Narratives of Sámi School History in Finland: The Histories of Assimilation Made Visible

Abstract

This article analyses narratives that have been produced about the Sámi school experience in Finland. The sources consist of studies in Sámi school history and history of education in Finland, as well as in pedagogical studies made since the 1980s, comparing the narratives found in each case. The narrative of assimilation dominates the field for good, historically verifiable reasons. This genre of studies is contextualised and discussed in relation to the national development of Sámi tuition, the Sámi movement and international studies of history of education. The late emergence of this genre in Finland is evident in the approaches to bringing these affecting and usable histories to light, while the multiplicity of the historical voices in this field is only now emerging.

Keywords

• Sámi school history
• Finland
• narratives
• assimilation
• historiography
• history of education