ForestSámiWomen'sFourWindsHat

Among Sámi tribes -yes, there are different Sámi tribes- Four Winds Hat is often classified to be men head wear. Because Forest Sámi women may wear Four Wind Hat they are often called misusing the hat and insulting the traditions and not being real Sámi because they don't know it is men wear. 

Many old photographs prove Forest Sámi women wearing Four Winds Hat. Oral tradition prove Forest Sámi women can wear Four Winds Hat. More about the oral tradition in this issue I will tell in my research when ever I´ll get it all finished. This is one good example what Sámi community in Finland misses out when excluding Forest Sámi tribe out from the Sámi Parliament. It is a loss to the whole Sámi community in Europe because it loses the tradition of one whole tribe because of Forest Sámi discrimination in Finland.

This Four Winds Hat is made according to 100 years old hat of which we have received a photographs from far away. I can't publish those pictures here because they include private persons and have been trusted to us despite including sensitive material. One of my dreams is travel to see and investigate the hat and save all the information of it, but it locates behind the seas. It has end up there because of the emigration.

The exact hat of which I have made the new patterns has reindeer fur around the hat. You can see the beautiful picture of Riitta Ahmasalo on our siida site of the costume including Four Winds Hat Irene Kangasniemi has made with the help of mine. For the first time ever the public has been able to see the Forest Sámi Four Winds Hat at Irene Kanagsniemi's exhibition Untamed in January 2024. I used a marten in my hat. I received the marten fur as a thank you gift from Irene. I will always carry the memory of it with my hat. It doesn't matter what the fur is. Traditionally everything what you had was used. I brought also this hat with me to Forest Sámi Summer 2024 Expo in Kittilä where all the visitors had the change to see and investigate also this hat.

For me it is very difficult to say Four Winds Hat that's correct in English. I always want to write Four Wind Hat. It is because to me as Forest Sámi there is only one wind that can be seen in many directions, forms,  tempers and characters.