kappfjell

Gustav Matheus Kappfjell (12 February 1913 – 24 May 1999), also known by the Southern Sámi form of his name, Gaebpien Gåsta, was a Southern Sámi reindeer herder, hunter, farmer, poet, and joiker from Maajehjaevrie in Grane, Norway.[1][2][3][4]

Gustav Kappfjell
Native name
Gaebpien Gåsta
Born(1913-02-12)February 12, 1913
Maajehjaevrie, Norway
DiedMay 24, 1999(1999-05-24) (aged 86)
Resting placeGrane, Norway
OccupationPoet
Language
  • Southern Sámi
  • Norwegian
  • Swedish
Nationality Norway

Biography

Kappfjell attended the Sámi school in Havika (Namsos) in 1921–22; at that time the state Norwegianization policy forbade students from speaking Sámi languages.[2] During World War II, Kappfjell was witness to the 1942 Majavatn Affair in which 24 Norwegian partisans were arrested in Majavatn and later executed at the Falstad concentration camp.[5] His father, Nils Johan Kappfjell, died on 5 July 1948 in the Duderlands Valley bus accident.[6] After his mother, Anna, died in 1951, Kappfjell took over the family farm, eventually selling his share of the family reindeer herd to invest in the farm. His brother, Nils Olav Kappfjell, continued with reindeer husbandry.[7]

Poetry

As a poet, Kappfjell wrote about Sámi life and identity, blending images of reindeer herding and mountain life with ancestral stories, Southern Sámi history, and customs.[1] He also outlines Sámi struggles with the loss of land, water, and rights.[8] His collection of poems, Gaaltije (1987), was the first literary work published in Southern Sámi.[9] Kappfjell wrote most of his poetry in Southern Sámi, along with some works in Swedish and Norwegian.[1][10] Previously, Kappfjell published poems in the Saemien Sijte foundation's Åarjel-saemieh yearbook in 1982 and 1985, as well as in the Čallagat (1973) and Vår jord er vårt liv (1981) anthologies. An audio book of his poetry was published for Tråante 2017. Kappfjell was awarded the Grane Kommunes Kulturpris in 1987.[11]

References
  1. Jünge, Åke (2000). "Diktaren ved Majavatnet" [The Poet of Majavatnet]. Samar i sør: artiklar om sørsamiske forhold [Sámi in the South: Articles on South Sámi Conditions] (in Norwegian). Stjørdal, Norway: Høgskolen i Nord-Trøndelag. pp. 85–92. ISBN 8274561821.
  2. Jünge, Åke (2000). "Til minne om Gustav Kappfjell (1913-1999)" [In memory of Gustav Kappfjell (1913-1999)]. Samar i sør: artiklar om sørsamiske forhold [Sámi in the South: Articles on South Sámi Conditions] (in Norwegian). Stjørdal, Norway: Høgskolen i Nord-Trøndelag. p. 93. ISBN 8274561821.
  3. Elsvatn, Leif (1988). Sørsamer forteller [Southern Sámi Stories] (in Norwegian). Hattfjelldal, Norway: Sijti Jarnge. pp. 92–95. ISBN 8290349122.
  4. "Gustav Matheus Kappfjell". Gravminner i Norge. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  5. Hjulstad, Ola (1985). Krigens dagbok 1940-1945 [War Daybook 1940-1945] (in Norwegian). pp. 86–88. ISBN 8272790386.
  6. Jacobsen, Kjell. Gardshistorie for Grane: g.nr 49-64, 202, 203. Mosjøen, Norway: Vefsn Bygdeboknemnd. p. 545. ISBN 8299017394.
  7. Berg, Bård A. Mot en korporativ reindrift: samisk reindrift i Norge i det 20. århundre : eksemplifisert gjennom studier av reindriften på Helgeland [Towards corporate reindeer herding: Sámi reindeer herding in Norway in the 20th century: exemplified through studies of the reindeer herding on Helgeland] (in Norwegian). Guovdageaidnu, Norway: Sámi instituhtta. pp. 262–264.
  8. Kappfjell, Lena; Gaski, Harald (2005). Åvtese jåhta (in Southern Sami). Guovdageaidnu, Norway: DAT. ISBN 8290625472.
  9. Kappfjell, Gustav (1987). Gaaltije. Guovdageaidnu, Norway: DAT. ISBN 8290625057.
  10. Gaski, Harald (1998). Skriftbilder: samisk litteraturhistorie (in Norwegian). Kárášjohka, Norway: Davvi Girji. p. 61. ISBN 8273743535.
  11. "Kulturpris". Grane kommune. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
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