Mythic Realms of Nordic Sami Culture and Yoik

Name: Mythic Realms of Nordic Sami Culture and Yoik
Start: 2025-10-11T15:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-10-11T16:30:00-04:00
Location: The Clover Room

Schedule

Sat Oct 11 2025 at 03:00 pm to 04:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

The Clover Room | Kalamazoo, MI

Workshop: Mythic Realms of Nordic Sami Culture
$20.00
Doors at 2:30
Workshop at 3 - 4:30 pm
Mythic Realms of Nordic Sami Culture Workshop
With Elin Kavin, Indigenous Sami and Yoik Singer
In this workshop, participants will experience ancient primal Sami wisdom and the unique singing style of Yoiking. Elin seamlessly weaves together Sami music and culture.
Elin Kåven is a renowned yoiker, singer and songwriter from Karasjok, Norway, known for her ability to weave together Sami mythology and music. For over 20 years, she has been an important voice in Sami music through her many projects.
She has been dedicated to sharing Sámi culture through music, dance, and storytelling. She has performed more than 300 concerts in over 11 countries and is known for her unique stage presence and movement, which earned her the nickname “The Arctic Elf.”
Elin has been described as a genre-creator and early on developed her own musical style – Arctic Folk Pop – blending yoik, Nordic folk music, and modern elements.
For her work, she was awarded "Songwriter of the Year 2017" at the Sámi Music Awards.

Over the years, she has initiated and led several creative projects:
Elin & The Woods – a duo blending Indigenous and electronic music, known for their appearances in Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix (Norwegian Eurovision) and Sámi Grand Prix (Sami Eurovision).
Róhta – a band where Sámi and Norse musical traditions meet, releasing their debut album in 2023 and touring schools through "Den kulturelle skolesekken/The Cultural Schoolbag" program.
So Silvae – a new project launched in 2024 focused on ambient, meditative, and nature-based music, inspired by the healing powers of the natural world.
The Arctic Fay – a creative character and concept for children, combining performances, apps, and books. This project has also toured schools as part of "Den kulturelle skolesekken/The Cultural Schoolbag."

Deeply connected to nature and Sámi mythology, Elin’s music and creative work are imbued with ancestral wisdom.
In 2020, she co-created the international online course “The Way of the Yoik” with Jungle Svonni, making yoik accessible to people around the world. Since then, she has taught yoik to students from all walks of life online.

For deeper cultural reflections, she runs the blog Beneath Northern Lights, - also with Jungle Svonni, where they share about Sámi spirituality, nature, and traditional knowledge.

Elin Kåven is the creator of Winterlight.no – a platform for all her creative projects: music, courses, cultural content, and both digital and physical products – all rooted in Sámi tradition and her vision for a wise, and sustainable future.
http://www.winterlight.no