One hundred years ago, the Swedish and Norwegian governments came to an agreement regarding the nomadic people in the north. The settlement – referred to as a “dislocation” by the authorities – initiated a long period of deportations of reindeer-keeping Northern Sámi from their homes in Norway to new lands in Sweden, and in Finland. In the Sámi language it gives rise to a new word – bággojohtin – forced displacement. Or sirdolaččat, as the older generation call themselves afterwards, meaning “the displaced”. The first ones that are taken away leave their homes in the belief that they will soon return.

Elin Anna Labba has collected stories, photographs, letters and yoik lyrics, that together form a choir of voices echoing through time. The book portrays a hard life: reindeer lost on the way as they run north towards their known lands, children that are left behind with relatives. Sorrow that is stilled, yet lives on in new generations.