Abstract

Saana, in North Saami Sáná, is a large single mountain in the westernmost part of Finnish Lapland and comprised to be part of native lands of the Saami. At the beginning of December 2017, this mountain was a topic of a heated debate since a Finnish light artist decided to celebrate Finland’s 100 years of independence by illuminating the snow-covered mountain with blue light creating the colors of the Finnish flag. For the Finns, the mountain is an iconic aesthetic symbol, but some Saami understood the illumination as an insensitive and colonial act and they strongly opposed the project. Employing a discourse analytical approach this article presents and analyses the debate of 2017, but also older texts written about Sáná. The aim is to clarify the meanings that are connected to this place and to investigate how they interact with different discourses and cultural understandings of the landscape.