Notebook

Uksáhkká

Somehow, the goddess Uksáhkká has been connected to this project from day one. I've made several versions of this site, the House of Wild Water, and she has been part of every single one of them.

Uksáhkká is a goddess in my culture, as an indigenous sámi of the North. You might already understand that my culture, like most indigenous cultures, has been under a lot of pressure, and despite the fact that I was born and raised on sámi land, by a mother proud of her roots, those roots were still burned by acid in the soil for generations past. We are a people under threat, fighting for our beliefs - and I must ask myself what role the internet, what role technology truly plays in my life. Is it the enemy? A helpful tool? Neither, both?

Uksáhkká first came to me when I was pregnant the second time. I was stricken with a terrible fear while pregnant, and while my baby was little. The father of my children traveled far away to work, and I felt captured in a labyrinth of asphalt, fences, property and roads - seeing only wounds where others saw progress. In my fear, I found comfort in Uksáhkka - the Door Woman. I knew her sigil, so I drew it under the mat of the door. I hoped it would protect me and my baby.

Later, I would start studying art. I work with sound art mainly, and mostly with more traditional tools like storytelling and joik - but still I see Uksáhkká here, in the metaphysical plane that is the digital world. There are doors here, doors made so evident in this neocities culture where exploration and wilderness are values held high, and these doors are part of my question, part of my answer, although I do not know what it is yet.