Colonisation of Sápmi

In Sápmi, spanning over parts of today's Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia live the Sámi nation. For many hundreds of years they develop their culture. They live off hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding and move across large areas. Their religion is the Sámi faith. They do meet people from other nations when they trade, but they do not belong to a state, and they don't pay taxes.

But a lot will change for the Sámi. In the 1300s, Swedish, Danish, and Russian kings start taking an interest in the northernmost areas. They set borders between the countries and start to demand tax from the people in those areas. Since many Sámi move over large areas, they are sometimes taxed by three states. The Swedish-Finnish, the Danish-Norwegian, and the Russian.

The kings also want the Sámi to become Christian, and the first churches in Sápmi are built. Priests are sent to the area to spread the Christian faith. In the 14 and 1500s, Swedish and Danish kings declare that the laws of their states apply to the Sápmi areas. The 17th century is a difficult time for the Sámi. In 1634, silver is discovered in Nasafjell mountain, near the border between Sweden and Norway.

Sweden is at war and needs all the income it can get to pay for its armies. They set up a silver mine and force the Sámi in the area to work there. They have to transport the mined ore. The Sámi do get a salary, but it's small, and when they are forced into labour, they can no longer carry out their normal work, like caring for their reindeer herds. The Sámi who refuse to work are brutally punished.

Many Sámi flee the hard slave labor and escape across the border to Norway. The mine of Nasafjell operates for 25 years, but does not yield a lot of silver. It is a failure for the Swedish state and a catastrophe for the Sámi. Meanwhile, religious oppression is intensifying. Attempts to make the Sámi Christian continue with increasingly harsh methods.

The Sámi religious leaders, the noaidi, are forbidden to play their drums. Drums are burned, and many sacred places are destroyed. The Sámi are forced to attend sermons and take communion. Gunill Jonsdotter refuses, and she is accused and found guilty of witchcraft. This is one of many cruel witch trials against the Sámi during the 17th century.

Lars Nilsson in Arjeplog is caught trying to resurrect his drowned son by playing his drum. He is punished and burned at the stake. In the 18th and the 19th centuries, oppression is milder. But conflicts between the Sámi and settlers from the south often occur. As more and more land is developed for agriculture, the Sámi and their reindeer herds are forced to move.

In the 1900s, the Swedish state constructs plants to generate electricity from the large rivers. Sámi reindeer grazing areas are flooded and destroyed. Sámi children go to school, but there they are banned from speaking their own languages. These are just a few examples of how the Sámi culture and language are increasingly being pushed aside. The Sámi on the Kola Peninsula in present-day Russia, have a particularly hard time.

During the 20th century when Russia is part of the Soviet Union, a brutal dictatorship, the borders are closed. The Sámi in the east can no longer meet their relatives further west. Life in communist Soviet Union is poor and harshly oppressive. During the era of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, many of the non-Russian nations are looked upon as enemies of the state. Many Sámi are murdered or sent to prison camps.

Today, the Sámi are recognized as an indigenous nation, and their languages are given status as official minority languages in several countries. This means that they have the right to learn, develop, and use their Sámi language. Both the Swedish government and the Norwegian king have apologized for how the Sámi have been treated throughout history. But the memories of the brutal treatment of the Sámi live on, and many Sámi want to tell the stories of what their ancestors had to go through when Sápmi was colonized.