GNV News, November 17, 2024

According to the Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK), on November 12, 2024, the Norwegian parliament apologized for various forms of forced assimilation policies regarding religion, language, and way of life that were carried out for more than a century against the country’s minorities and Indigenous peoples: the Sami, Kven, and Forest Finns. It is the first time that the Kven and Forest Finn peoples have received an apology from the government (see note). The apology came a year after the publication of a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established in 2018, and includes the establishment of a dedicated center for reconciliation, a review of how Indigenous and minority languages are treated, and the drafting of legal amendments to allow people whose surnames were Norwegianized to revert to their original names. In addition, from 2027 onward, the government is obliged to submit, for each parliamentary term, a report outlining activities for Indigenous peoples and minorities.

Assimilation policies by the Norwegian authorities, such as state-run boarding schools that banned minority languages and the forced relocation of entire villages, began in the 1700s, became formal state policy in 1851, and many of the policies continued until the 1980s. The apology for this issue spanning more than 130 years was passed with majority support in parliament, overcoming votes against by the right-wing Progress Party. However, Sami representatives said it was regrettable that no agreement or reconciliation was reached regarding Sami rights over the use of land and water. The installation of as many as 80 wind turbines in Sami living areas, as well as mining and forestry development, are issues that threaten Indigenous peoples, and tensions persist in the reconciliation process.

Learn more about the relationship between Norway’s climate policy and the oil industry → “Norway: Climate action or oil exports—which will it choose?”

Learn more about the Indigenous Sami → “The Sami, Indigenous people of the Arctic: their way of life under threat”

Note: The Sami had previously received apologies from King Olav V, King Harald V, and former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.

Scene from the Norwegian Parliament (Photo: Stortinget / Flickr [CC BY-ND 2.0])