Woning te Sompio before 1885

This is Karl Granit’s photograph, "Woning te Sompio", printed within a book. Granit captured this image during a time of increasing interest in Finnish identity and culture. The photograph depicts a dwelling in Sompio, a region within the traditional Sami lands. The Sami are an Indigenous people inhabiting the northern parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. The image invites us to consider the Sami people, their traditional ways of life, and their relationship to the land. It raises questions about representation, cultural preservation, and the impact of outside perspectives on Indigenous communities. How does Granit, as a non-Sami photographer, frame the Sami experience? Does the image romanticize or authentically depict their way of life? "Woning te Sompio" serves as a historical document and a point of reflection on the complexities of cultural exchange and representation. It encourages a dialogue about the power dynamics inherent in image-making.