Maria Katrina Stenberg (1 May 1884 - 23 March 1969), commonly known as Karin Stenberg, was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

teacher and activist in the early Sami unification movement in Sweden.

Biography

Karin Stenberg was born in 1884 in Árraksuoloj,

Arvidsjaur Municipality Arvidsjaur Municipality ( sv, Arvidsjaurs kommun; sju, Árviesjávrrien kommuvdna) is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is Arvidsjaur. History Arvidsjaur Municipality was for a long time inhabited only by the ...

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

, to Maria Mattsdotter Stenberg (born 1851) and Jon Nilsson Stenberg (born 1845). Her parents were both Forest Sami from the ''

siida The siida is a Sámi local community that has existed from time immemorial. A ''siida'' ( se, siida; smn, sijdâ; sma, sïjte; smj, tjiellde; sjd, сыййт, translit=syjjt; sjt, се̄ййп, italic=no, translit=siejjp; sms, paalǥâskå ...

'' (Sami community) of Västra Kikkejaur in Arvidsjaur. Stenberg studied at the Sami school for primary school teachers in Mattisudden,

Jokkmokk Municipality Jokkmokk Municipality (, fi, Jokimukan kunta, se, Johkamohkki gielda, fit, Jokinmukka) is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Jokkmokk. The name ''Jokkmokk'' is Sami for the words "river" and "bend", ...

, graduating in 1904. She spent her entire professional career working as a teacher in Arvidsjaur. In addition to teaching, Stenberg was an active supporter of Sami issues, especially those relating to the Forest Sami. In 1905, she traveled to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

to attend what has been called the "First folk education course for Samis" (''Samernas första folkbildningskurs''), which was financed in part by politicians

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

and

Anna Lindhagen Anna Lindhagen (7 April 1870 in Stockholm – 15 May 1941 in Stockholm) was a Swedish politician (Social Democrat), social reformer and women's rights activist. In collaboration with Anna Åbergsson, she was a leading force in the introduction of ...

. In 1916, she helped found a Sami association in Arvidsjaur. During Christmas of 1919, she joined several other representatives of the growing Sami movement in meeting with member of parliament Carl Lindhagen, who supported Sami rights. In 1920, she co-authored the manifesto ''Dat Läh Mijen Situd!: Det är vår vilja: En vädjan till Svenska Nationen från Samefolket'' (''This Is Our Wish: An Appeal to the Swedish Nation from the Sami People''). The purpose of the document was to influence the 1919 Lapp Committee, which was investigating Sami rights and the conditions of

reindeer herders Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

. In the 1930s, Stenberg led a project to save Arvidsjaur's old Sami ''kyrkstad'' or ''lappstan'' (a group of cabins used when visiting a church overnight), which was threatened by road construction. The ''lappstan'' is today preserved as a historical site. In 1942, Stenberg and Reverend

Gustav Park Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...

led an initiative to open the Sami Folk High School (

: ''Samernas Folkhögskola''), 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;'' ...

for the Sami in

Sorsele Sorsele (; sma, Suarsa; Ume Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Sorsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,277 inhabitants in 2010. Sorsele is also the nearest town to the ski resort Nalovardo. It is known ...

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bot ...

. The school is still in operation and has been known since 1999 as the Sami Education Center (Swedish: ''Samernas utbildningscentrum'',

: ''Sámij åhpadusguovdásj'') She was also a leader in the Sami organization Same Ätnam, which was founded in Jokkmokk in 1945. Stenberg received several awards over the course of her life, including the

Royal Patriotic Society The Royal Patriotic Society ( sv, Kungliga Patriotiska Sällskapet) is a Swedish royal society founded in 1772 in Stockholm, Sweden, by royal charter of King Gustav III of Sweden, with the aim of improving Sweden's economy, particularly agricult ...

's medal, the Olof Högberg Award, and the Swedish Craft Association's silver medal. She was also a member of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

, first class.

Biography

References

Further reading