Storyhouse Research Project Launches Sámi-Language Games to Strengthen Linguistic Equality.

At a time when young people’s everyday literacy practices are increasingly shaped by digital media, Storyhouse (Tarinatalo) introduces a new way to support Sámi languages online. The digital learning environment is now available in Northern Sámi, Inari Sámi, and Skolt Sámi, offering freely accessible online games that support Sámi language learning through play and creative writing.

The Sámi-language versions of Storyhouse respond to a long-standing challenge in Sámi education: the lack of high-quality digital learning materials in minority languages. By bringing Sámi languages into game-based digital environments familiar to young people, the Storyhouse Goes to Sápmi project promotes linguistic equality, digital inclusion, and multiliteracy development in learners’ own languages.

According to project leader Outi Kallionpää from the University of Lapland, game-based learning environments are particularly effective in supporting motivation in situations where traditional schoolwork fails to connect with young people’s digital realities.

“Storyhouse brings school closer to young people’s digital lives and encourages them to read and write. The Sámi-language games offer a meaningful and motivating space for using and strengthening one’s own language,” Kallionpää says.

Storyhouse is a motivating, interactive, and culturally sensitive learning environment in which Sámi language learning takes place through gameplay and creative writing. The games are designed to support both language skills and learners’ sense of agency in digital environments.

“For Sámi-language learners, a digital environment in their own language supports not only language development but also the everyday use of Sámi at school and beyond,” says Pigga Keskitalo, professor at the University of Lapland who is responsible for Sámi-language education and research.

Sámi-Language Support Materials Facilitate Classroom Use

To support educational use, the Sámi-language Storyhouse games are accompanied by clear game instructions and pedagogical guidance. These materials make it easier for teachers to introduce the games in classroom practice and to strengthen innovative approaches to language and multiliteracy pedagogy.

The project also organises open webinars, presenting Storyhouse’s pedagogical possibilities and sharing concrete examples of how the games can be used in teaching.

About the Storyhouse Goes to Sápmi Project

The project is led by the University of Lapland, in collaboration with the INTERACT and OASIS research groups at the University of Oulu and the Game Development Unit of Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The Sámi-language game development has been coordinated by Junior Researcher Maiju Saijets.

The project runs from 2025 to 2026 and is funded by the Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland and the Lapland Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Game Trailer Language Versions
Trailer (Finnish)
Trailer (Inari Sámi)
Trailer (Skolt Sámi)
Trailer (Northern Sámi)