Pre-Summit Programming

International Premiere: Sergie and the White Seal
15 June at 15:00–17:00
Tráhppie
Organized by: Såhkie Ubmejen Sámieseäbrrie (Umeå Same Förening/ Umeå Sámi Association)

International premiere and launch of Sergie and the White Seal – an Indigenous retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s story.
The event brings together authors Garrett Iĝayux̂ Pletnikoff and Hannah Atsaq Zimmerman alongside participating artists for readings, artistic presentations, and public dialogue.

The programme includes a reading and opportunities for discussion and audience questions. It also features the premiere of an animated short film by Mikael Berglund, illustrations by Rebecca Tornberg Båanta, and an art installation by Garrett Iĝayux̂ Pletnikoff based on traditional materials and methods from Saint Paul Island.
The project is a collaboration between Unangan and Sámi actors, strengthening cultural exchange between Sápmi and coastal Alaska.

Practical information:
No pre-registration required. Admission subject to availability. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.

Artists
Mikael Berglund is a novelist, web developer and illustrator from Umeå. He also produces music and creates 3D animations on his spare time. (Many of his projects can be seen at www.omnejden.se.)

Lillian Maassen, editor “Sergie and the white seal”, was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and has found her way there again in recent years to make her home between the mountains and the ocean. She earned her M.Phil in Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin in 2019 with the dream of doing Indigenous language work, and that dream came true in 2023 when she was hired as Editor at the Alaska Native Language Center. Since then, she has brought six books in five Alaska Native languages to publication, ranging from dictionaries to novels. Starting this summer, she will also be teaching workshops on publishing Indigenous language materials in academia.

Garrett Iĝayux̂ Pletnikoff and Hannah Lillian Zimmerman are passionate artists, handicrafters, storytellers, and Indigenous and minority language revitalization enthusiasts. They are based on Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea, where they run Tukuuludaa Bering Sea-Based Design and Education Center, an award-winning Indigenous and regionally-led organization, working to build a sustainable future for the Bering Sea region and Western Alaska, grounded in generations of Indigenous biocultural knowledge that also promotes our languages and cultures. Garrett is Unangan, born and raised on Saint Paul Island, while Hannah has Romani Traveller and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. Garrett is a hide tanner and traditional handicrafter, known for being the first Unangan to obtain a diploma in reindeer hide tanning. Hannah works mainly with language revitalization, having established the North and Alaskan Sámi language program at the University of Alaska, where she teaches Sámi with English as the teaching language. “Sergie and the White Seal” is their first publication.

Rebecca Tornberg Båanta is a South Sámi illustrator and multidisciplinary artist based outside Ubmeje/Umeå, with roots in southern Sápmi, in the mountainous inland of northern Sweden. Her work is shaped by a deep connection to her ancestral lands, where she finds both grounding and inspiration. Drawing from historical photographs, nature, animals, and cultural symbolism, she explores how Sámi and other Indigenous traditions can be carried into contemporary expression. Her current work includes the development of a tarot deck rooted in Sámi cultural perspectives. Her practice is guided by questions of memory, loss, and reclamation—what we know, what has been forgotten, and how cultural knowledge can be reawakened. Alongside her artistic work, she is an Operations Manager and Cultural Developer at Tráhppie within Såhkie Umeå Sameförening, where she helps shape cultural initiatives, including the annual festival Ubmejen Biejvieh (Sámi Week). (Photographer: Iulia Calin Dickens)