Writing Sami school history some results and experiences
Lecture UiT, 02.04.2014
The aim of the project
Sami school history
To document the Government's school
politics towards the Sami, the Sami's
experiences in school and the work
to establish a Sami school.
– On the local-, national- and all-Sami level
– Through all times
– The politically established curriculum,
the carried out curriculum, the
experienced curriculum
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"Research should be for the benefit
of the people being researched" –
Make the basis to improve the
education for Sami pupils and the
information about the Sami
Part of school research and
development for indigenous
populations and minorities
Who are behind this?
The publishing house
Davvi Girji
The editors (4)
Writers
Narrators
Translators
Proofreaders
Photographers
Other helpers
Alltogether several houndreds
of people
Sources of Sami school history
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Books, periodicals and
newspapers
Public and private
archives
Narrations of former
pupils, teachers and
parents
Photo
Film and sound
recordings
Sami school history 2 (2007)
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The reindeer husbandry
school and Sami secondary
schools
Stories from primary school
in Tana, Sør-Varanger,
Karasjok, Nordkapp, Loppa,
Nordreisa, Kåfjord and
Tysfjord
From Sami education
council, director of schools
and the ministry
Sami school history 3 (2009)
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Kindergartens: Nesseby,
Tana, Karasjok, Tromsø,
Skånland, Tysfjord, Snåsa
and Oslo
Primary school:
Máze, Lebesby, Kvalsund,
Hasvik, Lavangen
About the language
situation
Sami school history 4
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(2010)
Documents pro and
contra norwegianization,
1750-1935
Primary school: Tana,
Nesseby, Hammerfest,
Måsøy, Beiarn, Gildeskål,
Engerdal
Special needs education
(Blind, deaf, disabled and
"difficult" pupils)
Sami school history 5 (2011)
Curriculums and struggles
about curriculums
Secondary schools:
Karasjok, Kautokeino,
Kirkenes, Nordreisa,
Hamarøy
Primary school: Gamvik,
Porsanger, Kautokeino,
Skånland, Narvik,
Ballangen, Grane,
Hattfjelldal and Snåsa
War and reconstruction
Sami school history 6 (2013)
College, university
Primary school (for instance Alta,
Tromsø, Lule Sami, Oslo)
Language centres
Folk high school
Distance education
Teachers' organizations
http://skuvla.info
Project presentation in 7
languages (Sá, No, Se, Fi,
En, Ru, Pl)
All the text and photos from
the books
240 additional articles
36 newspaper articles in 3
languages
Litterature list
List of teaching materials
Lectures
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The first education in Sami
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The first schools for Sami were
established in Sweden in the
17th century
From 1716 mission – Thomas
v. Westen – missionaries and
teachers taught in Sami
language
From then on there have been
struggles concerning the
language of teaching. In some
periods the school was
supposed to be in Sami and
text books in Sami language
were made
1826 – the first teacher's
college – Sami language as a
subject
The politics of
norwegianization wins
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In 1851 the Storting
decided to gradually
change the language of
teaching from Sami to
Norwegian.
“Finnefondet” (Lapp
foundation)
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“Transitional areas”
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Language instructions
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The teacher's college quit
offering education in Sami
language
1902: Separate director of
schools in Finnmark.
The boarding school era
Around 1900 the government
decided to build boarding
schools around Finnmark
The first governmental
boarding schools in SørVaranger and
Guovdageaidnu
21 governmental boarding
schools and 28 municipal
boarding schools in
Finnmark 1940
In Norwegian language and a
Norwegian cultural
environment
Resistance
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Most people in the Norwegian
society supported the politics
of norwegianizing, but there
were a few exceptions
Among the protesters were:
A few priests, Norwegian
teachers, the Sami mission
A few Norwegian politicians
Sami teachers (Anders Larsen,
Isak Saba, Henrik Kvandahl)
Sami parents
Sami newspapers and
organizations
Times change
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1948: The coordination
committee of the school
system: The politics towards
the Sami has been wrong
1951: Bilingual ABC (still only
an auxillary language)
1959 education act: A principal
change: Sami can be used as
language of teaching
1967: Sami langauge initial
training
1972: Sami as 2. language
1985: Sami as the language of
teaching throughout primary
school
Sami school?
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1976: Sami education council
1987, 1997, 2006: Sami
curriculums
1989: Sami university college
2000: Sami education
governed by the Sami
parliament
More than 2000 pupils studied
in Sami in Norway, the number
is now decreasing
The missioning epoch
The main purpose of the
teaching: Salvation
The most important subject in the
school: Christianity
Separate schooling for Sami
people 1715-1808
Teaching in Sami to a certain
extent
Many Sami learned to read and
write in the Sami language
Struggle between the mission and
the church leadership
The norwegianizing epoch
Main purpose of the teaching:
Linguistic and cultural assimilation
The most important subject in school:
Norwegian
Sami language prohibited or auxillary
language in special circumstances
Boarding school: Norwegian language
environment, interrupted contact to Sami
culture
Resistance:
Parents, teachers, people of the church
Ideological influence:
Sami people lost the faith in their own
lanuage and culture
The acceptance epoch
Main purpose of the teaching:
Knowledge to everybody
Sami language a pedagoical tool
Gradually: Sami language and culture
as intristic value
Sami language for the ones with Sami as
mother tongue
Sami as second language for Norwegians
in areas with Sami language
Resistance: Many wished to continue the
norwegianizing
The revitalization epoch
Purpose: To reverse the
norwegianizing
Sami second language for Sami
pupils in areas of Norwegian
language
The pupils should be functionally
bilingual and users of Sami language
Language centres, language nests
etc.
Reality or dream?
Results of the norwegianizing
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Sami speakers more than 4050 years old are not able to
write in their mother tongue
Almost all Sami parents in
South- and Lule Sami areas, in
Troms and coastal-Finnmark
spoke Norwegian to their
children
Now about 75% of the Sami
are not able to speak Sami
About 50% of those who speak
Sami speak another language
better
Many do not want to be Sami
anymore
Shortages – Within the scope of
the book project:
Articles, memories and documents from school life in the
Norwegian part of Sápmi
Insufficient are still
some:
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Districts
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Kinds of schools
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Course of studies and
subjects
Perspectives (who
narrates)
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Epochs
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Special themes
Shortages – Outside the scope of
the book project
Similar documentation from
other countries
History of teaching aids
Research
Chronological history
Archives, libraries and
museums
Other media
The big world
Common-Sami
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Sweden
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Umeå university
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The Swedish church
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Editors: Some memories
from school
Finland
Editors: Gathered ca. 15
research articles + a few
memories from school
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Russia
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Sami teachers
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Murmansk hum. university
History of teaching aids
Teaching aids in connection to the
aims of the school and the
curriculums.
A. Teaching aids for Sami pupils
– Sami (first-, second- or foreign
language)
– in Sami or bilingual
(all subjects)
– following the Sami curriculum
(independent of language)
– official language for Sami pupils
B. Content about the Sami people
on the national level. (UiT)
Research
2005 Davvi Girji invited
research institutions
2009 Sámi University
College: report on
possible research.
2011 Announcement of
preliminary project for
doctorate
2012 Umeå university and
UiT are planning research
projects
A general research program
does not exist.
There's a lack of
cooperation
Other media
– Book for children and youth.
– Webpages in other
languages.
– Articles in newspapers and
periodicals
– Fiction based on the school
history
– Film.
– Lectures in schools and
other forums.
– ???
Chronological history
– The basis must be
documentation and
research. Need to see
structure and general
lines before one can
begin writing.
– Should be commonSami school history,
which can compare the
situation in 4 countries.
Long-term perspectives.
The big world – 1
Sami school history a part of the
school history of indegenous
peoples and minorities.
Contact:
– 1950-/60's teachers from Sápmi
visiting American indigenous
people and Frisland
– After 2000: Sami school- and
language people visited Wales,
Ireland, Scotland, Euskadi.
– Poland and Lithuania.
– WINHEC
– Minority students and school
people visited Sami schools
– UiT: Indigenous Studies
The big world – 2
What can be done:
– Litterature list on minority
education
– Internationalize our
webpage
– Conference on indigenous
peoples Nesw York.
– 2016 Donostia, Euskadi
European cultural capital
– gather European
minorities.
– ???
How to continue the work?
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Who will contribute?
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Institutions
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Researchers, students
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Writers
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Translators
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How to organize?
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National level
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Common-Sami level
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A separate institution or
part of other institution(s)?
Who will pay?