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Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu
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The Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, also known as the Kautokeino Uprising, was a revolt in the town of Kautokeino in northern Norway in 1852 by a group of Sami who attacked representatives of the Norwegian authorities. The rebels killed the local merchant and sheriff, whipped their servants and burned the merchant's house. The rebels were later seized by other Sami, during which two of the rebels were killed.
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Encyclopedia
The Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, also known as the Kautokeino Uprising, was a revolt in the town of Kautokeino in northern Norway in 1852 by a group of Sami who attacked representatives of the Norwegian authorities. The rebels killed the local merchant and sheriff, whipped their servants and burned the merchant's house. The rebels were later seized by other Sami, during which two of the rebels were killed. Later, two leaders, Mons Somby and Aslak Hætta were executed by the Norwegian government.
Background
The background for this incident was connected to a religious revival movement which was inspired by the preacher Lars Levi Læstadius. His teaching had great influence on the Sami in Norway at the time, which demanded a more spiritually pure lifestyle and abandoning alcohol and liquor. The movement turned more militant as their followers, called Læstadians, as they saw the Norwegian State Church being too close to the government, alcohol industry and formed their own congregations separate from the State Church. Their meetings were, according to contemporary sources, highly charismatic, emotional, and pleaded to their feelings. In a short period of time, the minority of these followers became more militant believing that they had a higher moral authority over the State Church, and were later accused of interrupting these Church services.
During this time, the Sami were economically far more poorer than their Norwegian neighbors, counting wealth in their reindeer or livestock (rather than currency) and were considered socially inferior to the Norwegians. The local merchant, who sold the local Sami liquor, was a target for the rebellion for his wide-spread cheating and exploitation of Sami customers, many of whom were vulnerable alcoholics. Alcoholism was common - and had been highly destructive to the Sami and Sami culture during this time. The Laestadians were against the sale and use of liquor, but preaching outside of the Church - both physically and spiritually, was also illegal during this time. Thus, the Sami became at odds, not only with the priest and merchant - but Norwegian law as well.
Aftermath
The Kautokeino rebellion is one of the few violent reactions from the Sami against the exploitation policies enforced by the Norwegian government and was the only known confrontation between the Sami and Norwegian with loss of human lives. The rebellion was not a direct response to the forced assimilation policy of Norwegianization, that will become an official government policy later, but the 1852 rebellion had an impact on the choices made by the new Norwegian state as this policy was implemented. Norway had yet to develop enough cultural self-esteem to assimilate the Sami into ethnic Norwegians, as they themselves were struggling to find their own identity during this time, compared with Danes and Swedes.
However, Norwegianization would greatly intensify after the Dissolution of the Union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. This policy will continue until the early 1980s until the Alta controversy and was not fully eliminated until the 1990s.
See also
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