Per Fokstad
Encyclopedia
Per Fokstad was a teacher, politician, and intellectual of Sami
origin from Norway, and a pioneer in the fight for the use of the Sami languages
in Norwegian schools.
. His parents were yard workers in Bonakas
in Tana (Deatnu). The language used in the family's household was Sami, and Per, who was the youngest of five, didn't know Norwegian when he began school. He started school as a 19 year old at Tromsø's teacher college, and took his examination there in 1912. The same fall, he began as a teacher at Norskholmen skole in his home municipality of Tana. In the following ten years, he would take a leave of absence for further studies, three of the times in countries other than Norway.
For the 1915-1916 school year, he studied at Askov folk high school in Denmark
. In the fall of 1917, he studied the violin in Oslo. From 1919 to 1920, he studied at Woodbrooke College in Birmingham
, England
. The year after, he was at the Institut du pantheon de France in Paris
, where he first discovered Henri Bergson
s philosophy.
Even in his first published article in 1917, he was fighting for Sami language training in school. At a conference in 1919 he was the architect behind a resolution that required:
He followed up the idea with an article in 1923, and with a detailed report on The parliamentarian school commission (1923–1926). In 1937, together with headmaster M. Bremer, a «cultural institute for the Sami
».
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
origin from Norway, and a pioneer in the fight for the use of the Sami languages
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
in Norwegian schools.
Biography
Fokstad was born in Tana, FinnmarkFinnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
. His parents were yard workers in Bonakas
Bonakas
Bonakas is a village in Tana municipality, Finnmark.Historically, Bonakas has been inhabited by the Sámi and Kven, more recently also newcomers from the more southern parts of Norway and Finland. However, Tana municipality, unlike Porsanger, has not declared Kven an official language....
in Tana (Deatnu). The language used in the family's household was Sami, and Per, who was the youngest of five, didn't know Norwegian when he began school. He started school as a 19 year old at Tromsø's teacher college, and took his examination there in 1912. The same fall, he began as a teacher at Norskholmen skole in his home municipality of Tana. In the following ten years, he would take a leave of absence for further studies, three of the times in countries other than Norway.
For the 1915-1916 school year, he studied at Askov folk high school in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. In the fall of 1917, he studied the violin in Oslo. From 1919 to 1920, he studied at Woodbrooke College in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The year after, he was at the Institut du pantheon de France in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he first discovered Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
s philosophy.
Even in his first published article in 1917, he was fighting for Sami language training in school. At a conference in 1919 he was the architect behind a resolution that required:
- That the Sami language should be studied for the first three school years.
- That all teaching about Sami religionSami peopleThe Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
should be done in the Sami language. - Introducing Norwegian as a foreign language.
He followed up the idea with an article in 1923, and with a detailed report on The parliamentarian school commission (1923–1926). In 1937, together with headmaster M. Bremer, a «cultural institute for the Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
».