The Sami Church Council (n.sa. ''Sámi girkoráđđi'', l.sa. ''Sáme girkoráde'', s.sa. ''Saemien gærhkoeraerie'') is the organ of the Church of Norway responsible for Sámi church life. It answers to the General Synod of the Church of Norway.

Background

The history of the Sámi people is one of marginalisation and

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 pop ...

– the government policy of forced assimilation of the Sámi into Norwegian society.

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

s among the Sámi people go back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, but from 1700 the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and pietistic mission among the Sámi, together with state colonialism, brought lasting changes to the Sámi society (as well as religion). From around 1850 a very rough assimilation policy held the Sámi people in a firm grip until 1980. This period may be referred to as the Dark Ages of the Sami people. This assimilation policy permeated the public officials, schools and the Church of Norway. In parts of

Sápmi (, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , sjd, Са̄мь е̄ммьне, Saam' jiemm'n'e) is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is in Northern and Eastern Europe and includes the ...

the Sámi culture and language was eradicated during this period. Throughout the nineteen-eighties, an increasing awareness of the rights of the indigenous peoples became visible both in the Norwegian and the Sámi society. The awakening had begun for the Sámi people in the beginning of the 20th century and during the so-called

Alta controversy The Alta conflict or Alta controversy refers to a series of massive protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s concerning the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta River in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Timeline *Inhabitan ...

it became a hot topic among the Norwegian politicians as well. In 1989 the Sámi people were granted their own parliament, the Sámediggi. In 1992 the General Synod in the Church of Norway decided to establish an organ to oversee and work for the Sámi church life. In 1997 the General Synod acknowledged its role in the assimilation process and declared it would make good of its mistakes.

Organisation

The council has seven members. One member is to be a bishop appointed by the Bishops’ Conference, and one appointed by the Sami Parliament. The General Synod elects five other members, among these there is to be a representative from some of the Sami languages in Norway ( Southern Sami,

Lule Sami Lule may refer to: * Lule people, an indigenous people of northern Argentina * Lule language, a possibly extinct language of Argentina * Lule Sami language, a language spoken in Sweden and Norway * Luleå, also known as Lule, a town in Sweden * ...

and

Northern Sami 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 ...

). The leader of the council is elected by the General Synod. The Secretary General and the rest of the staff at the Secretariat of the council holds currently offices together with the in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. A process to move the Secretariat is currently in motion. The current leader of the Sami Church Council is Tore Johnsen and the Secretary General is Rávdná Turi Henriksen (''temporary constituted'').

Main aims of the council

According to the statutes of the Sami Church Council (KM 12/92) the main aims are: * to further, protect and coordinate Sami church life in the Church of Norway * to respond to issues that according to the council is of relevance to Sami church life or indigenous people * to further knowledge of particular values that Sami church life and the heritage of Sami Christianity represents for the Church as a whole, and to work with issues the church needs to related to the Sami culture, tradition and history * to contribute to the strengthening of the culture and language of the Sami population, and to further knowledge and commitment to the role of the Sami people in the Church of Norway. * to care for relations with churches that has Sami congregations in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and the

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

, and to further work and coordination of issues that are of common interest of the Sami Christians * to oversee the work with indigenous question, together with the Council on Ecumenical and International Relations on behalf of the Church of Norway.

Leaders

Nils Jernsletten Nils Johannes (Juho-Niillas) Jernsletten (14 September 1934; Tana, Norway – 20 May 2012) was a professor of Sámi at University of Tromsø, and editor of Sámi newspaper Ságat (1964-1966.) In 2005, he was made a Commander of the Royal Norweg ...

(He was elected in 1992 as its first leader.)

References

{{reflist

External links