"What is sacred about the sacred lake Seidyavr? Kola Sámi in search of authentic ethnic spirituality."

- co-operation, which involves deliberately playing to the imagination of tourists by providing what they expect, but not assuming that the locals will actually change their lives and identities; - resistance, where locals refuse to adapt their cultural heritage and behavior to match outsiders' preconceptions; - cultural revival, where communities attempt to recover supposedly lost elements of culture in response to external expectations of ‘authenticity’, while consistently changing their identities and many aspects of their lives. These nativist revivalist movements also can be seen as a direct response to the tourist gaze and its pressures on local communities. This presentation addresses the processes of recreating ‘Indigenous North spirituality’ in commercial and activist projects of the Kola Sámi. Their representatives, responding to ‘spiritual’ tourists' interest in Seydozero (Seidyavr in Sámi), a lake in their traditional territory, recreate elements of ancient Sámi shamanism and traditional festive culture. These endeavors conflict with traditional prohibitions against visiting Sámi sacred sites. Such initiatives and controversies have led some Sámi activists to demand that tourism programs be placed under Sámi control, which should give tourists "correct" understandings of Sámi spiritual life. However, few Sami are willing and able to participate in these activities. Consequently, other tourism market participants have begun to position themselves as local experts, expecting that their performance of ‘local identity’ (through traditional costumes, involvement in reindeer herding, and decorative arts) will be accepted by tourists as authentic ‘Sáminess’. Nous espérons vous retrouver nombreux!