Land Sales Act

Norwegianization affected more than just the educational system. In 1902, a Land Sales Act declared that only landowners who could read and write Norwegian would be allowed to keep their land, forcing many Sámi families to choose between giving up their land or they assimilating into Norwegian society. Those who assimilated were forced to change their names to Norwegian ones, only speak Norwegian in both public and private spheres, and could no longer conduct business in Sámi. Official documents written originally in their mother tongue would have to either provide a Norwegian translation or be rewritten solely in Norwegian, while Sámi names that were previously on location signs were rapidly replaced with only Norwegian names. Protests against these measures were widely ineffective; refusing to learn Norwegian would not only displace families from their ancestral lands but would also force them to stay within a lower socio-economic status. They would be unable to find work, take part in society or politics, or receive a proper education. Thus, the Sámi language was effectively removed from the public sphere. [This section is summarized from Davies & Dubinsky, 2018, pp. 195-205].