This article discusses the educational opportunities of the indigenous Sámi people in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. We examine the cultural homogenization pressures but also the possibilities of strengthening the rights of these Indigenous peoples through education.
Sámi people are the only indigenous people living in the area of the European Union (Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät, 2021). There are around 80,000-100,000 Sámi people altogether living in Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia (Samiskt informationscentrum, n.d.). In this article, we wish to address the educational opportunities of Sámi people in different contexts. First, we outline the recent developments concerning educational challenges and opportunities for the Sámi people in the three Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Second, we take a more detailed look at government actions that have affected the Sámi in Finland, as an exemplary case, which has been the main cause for many educational disadvantages in the past and present. Some of the core topics of the text include cultural colonialism and the role that education has played in national assimilation efforts. The societal status of the Sámi people as a minority group will be discussed mostly from an educational perspective, some more political aspects are also included as these intertwine with the discussion about the rights of the Sámi people. Language is another emerging theme as it is tightly embedded in the preservation of the indigenous culture and in the definitions of identities. Sámi languages are original languages in Europe and today, there are 9-10 different Sámi languages (Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät, 2021). The challenges to preserving the Sámi languages will be discussed further in the article.
Challenges and opportunities in Sámi education in Finland
Paksuniemi and Keskitalo (2019) are two Sámi scholars with a deep background in Sámi education. The authors write about the development challenges regarding the educational opportunities for the Sámi youth in Finland. It was not until 1970, that the process of establishing Sámi education in Finnish schools began, and the perspectives of Sámi people were included at some level in the education planning (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 76, referring to Aikio-Puoskari, 2005). However, the literature shows several weak points both in history and today in Sámi peoples’ educational opportunities. While the Nordic welfare states have offered Sámi people a high level of education, at the same time, education has functioned as an assimilation tool, overshadowing their cultures and, in some cases, bringing their language into extinction (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 68). Schooling has, thus, endangered the connection of generations of Sámi people with their world views, traditional knowledge, and social networks (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 68). In Finland, the national collective objectives to strengthen the national identity and Finnish language led to abuse of power and efforts to assimilate Sámi people into the mainstream culture (Keskitalo et al., 2016). This can be viewed as cultural colonialism. While for the majority, these aspirations of a strong nation may appear as modernization, for indigenous minorities, it shows as colonization. (Keskitalo et al., 2016)
The Sámi people are native to the area that is now Finland, with a number still residing in Sápmi, which in Finland is known as the Lapland. However, most are scattered throughout the Nordic States (Keskitalo, 2012). The colonial practice of assimilation through attempted Christianization in the middle ages, which heightened in the 17th century, resulted in the loss or deterioration of many traditions, languages, and the culture of Sámi people (Kallio & Länsman, 2018). With the occurrence of the Second World War, the Sami were left without any education for several years which affected literacy rates and ability to pass down their language (Keskitalo, 2012). At the conclusion of the war, there was a push for a homogenous national identity in Finland. The developing Finnish education system was used to implement this ideal, classifying the Sámi as “other”,even referring to them as a “disappearing people” (Kallio & Länsman, 2018, p.4). Sámi children were taken from their communities to Finnish residential schools through which they were forced to assimilate and punished if they did not conform. This resulted in the further loss of language and cultural identity that newer generations are still having difficulty recovering (Kallio & Länsman, 2018).
Despite the long history of the Sámi people in Finland, the forced assimilation policies and colonial practices of the country are hardly mentioned, if at all, in Finnish schools (Kuokkanen, 2020). While some schools have taught [in] the Sámi language, switching between Finnish, since the late 18th century, the language was not officially taught in comprehensive schools until the end of the 20th century (Keskitalo et al., 2012). Paksuniemi and Keskitalo (2019, p. 76) state that the Finnish school system and curriculum should be modified to strengthen Sámi education. Related to language, the authors argue that Sámi language class teaching should be implemented in the whole country, as many pupils live outside the Sámi Homeland Area (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, pp. 75-76). The proportion of the Sámi people in Finland living outside their homeland area is over 60% (Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät, 2021). In Finland, three different Sámi languages are spoken, but all of them are endangered (Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät, 2021). Even though the language is not widely spoken, many of the Sámi youth consider it an essential advantage, especially concerning employment opportunities (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, pp. 75-76).
Another challenge that many of the Sámi youth encounter are long distances as some leave their homes to continue their schooling at the secondary level. The distances in northern Finland are far, and the educational opportunities after completing primary school are fewer. There is also a change of cultural environment creating the need for more support, as these young people are far away from their usual surroundings, friends, and families. Enhancing cultural understanding may make these transitions more fluent (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019). In a study conducted in 2017 by Rahko-Ravantti, the Sámi primary school pupils in the Sámi Homeland area were generally happy with their studies and teachers. However, some Sámi students living in cities have been bullied and discriminated against because of their heritage, and the issues have not been sufficiently addressed in the schools (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 74, referring to Rahko-Ravantti, 2017).
Moreover, due to their ethnicity, Sámi teachers have reported feelings of otherness at schools. This is unfortunate, especially while Sámi teachers have additional pressure besides the standard expectations to ensure the protection of language and culture (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 74) Looking at Sámi education from the teachers’ perspectives provides us with new aspects of what should be considered in educational development. Sámi teachers may have alternative visions for their teaching which the official structures in Finland may constrain. The lack of opportunities for Sámi teachers to influence the curriculum planning creates barriers for implementing Sámi education in the way the teachers would wish (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 74). For example, experiential learning would be an essential part of teaching as it allows the involvement of local indigenous knowledge as part of the education (Paksuniemi & Keskitalo, 2019, p. 73).
Challenges and opportunities in Sámi Education in Sweden and Norway
The Sámi in Sweden and Norway today face similar struggles as the Sámi in Finland, trying to overcome the effects of decades of oppression and separation. Looking at the number of active speakers of the Sámi language (~20,000) compared to the Sámi population (~80-100,000), we can see that only about a quarter of all Sámi still speak their native language. Nearly all of them are bilingual, also speaking the official language of the country that they live in (Samiskt informationscentrum, n.d.). Furthermore, the majority of Sámi speak Northern Sámi, while the other languages only have a few hundred speakers each (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2021). As Norway and Sweden have the largest Sámi populations with over 20,000 in Sweden and over 50,000 in Norway, according to current estimates (Samiskt informationscentrum, n.d.), it is also worth looking at the recent developments of Sámi school politics in both countries.
Nomad Sámi schools were introduced in Sweden in 1913 for the children of reindeer herders who would later join the same profession. The goal was to exclude the reindeer herding Sámis from mainstream society while other Sámis, categorized as non-reindeer herders, were to be assimilated and lose their Sámi identity altogether (Nilsson, 2019). Although the schools were opened to all Sámi children in 1918, the focus of the schools remained on reindeer herding and a nomadic lifestyle. Most Sámi children were still sent to Sámi boarding schools which were governed by the Swedish government and acted as assimilation facilities to integrate the Sámi into Swedish society and eliminate the Sámi language and culture. The students were made to believe that the Sámi people were inferior to the Christian population of the three Nordic countries and that they must therefore obey the national governments who ‘rightfully’ took control of Sápmi (Partida, n.d.).
The Sámi boarding schools in Sweden and Norway operated up until the 1960s. During this time, the Sámi students at these schools were kept away from their families and forced to only speak the official language of the country, i.e. Swedish or Norwegian. With the disintegration of the boarding schools, the Sámi slowly regained their autonomy, increased their visibility on a political level, and strengthened their collective identity across country borders (Todal, 2003). In turn, this resulted in the creation of the Sameskolstyrelsen (Sámi School Board) in Sweden in 1981, and the Sametinget (Sámi Parliament), 1989 in Norway and 1993 in Sweden. Additionally, the Sámi Parliament functions as a supreme political body representing the Sámi in Finland (Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät, 2022). It was founded in 1996, following the Sámi delegation operating in 1973-1995 (Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät, 2022).
One goal of the Sametinget in Sweden is to increase the use of the Sámi language in Sápmi and in Sweden. According to their language policy action program, the Sametinget wants the Sámi language to be the official language of Sápmi and all Sámi should be able to learn and speak their language. The increased use of the language should reinforce the Sámi identity and create a feeling of unity among the Sámi people across all of Sápmi. Furthermore, they envision that all Sámi should have access to all essential services in their own language, as well as all levels of education (Sametinget, 2016).
The Sameskolstyrelsen, together with the Sametinget of Sweden, oversees the Swedish Sameskola which used to be the Nomad Sámi school but expanded its curriculum to different Sámi practices besides reindeer herding and regular school subjects from a Sámi perspective, i.e. the learning is experience-based and in the Sámi language (Sameskolstyrelsen, 2022b). According to the Sameskolstyrelsen (2022a), its vision for early Sámi education is to familiarize its students with the Sámi language and practices and for them to grow a natural desire to learn which is rooted in Sámi culture and history. As envisioned by the Sameskolstyrelsen, after sixth grade, which is the last grade of the elementary school in Sweden, students of the Sameskola would move on to regular Swedish secondary institutions as proud, bilingual Sámi. For Sámi students that cannot attend the Sameskola, the Sameskolstyrelsen also offers ‘Integrerad samisk undervisning’ which includes classes in Sámi languages and practices that students can participate in next to their regular Swedish elementary education (Sameskolstyrelsen, 2021). Additionally, the Samernas utbildningscentrum in Jokkmokk, Sweden, offers schooling in Sámi languages, traditions, and crafts to older students and adults to build upon Sameskolstyrelsen’s vision of strengthening the Sámi identity and passing on their knowledge to the next generation (Samernas utbildningscentrum, n.d.).
In Norway, the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Kautokeino which, like the Norwegian Sametinget, was founded in 1989, provides the Sámi with university-level classes and degree programs, including Sámi teacher education, tailored to their needs (Samisk Høgskole, 2021). To increase the number of Sámi language teachers, the Sámi Parliament in Norway gives out grants to students who choose Sámi language and teacher education programmes (Smed Olsen et al., 2020). Overall, the goal of the Sámi University of Applied Sciences is to provide the Sámi people with an institution of higher education and research taught in their own language. In addition, the university also offers language courses and other smaller programmes taught in English and Norwegian to a non-Sámi audience which increases the visibility of the Sámi and promotes the use of the Sámi language across Norway and other Nordic countries (Samisk Høgskole, 2021).
While such initiatives are currently being taken by the Sámi Parliaments in the two Scandinavian countries to improve the conditions in education for the Sámi, there is still more to be done. Some of the main goals formulated by the Sámi Parliament and the Sameskolstyrelsen in Sweden, i.e. to increase confidence and pride of the Sámi Youth in their culture and language (Sameskolstyrelsen, 2022a), have been the focus of Nordregio’s 2020 study on the Sámi Youth perspective in education and the labor market. It should be mentioned though, that Nordregio was established by the Nordic Council of Ministers and is a part of the statistical office of the European Union (Nordregio, 2021). The results show that because of the aforementioned measures, young Sámis, whether they live in or outside of Sápmi, have been able to strengthen their connection to their cultural heritage through reclaiming their language and Sámi-centered early education. Additionally, the demand for employees with knowledge of the Sámi language has grown, especially in public services which has had a significant positive effect on the visibility, relevance, and as a result, the confidence of the Sámi people (Smed Olsen et al., 2020).
Nonetheless, Sweden and Norway still have a long way to go. Using Sweden as an example, its history of colonial practices and assimilationist policies enforcing stereotypes, categorizing, and enforcing its own definition of identifying who is legally considered Sámi has had a detrimental impact on the Sámi population (Nilsson, 2019). The issue of the reconciliation process has been debated for years and the Swedish Government rejected the proposal for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2018 (Kuokkanen, 2020). A commission has since been assigned in November 2021 (Truth Commission in Sweden, 2021) but as of the publication of this article, none has been appointed yet.
The Sámi and Finnish Institutions and Society
There continues to exist traces of colonialism in the provision of Sámi education. Firstly, there appears to still be a discomfort in the admittance or discussion of colonial practices and treatment of the Sámi people. Some [Finnish] historians and even the Finnish Ministry of Justice in 2006 have made statements against accusations of colonial practices/injustices, for example, subjugation, and the annexation of Sámi land, as well as denying there ever being ethnic discrimination (Spangen et al., 2015). This is important to note because in order for there to be structural and institutional change it is vital that those in power acknowledge historical injustices and address these issues. There continues to be a lack of public knowledge and awareness concerning Sámi society and colonial history (Kuokkanen, 2020). Sámi children are also not taught about their own history in schools. Furthermore, over the years there has been a rising anti-Sámi sentiment often in response to recent Sámi efforts to claim their rights (Kuokkanen, 2020).
It has not been until 2019 that a proposal for a reconciliation commission in Finland was accepted (Kuokkanen, 2020) and on 28th October 2021, this Truth and Reconciliation Commission was finally appointed (Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concerning the Sámi People - Prime Minister’s Office, n.d.). Some of the Commission’s goals/intent is to look into, expose, and increase awareness of the Sámi people, their history, and the discrimination and injustices against them (Library of Congress, 2021). So far, the lack of knowledge or awareness amongst state and municipal authorities on the Sámi language, culture, or history has made implementing and putting policies into practice difficult (Keskitalo, 2012). For now, only time will tell if these goals will be achieved and lead to improvements in Sámi education both for teaching Sámi children and to educating the general public on the culture and history involving the Sámi (Kuokkanen, 2020).
With the creation of Finland’s first constitution in 1919, only Finnish and Swedish became recognized as official languages (Tandefelt, 1993). While only about 5% of the population in Finland speaks Swedish (Official Statistics of Finland, 2018), there is still a clear effort in accommodating and incorporating the language. In many places, services are provided in both Finnish and Swedish, but not in the Sámi language. Finnish-Swedes are another minority of Finland, but one with much more visibility (Tandefelt, 1993). Government, services, and resources are conducted and provided in Swedish, and proficiency in the language is a requirement for some positions (InfoFinland, 2021). There has even been legislation passed providing language rights in 1919 and mandating the teaching of the Swedish language in schools (Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2013). Yet, there were no such rights and protections for the Sámi until The Sámi Language Act in 1992. This raises the question of why the same effort to include the Swedish language in the system (i.e. health services, banking, education, etc.) is not applied in accommodating and providing services to the Sámi people. Despite being native to the lands that now form the Nordic countries, the Sámi have historically been left in marginalized positions in the institutions. The independence of and establishment of Finland as a country is an example of this, where the Sámi were, as described by Kallio & Länsman (2018), “systematically excluded from nation-building projects” (p. 4).
Conclusions
In this article, we have covered some challenges and possible solutions related to the educational opportunities of the Sámi people. In all the Nordic countries discussed in this article, there were similarities in the history where the governments enforced policies to assimilate the Sámi people, their language, and culture into the mainstream societies. Schooling played a key role in these processes. It should also be noted that as of 2022 neither Sweden nor Finland has ratified the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 169 on Indigenous Rights which includes several sections referencing the provision of education for indigenous peoples (International Labour Organization, n.d.).
Furthermore, the Sámi languages, which the Sámi Parliaments want to become the official language of Sápmi, still only has the status of a minority language in Sweden and Finland and is treated as such. Without access to necessary resources in the Sámi language and without the recognition by the majority group, the Sámi people face additional challenges in regaining their autonomy. After being the cause of many of the Sámi peoples’ struggles throughout history, the national governments of the Nordic countries should take responsibility in accommodating the Sámi and addressing these challenges. While the education system has historically contributed to the exclusion of the Sámi, moving forward, education can still be used as a positive tool in addressing the issues surrounding Sámi rights and education. Many of the steps taken by the Nordic countries in supporting Sámi rights and education are still fairly recent, so further research would be needed to assess how well the expectations of these changes meet the reality and the experiences of the Sámi people.
References
Institutet för språk och folkminnen (2021, June 8). Samiska. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.isof.se/lar-dig-mer/kunskapsbanker/lar-dig-mer-om-nationella-minoritetssprak/samiska
International Labour Organization. (n.d.). Ratifications of C169 - Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). NORMLEX. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/nor/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:11300:0::NO:11300:P11300_INSTRUMENT_ID:312314:NO
Kallio, A. A., & Länsman, H. (2018). Sami re-imaginings of equality in/through extracurricular arts education in Finland. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 19(7). https://doi.org/10.18113/P8ijea1907
Keskitalo, P., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012). Sámi education in Finland. Early Child Development and Care, 182(3–4), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2011.646723
Keskitalo, P. P. K., Nyyssönen, J., Paksuniemi, M., Turunen, T. A., Linkola, I. A., & McIntosh, L. (2016). Saamelaisten ja Australian alkuperäiskansojen kouluhistorian erityispiirteet. Ennen ja nyt: Historian tietosanomat, (3).
Kuokkanen, R. (2020). Reconciliation as a Threat or Structural Change? The Truth and Reconciliation Process and Settler Colonial Policy Making in Finland. Human Rights Review, 21(3), 293–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-020-00594-x
Lehtola, V.-P. (2015). Sámi Histories, Colonialism, and Finland. Arctic Anthropology. Volume. 52, no. 2. 22-36. https://www.velipekkalehtola.fi/UserFiles/files/ArcticAnthropology%20Lehtola%281%29.pdf doi: 10.3368/aa.52.2.22.
Library of Congress. (2021). Finland: Sami Truth and Reconciliation Commission Established. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2021-11-18/finland-sami-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-established/
Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. (2013). The Swedish language in education in Finland (2nd Edition). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED565356.pdf
Nilsson, R. (2019). The Consequences of Swedish National Law on Sámi Self-Constitution: The Shift from a Relational Understanding of Who Is Sámi Toward a Rights-Based Understanding. Ethnopolitics, 19(3), 292–310. https://doi.org/10.10/17449057.2019.1644779
Nordregio. (2021, October 5). Nordregio is now an official research entity of Eurostat. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://nordregio.org/nordregio-is-now-an-official-research-entity-of-eurostat/
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Population structure [e-publication]. (2018) Appendix table 1. Population according to language 1980–2018. Helsinki: Statistics Finland. Retrieved: 14.1.2022. Access method:http://www.stat.fi/til/vaerak/2018/vaerak_2018_2019-03-29_tau_001_en.html ISSN=1797-5395.
Paksuniemi, M. and Keskitalo, P. (2019). Introduction to the Finnish educational system. Brill Sense. https://ebookcentral-proquest com.pc124152.oulu.fi:9443/lib/oulu-ebooks/reader.action?docID=5652183&ppg=84
Partida, R. (n.d.). Suffering Through the Education System: The Sami Boarding Schools. Sami Culture. Retrieved January 9, 2022, from https://www.laits.utexas.edu/sami/dieda/hist/suffer-edu.htm
Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät. (2021, April 14). Saamelaiset Suomessa. Samediggi.
Sámediggi, Saamelaiskäräjät. (2022, January 17). Ydintehtävä. Samediggi.
Samernas Utbildningscentrum (n.d.). Om Skolan. Retrieved January 14, 2022, from https://samernas.se/index.php/om-skolan/
Sameskolstyrelsen (2021). Årsredovisning 2021. https://sameskolstyrelsen.se/app/upl/2022/02/Sameskolstyrelsen-A%CC%8Arsredovisning-2021.pdf
Sameskolstyrelsen (2022a, January 13). Sameskolstyrelsens vision. Retrieved January 14, 2022, from https://sameskolstyrelsen.se/skola-utbildning/sameskolstyrelsens-vision/
Sameskolstyrelsen (2022b, February 16). Sameskolan. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://sameskolstyrelsen.se/skola-utbildning/sameskolan/
Sametinget. (2016). SAMETINGETS SPRÅKPOLITISKA HANDLINGSPROGRAM.
Samisk Høgskole (2021, April 16). Om Samisk høgskole. Retrieved January 14, 2022, from https://samas.no/nb/om-hogskolen
Samiskt informationscentrum (n.d.). Samerna i siffror. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from http://samer.se/samernaisiffror
Smed Olsen, L., Löfving, L., Paavola, J., and Grelck, J. (2020). Sámi Youth Perspectives, Education and the Labour Market. Nordregio. https://doi.org/10.6027/R2020:5.1403-2503
Spangen, M., Salmi, A. K., Aikas, T., & Lehtola, V. P. (2015). Sami Histories, Colonialism, and Finland. Arctic Anthropology, 52(2), 22–36. https://doi.org/10.3368/aa.52.2.22
Tandefelt, Marika. (1993). Finland (SF). Sociolinguistica. 7(1). 218-228. De Gryter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110245127.218
Todal, J. (2003). The Sami School System in Norway and International Cooperation. Comparative Education, 39(2), 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050060302550
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concerning the Sámi People - Prime Minister’s Office. (n.d.). Valtioneuvoston Kanslia. https://vnk.fi/en/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-concerning-the-sami-people
Truth Commission in Sweden. (2021). Sametinget. https://www.sametinget.se/truth-commission
댓글