12 Facts About Mari Boine

Mari Boine was born on Mari Brit Randi Boine; 8 November 1956 and is a Norwegian Sami singer.

Mari Boine combined a form of Sami joik singing with rock.

Mari Boine was born and raised in Gamehisnjarga, a village on the river Anarjohka in Karasjok Municipality, Finnmark county, Norway.

Mari Boine grew up steeped in the natural environment of Sapmi, but amidst the strict Laestadian Christian movement with discrimination against her people: for example, singing in the traditional Sami joik style was considered "the devil's work".

The local school Mari Boine attended reflected a very different world from her family's.

Mari Boine was asked to perform at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, but refused because she perceived the invitation as an attempt to bring a token minority to the ceremonies.

Mari Boine's songs are strongly rooted in her experience of being in a despised minority.

In 1993, Mari Boine became the first recipient of the Aillohas Music Award, a Sami music award conferred by Kautokeino Municipality and the Kautokeino Sami Association to honor the significant contributions the recipient or recipients has made to the diverse world of Sami music.

In 2003, Mari Boine was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize.

Mari Boine was appointed knight, first class in the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav for her artistic diversity on 18 September 2009.

On 7 October 2012, Mari Boine was appointed as a "statsstipendiat", an artist with national funding, the highest honour that can be bestowed upon any artist in Norway.

Mari Boine is foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.