Niko Valkeapää

Niko-Mihkal Valkeapää (born 30 December 1968) is a Finnish Sami musician, joiker (Sami folk singer), teacher, actor and politician.

Niko Valkeapää
Valkeapää performing in Márkomeannu, Norway, on 28 July 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Niko-Mihkal Valkeapää
Born	(1968-12-30) 30 December 1968 (age 56) Enontekiö, Finland
Origin	Sami
Genres	Yoik, traditional, folk music
Occupation(s)	Teacher, musician, writer, artist, politician and actor
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Duippidit
Website	www.nikovalkeapaa.no

Biography

Niko Valkeapää at Riddu Riđđu in 2009.

Born in Enontekiö, Finland, he has been described as "one of Sami music's foremost performers."^[1] Valkeapää has been living in Kautokeino Municipality, Norway since 1990.^[2] He is godson of Sami artist and joiker Nils-Aslak Valkeapää.

He won the Sámi Grand Prix (1994, 1995), received the Spellemann award in 2003 (open class) with his debut album, and the Liet Ynternasjonaal award, the international music prize for minority music. He has toured across Norway, including the Nattjazz festival in Bergen, and the Northern Norway music festival Riddu Riđđu in Manndalen [no], Norway. His work has been considered part of the "third wave" of modern Sami music culture, which he has done much work on, among others Georg Buljo [no].

Awards

In 2005, Valkeapää received the Áillohaš Music Award, a Sámi music award conferred by Kautokeino Municipality and the Kautokeino Sámi Association to honor the significant contributions the recipient or recipients has made to the diverse world of Sámi music.^[3][4]

Discography

• Niko Valkeapää, Duippidit, 2003
• Sierra, Duippidit, 2004
• Birrat birra, Duippidit, 2008
• Gusto, Duippidit, 2012
• ÄÄ, Duippidit, 2012
• Ráfi - Tranquility, Duippidit, 2015
• Gáldu - Source, Duippidit, 2019

Also appears on

• Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia, 3CD-set, Nascente 2011