Gustav Fridtjof Lund (18 April 1862 – 26 February 1912) was a Norwegian Sámi travelling preacher, known as the "sled preacher". In 1898, he became the first editor-in-chief of the '' Nuorttanaste'' Christian newspaper, which is currently the longest-running Northern Sámi-language publication in the world.

Early life

Lund was born in Talvik,

Alta Alta or ALTA may refer to: Acronyms * Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage * American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry * American Literary Translators Associatio ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, to a Kven-speaking family. His parents died when he was young and he was raised by his grandparents until he was sent at age seven to live with a foster family in the village of where

Northern Sámi Northern or North Sámi ( ; se, davvisámegiella ; fi, pohjoissaame ; no, nordsamisk; sv, nordsamiska; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the ...

was spoken. He attended a

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

in Alta with the hope of eventually becoming a teacher, but he lacked the money for further education. He apprenticed as a carpenter in

Vardø ( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administra ...

before moving to

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

to take up fishing. Lund met Hansine Pettersen from Gildeskål there and they married in 1888.

Sled preacher

After the birth of his son, Ferdinand, in 1889, Lund became more active in the

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, or the Free Church as it is commonly known ( no, Den Evangelisk Lutherske Frikirke, shortened ''Frikirken''), is a nationwide Lutheran church in Norway, consisting of 83 congregations and 21,817 baptised memb ...

, working with the Bodø preacher Ole A. Schulstad to translate hymns and other material into Northern Sámi. In 1892, the Free Church established a group to evangelize among the Sámi, and Lund was made a travelling preacher due, in part, to his knowledge of both Northern Sámi and Kven. He was called the "sled preacher" (''gielkábáhppan'' in Northern Sámi) because he used a

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...

to carry devotional books and treaties on his travels. Lund felt that written material was an important way to connect with people across Sápmi so he founded the newspaper '' Nuorttanaste'', originally using a hand press to print issues. In 1902, he acquired a larger printing press and installed it in his home in

Sigerfjord Sigerfjord is a village in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the island of Hinnøya by the entrance to the Sigerfjorden. The village of Strand and the Sortland Bridge are located about to the north. ...

, where it remained in use until his death in 1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lund, Gustav Fridtjof Norwegian Sámi people Sámi church life 1862 births 1912 deaths People from Alta, Norway