Interview: "we won't be silenced" - Sámi language and literature
In this short video, Lill Tove Fredriksen, Associate Professor in Sámi Literature at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, discusses the Sámi language pre-, during and after Norwegianisation, taking four generations of her family’s women as a starting point.
Norwegianisation was the process implemented by the Norwegian state to assimilate ethnic minorities into the majority population and it lasted from around 1850 right up to 1950s. Policies included Norwegian being the dominant language in schools and Sámi children being sent to boarding schools. Lill Tove also discusses current political territorial struggles between, for example, Sámi reindeer husbandry and multinational mining companies, and whether the post-colonial lens is relevant to Sámi literature. Lill-Tove is interviewed by Nicola Witcombe, editor of nordics.info.
In the film, Lill Tove explains that she now lives and works in Tromsø, but she grew up in the municipality of Porsanger. These two places are shown on the map below: (Photo: Map of Norway with Tromsø and Porsanger marked, adapted from Wikimedia Commons).
Further reading:
- Henry Minde, 'Assimilation of the Sami - Implementation and Consequences'. Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi). (2005).
