Objectification

In indigenous tourism destinations, indigenous communities and individuals are often objectified and treated as tourist attractions as if they were one of the tourist sights in nature. In such cases, visitors forget that it is the home of the ‘tourist attractions’ they are actually visiting. In Finland, the objectification and exoticisation of the Sámi and Sámi culture through distorted and totally outworn stereotypical representations has continued for decades. It is important that local communities’ everyday life and festivities are respected by encountering the locals as human beings, not as objects or exhibits. Local people do not wear Sámi dress for the visitors to photograph them. Please remember that there is a human being inside that dress who does not necessarily want to end up in strangers’ home albums or social media. Responsible visitors respect the privacy of private individuals.