Kautokeino rebellion
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TheSámi revolt in Guovdageaidnu,also known as theKautokeino uprising,was a revolt in the village ofKautokeinoinKautokeino Municipalityin northern Norway in 1852 by a group ofSámiwho attacked representatives of the Norwegian authorities. The rebels killed the local merchant and the locallensmann,whipped their servants and the village priest, and burned down the merchant's house. The rebels were later seized by other Sámi, who killed two of the rebels in the process. Two of the leaders,Mons SombyandAslak Hætta,were later executed by the Norwegian government.[1]
Background
[edit]The incident was connected to a religious revival movement that was inspired by the preacherLars Levi Laestadius.His teaching, which had great influence on the Sámi in Norway at the time, demanded a more spiritually pure lifestyle and abstaining fromalcohol.The movement turned more militant as their followers, calledLaestadians,saw theNorwegian State Churchas too close to the state-run alcohol industry. They formed their own congregations separate from the state church. In a short period of time, a minority of these followers became more militant.[citation needed]They believed theirmoral authoritywas greater than that of the state church, and they were later accused of interrupting its services.
During this time, the Sámi were economicallyfar poorerthan theNorwegiansettlers in the north, countingwealthinreindeeror otherlivestock(rather than currency), and they were considered socially inferior to the Norwegians. The local merchant, who sold the local Sámi liquor, was a target for the rebellion due to his repeated cheating and exploitation of Sámi customers, many of whom were vulnerable alcoholics.Alcoholismwas widespread and had been highly destructive to the Sámi and their culture during this time. The Laestadians were against the sale and use of liquor. Thus, the Sámi were at odds not only with the local priest and merchant but also Norwegian law.[2]
Aftermath
[edit]All the men arrested for participating in the revolt - except the two leadersAslak HættaandMons Somby(who were beheaded inAlta) - ended up inAkershus Fortressat Oslo. The women, includingEllen Aslaksdatter Skum,were imprisoned inTrondheim.Many of the rebels died after a few years in captivity. Among the survivors wasLars Hætta,who had been 18 years old at the time of imprisonment. He was given the time and means in jail to make the first translation of theBibleintoNorthern Sámi.[3]
The Kautokeino rebellion was one of the few violent reactions by the Sámi against the exploitation policies of the Norwegian government and was the only known confrontation between Sámis and Norwegians with loss of human lives. The rebellion was not a direct response to theforced assimilationpolicy ofNorwegianizationthat later became an official government policy, but the 1852 rebellion affected the choices made by the new Norwegian state as this policy was implemented.[4]
The operaAslak Hetta(1922) by Finnish composer,Armas Launistells the story of the rebellion in somewhat romanticized form.[5]
See also
[edit]- The Kautokeino Rebellion- 2008 film about the 1852 riots
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- NRK Radio interviewNiillas Somby,descendant ofMons SombyNovember 13, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2009.[1].
- Kautokeino-opprøret: Kautokeino 1852,April 17, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2009.Dagogtid.no