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]
Biography
Kappfjell attended the
Sámi schoolin Havika [
no] (
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 [
no] 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 [
no].[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
^
abcJünge, 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.
ISBN8274561821.
^
abJünge, 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.
ISBN8274561821.
^Elsvatn, Leif (1988).
Sørsamer forteller [Southern Sámi Stories] (in Norwegian). Hattfjelldal, Norway: Sijti Jarnge. pp. 92–95.
ISBN8290349122.