Kautokeino Rebellion - Norwegian Partners

Why we chose this film

The film provides background information about the contrast modern state – traditional economy. The cultural differences and the conflicts of interest are still there today and we all need to be aware of the diversity.

In the film both cultures are described, the different way of life is very clear. Also some of the dramatic scenes in the film comes from misinterpretations of the cultures and the different power structures in the two cultures. 

The film contains many different perspectives, and the cultural conflicts are seen from many angles such as nomadic life versus settlements, state versus a stateless society, oppression of a weaker ethnic group, religion and lifestyle. The conflicts reflect also our present society. The conflict of interest is still there and this actual incident was not actually solved until 1997 when the executed persons could rest in the local graveyard as was claimed by the Sámi people.

The film pictures strong personalities and there are no stereotypes.  The story is fort the first time presented from a Sámi point of view.

Due to the fact that the Sámi language was forbidden as a language of instruction until 1959 the situation is now that the majority of Sámi population no longer master the language and some even no not recognize their roots.

Today the Sámi people has obtained the rights as an indigenous nation and got the right to receive instruction in schools in their own language. The national curriculum is focusing on information about the Sámi culture and this knowledge is introduced to all children in Norway.

Kautokeino Rebellion    -  Pedagogical work

The film should be placed in a historic setting.
Industrialization in Norway started about 1850 and the cities were dominated by industry only late in the century. In 1850 the northern areas were scarcely populated and the economy in the northern parts of the country was based on fishing and hunting.

The establishment of the village of Kautokeino with representatives for the authorities and a trade station with a small hotel was an attempt from the national authorities to include the mountain plateau in the nation of Norway. One of the reasons for this was to secure the  borders to Finland and Russia and another reason was to control the growing religious movement of Læstadius.

In 1850 Kautokeino only consisted of a couple of houses and some sheds where the Sámi kept some of the goods they used for market days. About 9 families lived permanently in Kautokeino, there was a church, a vicar’s house and a school.

The conflict 

In 1846 the Swedish vicar  Læstadius sent a cuple of persons to Kautokeino to  held some charismatic sermons in the Sámi language. Some of the Sámi population declared themselves reborn and as a result they stopped drinking alcohol. One of these was the Mathis Jacobsen Hætta, married to Elen Aslaksdatter Skum, the lead woman in the film.

According to the Læstadius’ movement alcohol was forbidden, and some of the followers of the Læstadius’ movement considered themselves free from sin and as such true and independent children of God. They were speaking in trance and interpreted the Bible themselves. This led to confrontation with the church. They drew a clear distinction between “God’s law” and the law of the society,  and chose to follow the  la of God. In 1952 some of Sámi disturbed the religious confirmation service in the local church and they tried to convince the vicar to convert to the Læstadius’ belief. They were charged and imprisoned, but the problems between the two different groups continued.

The church sent a new vicar, Stockfleth, to Kautokeino. He had translated the new testament to Sámi and was highly respected by the Sámi population. However, this did not solve the matter. As he declared that he did not want to join the Læstadius movement, the Sámi considered him the devil’s representative and they no longer wanted to relate to him.

The church then turned to Læstadius himself and asked him to declare that he did not support the interpretation of the belief dominant among the Sámi, but Læstadius only blamed the church for not offering good enough instruction in religion. The situation calmed down and when the rebellion occurred in 1852 it came as a surprise. It was unusual in Norwegian history that a conflict of interest between the groups of population became this serious. Most of these conflicts were solved by peaceful means.

In September 1852 the authorities closed the border to Finland for national political reasons. This caused severe problems for the Sámi because they were dependant on herding their flocks over to the winter pastures in Finland. For them the national borders had no meaning and they had been using these pastures for centuries.

As seen in the film two persons were beheaded and their bodies were buried in the local graveyard. But the heads were not buried together with the bodies as was customary. The heads were sent to the capital city, Christiania, for racial research. Racial classification and research were common in those days. After some time the Sámi population demanded to get back the sculls, but this was denied. The scull of Aslak had been sent to Copenhagen in exchange for two Inuit sculls and there seemed to e some problem identify it. Finally in 1997 the sculls were returned and now rest in local soil.

In 1852 the loss of pastures, the attack on the traditional way of  living were the main reasons for this Sámi rebellion.

As a result of the conflict the national policy changed from a policy of cohabitation to a policy of assimilation.

 

A  historic event adapted to a film

The film is focusing on two persons from the same family and their destiny. Many persons were actually involved in the rebellion and 48 persons were charged. The filmmaker has chosen to present the issue through some main figures to be able to create a dramatic quality and not only present a descriptive documentary.

Alcohol

Perhaps it should also be mentioned that giving people their salary in alcohol was not uncommon in earlier times. Alcohol was cheaper than food.  Some years later a strong movement developed all over Norway challenging people to stop drinking alcohol. Our present system of state monopoly for selling alcohol and wines finds its roots in this movement.

How to use this film in the classroom? Some suggestions.

The film is suitable for the upper classes only. If shown to children with little understanding of historic periods it may create prejudice as the characters persons may be interpreted as primitive. 

 1.     Identify the different groups of people in the film and describe them, how do they live, clothes, work, behavior etc

 2.     Identify the different conflicts described in the film.

 3.     Decide which conflict is the main conflict.

 4.     This film is not a documentary. How would you classify the film?

 5.     This is the only incident of its kind in Norwegian history. Could the participating persons have solved the problem in another way. Give a reason for your answer.

 6.     How well do we get to know the characters such as Elen and the vicar. Do we see them in different kinds of situations? Comment on Elen and the vicar.

 7.     All filmatic effects can underline the impression we get of the characters in the film. Some can be centered and filmed in much light, others only in the darkness, this influences our interpretation of the characters. The first time we see Elen we see her face and she is looking into the camera when she is standing on the mountain plateau. The first time we see the priest we only see his back. Did you notice any other differences in the way the characters were presented in the film.

 8.     Which are the values Elen has and which are the values of the tradesman Ruth and the other Norwegians. Discuss how the film is presenting the values of the characters.