''Muitalægje'' was the first newspaper to publish in a Sámi language. Launched in April 1873 in Čáhcesuolu, Norway, the paper published a total of 33 issues before folding in September 1875. The full title of the paper was ''Muittalægje Čuvgetusa Haliduvvidi Sámi Gaskast'' (Tales for Sámi Hungry for Education/Culture).

History

Inspired by the Sámi teacher Peder Larsen Ucce's appeal for a Sámi-language newspaper to support the education of Sámi people who were not benefiting from the state's

Norwegianization Norwegianization (''Fornorsking av samer'') was an official policy carried out by the Norwegian government directed at the Sámi and later the Kven people of northern Norway, in which the goal was to assimilate non-Norwegian-speaking native popula ...

policy, ''Muitalægje'' was founded by Northern Sámi-speaking Norwegian , the chief of police in

Buolbmát Polmak ( and ) is a village in Tana Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in Norway. The village is located on the south shore of the river Tana, just east of the border with Finland (and the northernmost point of Finland). The village is th ...

, who also wrote the majority of the paper's articles, teacher Johan Eriksen Soffa, and fisherman Samuel Samuelsen. Larsen served as co-editor of the paper. The paper's founders all belonged to Vieljažiid Searvi (The Brotherhood), an informal society of socially engaged Sámi in eastern Finnmark. The paper was printed at F. Kjeldseth's printing office in Čáhcesuolu, which also printed the Norwegian-language ''Finmarkens Amtstidende'' newspaper. Andreasen intended ''Muitalægje'' to encourage Sámi youth to look towards books for knowledge so they would learn more about the world outside the Sámi community and thus become more interested in public affairs and better willing able to advocate for Sámi rights. The paper also helped to preserve and promote the

Northern Sámi language Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and to support Sámi identity as Norwegianization policies were being strengthened.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muitalaegje Newspapers established in 1873 Newspapers disestablished in 1875 Defunct newspapers published in Norway Mass media in Finnmark Vadsø Sámi in Norway Defunct Northern Sámi-language newspapers History of Finnmark