Norwegianization

Norwegianization (Fornorsking av samer) was an official policy carried out by the Norwegian government directed at the Sami and later the Kven people of northern Norway to assimilate non-Norwegian-speaking native populations into an ethnically and culturally uniform Norwegian population.

The practice has roots in missionary programs of the 1700s, but formally began as official government policy in the late 1800s. Laws were passed prohibiting schooling in the Sami language, and restricting the rights of Sami speakers to purchase land. The laws were motivated by Norwegian nationalism and also by religious differences between Sami and the Norwegian population (Sami practicing animism and polytheism, while the Lutheran Church of Norway is the official state religion). As late as the 1950s, Sami people were widely regarded as mentally handicapped, thus justifying paternalist laws and policy: 'In the folk consensus from 1950, Samis were classified in the same category as the “mentally disabled” and “insane”.'

The Norwegianization policy was discontinued in the 1980s and reparations were made in the form of financial support for Sámediggi, the Sami Parliament of Norway, and other related programs. In 1997, the King of Norway, HM King Harald V made an official apology on behalf of the government to the Sami and Kven People because of this government program:

The state of Norway was founded on the territory of two peoples - the Sámi people and the Norwegians. Sámi history is closely intertwined with Norwegian history. Today, we express our regret on behalf of the state for the injustice committed against the Sámi people through its harsh policy of Norwegianization.

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