Jørn Henriksen, Director of Expedition Operations
at Viking Expeditions, discusses his relationship with
the Arctic – the place he calls 'home'
My ARCTIC
I
'm Norwegian, born and bred
in the city of TromsØ. Whilst
many people consider the
Arctic a romantic area – full
of mysticism, legends and struggles
in harsh conditions, expressed
by phenomena like the Northern
Lights, Santa Claus and stories about
explorers attempting to reach an
extremity – I call the Arctic home. It
is the foundation both for my work
and for my family. I have previously
headed many expeditions across the
Arctic throughout my career, and it
is a real privilege to be part of the
Viking Expeditions team.
My family is embedded in
the Arctic, and via a branch on
my fathers side, rooted in the
indigenous Sámi people. e Sámi
populate Fenno-Scandinavia (the
northern part of Norway, Finland
and Sweden) and they are perhaps
best known for being reindeer
herders. My great grandfather was
Sámi, but during his lifetime his
community was under an immense,
state-driven pressure to assimilate
and become 'Norwegian'. As a
result, he was given the name
Clockwise, from
above: Jørn
Henriksen; the
Arctic landscape;
a polar bear with
her three cubs
spotted by Jørn
at Wilhelmøya in
Svalbard; Jørn's
great grandfather,
Gustav Johannes,
is the little boy
in the upper left,
alongside a group
of Dutch tourists
in Gibostad, North
Norway, in 1893
Henriksen instead of taking the
family name of Omma.
is part of my family history
was 'watered out' and our Sámi
identity became more distant with
each passing generation. However,
I'm immensely proud of my
ancestors – they were Arctic experts,
living in harmony with nature and
exercising their ancient traditions,
whilst the rest of the world was
speeding into
the Industrial Revolution.
If there is one thing that stands
out for me about the Arctic, it must
64
VIKING
