The group began its work in 2012,[3][4] using Facebook as a distribution platform.[3] Beyond social media, Suohpanterror's art has been exhibited at
Littfest [
sv] in Umeå, Sweden;[1] the
Siida Sámi Museum in Inari, Finland;[5] the
Helsinki City Library's
Library 10 facility;[6] the
World Village Festival in Helsinki;[7]
the XXII
Triennale di Milano in Italy;[8] Saw/Gallery Nordic Lab in Ottawa;[9] and the 2020
Biennale of Sydney in Australia.[10] Suohpanterror was included in the SAAMELAISTA nykytaidetta = Dálá SÁMI dáidda = SÁMI Contemporary travelling exhibition of contemporary Sámi art that visited Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Germany in 2014–2015. "Suohpangiehta," the group's version of Rosie the Riveter, was used as the cover of the exhibition catalogue.[11]
The group's artists remain anonymous in an effort to keep the focus on their message, but
Jokkmokk, Sweden-based artist
Jenni Laiti acts as the group's spokesperson.[12]
The group's name, "Suohpanterror," comes from suohpan, the
Northern Sámi language word for the
lasso used to catch
reindeer, plus the English word terror to mean "fear of the lasso."[13] It refers in an ironic way to hostility towards Sámi asserting their identity and rights, including their sometimes being labeled terrorists.[14]
One of Suohpanterror's most widely reproduced images is "Suohpangiehta," its 2013 reenvisioning of J. Howard Miller's "
We Can Do It!" poster, replacing
Rosie the Riveter's factory garb with a gátki, liidni, and gahpir (traditional
Sámi clothing). Above her is the phrase "suohpangiehta," which translates literally from Northern Sámi as 'lasso hand' and refers to someone particularly skilled in using a lasso.[20] The image has been described as speaking to Sámi feminism, as well as appropriating notions of American power and military might.[21] Suohpanterror spokesperson Jenni Laiti describes the image as saying to Sámi "This is who we are and we can do it."[22]
Message
In line with the Sámi
ČSV movement, Suohpanterror seeks to draw attention to the rights of the Sámi people and the grievances they have experienced with its "artivism," including discrimination and racism, exploitation of Sápmi's natural resources, and Finland's failure to ratify
International Labour OrganizationConvention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.[5][8] Some of Suohpanterror's works are intended for internal discussion among Sámi, while others are for the majority Nordic population. The group also comments on the problems of indigenous peoples and minorities living elsewhere in the world.[16] Suohpanterror says it encourages civil disobedience, but does not condone violence.[23]
In 2014, the group mounted a public display of anti-mining posters in
Utsjoki, Finland, to support opposition to plans for a diamond mine in the area.[24] In 2015, Suohpanterror worked with
Greenpeace and
Niillas Holmberg [
fi] when Holmberg scaled the
equestrian statue of Marshal Mannerheim in Helsinki to unfurl banners and the
Sámi flag in protest of Finland's policies towards Sámi and the Arctic.[14][25] In 2016, the group designed a May Day logo for the
Finnish Communist Party (SKP) with a raised Sámi fist and the Finnish–Sámi bilingual slogan "Alas porvarihallitus! — Borgárráđđehus vulos!" ('Down with the bourgeois government!').[26] The same year, the group send postcards depicting hanged Sámi to the
Parliament of Finland to protest the
Teno Fisheries Agreement.[27][28] In 2018, Suohpanterror partnered with Greenpeace and Sámi youth organization
Suoma Sámi Nuorat [
se] to protest plans for the
Arctic Ocean Railway.[29]
Awards
Suohpanterror was awarded the 2016
Finnish Critics Association [
fi]Kritiikin Kannukset [
fi] Award. According to the jury, Suohpanterror was recognized for "using the language of art in a striking and artistic way,"[30] as well as for combining icons from art history and popular culture with documentary themes.[31] Suohpanterror is the first group of anonymous artists to receive a Kritiikin Kannukset Award.[30]
Exhibitions
A partial list of solo and group exhibitions featuring Suohpanterror
Rájágeassin/Rajanveto, Pro Artibus Gallery Sinne, Helsinki, Finland — 14 August – 6 September 2020
^
abLantto Heldebro, Freja (13 March 2014).
"Samiskt motstånd på Littfest" [Sámi Resistance at Littfest]. Kulurnytt I P1 (in Swedish). Sverige Radio. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
^
abToijonen, Siskotuulikki (15 May 2016).
"Suohpanterror ampuu tahallaan yli" [Suohpanterror Deliberately Overshoots]. Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
^
abcHeikkinen, Mikko-Pekka (10 March 2013). "Pohjoisen eturintama" [The Northern Front]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
^Caron, Grégoire (14 December 2017).
"Le cri de Suohpanterror" [The Cry of Suohpanterror]. ArtsHebdoMédias (in French). Deauville, France. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
^
abTamminen, Jari (April 2014).
"Arktinen terrori" [Arctic Terror]. fifi.voima.fi (in Finnish). Archived from
the original on 9 August 2014.
^Heikkinen, Mikko-Pekka (30 October 2016). "Suohpanterror on nuorten saamelaisten vastaisku" [Suohpanterror is a counterattack by the young Sámi]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
^Hertz, Carrie (2021),
"Sámi Gátki", in Hertz, Carrie (ed.), Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, p. 187,
ISBN9780253058584, retrieved 7 October 2021