History maker — Sami artist Katarina Barruk performs at BBC Proms

Katarina Barruk made history on Sunday evening as the first Sami artist to perform in concert at the famous BBC Proms festival at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The 30-year-old, who grew up in Storuman in southern Swedish Lapland, sang and performed in her mother tongue of Ume Sami, a critically-endangered Sami language spoken by very few people today. “It’s really special that my Ume Sami language was heard in one of the world’s biggest venues,” she tells Radio Sweden. For more on Katarina Barruk’s performance in London, listen to Radio Sweden’s full report: ————– This story is posted on the Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.