In the making of the modern Nordic states in the first half of the twentieth century, elementary education was paramount in creating a notion of citizenship that was universal and equal for all citizens. Yet these elementary education policies ignored, in most cases, the language, culture, wishes, and needs of minorities such as the indigenous Sámi.
Presenting the Sámi as an active, transnational population in early twentieth-century northern Europe, Otso Kortekangas examines how educational policies affected the Sámi people residing in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In this detailed study, Kortekangas explores what the arguments were for the lack of Sámi language in schools, how Sámi teachers have promoted the use of their mother tongue within the school systems, and how the history of the Sámi compares to other indigenous and minority populations globally.
Timely in its focus on educational policies in multiethnic societies, and ambitious in its scope, the book provides essential information for educators, policy-makers, and academics, as well as anyone interested in the history of education, and the relationship between large-scale government policies and indigenous peoples.

Otso Kortekangas is a researcher at the Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and the author of numerous publications on Sámi history and education.

Otso Kortekangas' profile page

Marianne Stenbaek's profile page

“[This book] grapples with conditions across the board in three neighbouring countries, allowing for useful comparative perspectives on their response to difference in education. Well written and easy to digest, the book combines a big-picture account with an in-depth engagement with the positions taken by Sámi teachers, who often inhabited the roles of debaters and activists. [It] will be valuable for the historical understanding of the dynamics that have impacted the peoples indigenous to the Nordic north and beyond.” *University of Toronto Quarterly *

“This important work brings to an English-language audience the educational history of an Indigenous group whose experience is highly relevant to other minority populations internationally. The voices of Sámi teachers and administrators are front and centre. This broadens our understanding of the agency of Indigenous peoples historically and helps the reader to recognize similarities and differences based on the contexts in which assimilation attempts occurred.” Frances Helyar, Lakehead University