Norwegianization was a deliberate policy by the Norwegian state meant to make Sámi people, Kvens/Norwegian Finns, and Forest Finns give up their language and culture and become Norwegian. It was declared state policy from 1851 and was formally discontinued in 1963.

This is one of the most difficult parts of Norwegian history, and it remains a live political issue: as recently as November 2024, the Parliament asked for forgiveness. The history of minorities and indigenous peoples is part of the curriculum for the Samfunnskunnskapsprøven exam, and you can find more articles on the topic exams and tests on SamfunnPrep.

What was Norwegianization?

Norwegianization means that the state actively worked to make minorities become Norwegian in language, name, and way of life. The policy was driven forward through school, church, and law—not through a single decision.

Those affected were the Sámi people, the Kvens/Norwegian Finns (descendants of immigrants from northern Finland and northern Sweden), and Forest Finns in eastern Norway. The Kvens were included in the policy because of fears about national security: authorities worried about Finnish influence near the border.

The laws and methods

Norwegianization was concrete legislation and spending from the state budget:

  • 1851 – Finnefondet. A special line item in the state budget to fund Norwegianization, especially through school and church.
  • 1880 – school instruction. Established that only Norwegian could be used as the teaching language in the three northernmost counties.
  • 1898 – Wexelsenplakaten. An instruction from Church Minister Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen decided that Sámi and Kven/Finnish should not be used "to any greater extent than circumstances make absolutely necessary." Teachers were asked not to translate, but to explain using pictures and facts. The mother tongue was not even to be used as a bridge to Norwegian.
  • 1902 – land sales law for Finnmark. To buy land, you had to be a Norwegian citizen who could speak, read and write Norwegian and use the language daily, and the property had to get a Norwegian name. Many families changed their surnames to be able to buy land, and Sámi family names disappeared.
  • 1959 it became legal again to use Sámi in teaching, and in 1963 the Parliament agreed to reverse the policy.

One of the clearest examples of how long this lasted is that the language requirement in the land sales law remained in effect until 1965—two years after the policy was formally abandoned.

The boarding schools

Many people have the strongest memories of the boarding schools. Children were sent away from home to live at school, where Sámi and Kven were forbidden.

This was a large building program, not isolated schools. The first two state boarding schools opened in 1905, both in Sør-Varanger. By 1940, there were nearly 50 municipal and state boarding schools in Finnmark and North Troms. After that, the number fell to 37 in 1961, and as late as 1980 there were still 10 in Finnmark. The system existed for two decades after the policy was officially discontinued.

Indigenous peoples and national minorities

This distinction is often asked about, and the two groups have different rights under Norwegian law.

The Sámi people are indigenous. The status is based on the fact that the people lived in the area before today's state borders were drawn, and gives the right to be consulted in matters that concern them. The basis is ILO Convention No. 169 on indigenous peoples, adopted by the UN's International Labour Organization, which Norway became the first country in the world to ratify in 1990.

National minorities are five groups: Jews, Kvens/Norwegian Finns, Roma, Romani/Tatere, and Forest Finns. The criterion is long historical connection to Norway—in practice, more than one hundred years. The status is linked to the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which Norway ratified in 1999.

You can read more about language, rights, and the Sámi Parliament in the article on the Sámi as Norway's indigenous people.

The turning points

The policy did not reverse on its own. The Alta case about the development of the Alta–Kautokeino waterway lasted from 1968 to 1982 and became the major confrontation. Sámi activists went on hunger strike outside the Parliament in October 1979, and carried out another hunger strike from 24 January to 25 February 1981. The Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the development was legal—the developers won the case, but Sámi policy reversed.

After that, changes came quickly:

  • The Sámi Act in 1987.
  • The Sámi paragraph in the Constitution, adopted 27 May 1988 as § 110 a and renumbered to § 108 in the constitutional revision of 2014. You can find more about the Constitution in the article on the Constitution and 17 May.
  • The Sámi Parliament opened 9 October 1989 by King Olav V.
  • The King's apology 7 October 1997, when King Harald V said: "Today we must regret the injustice the Norwegian state previously inflicted on the Sámi people through a harsh Norwegianization policy."
  • The Finnmark Act in 2005, which transferred land and natural resources in Finnmark to Finnmark Ownership.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The Parliament decided in 2017 to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, and the mandate was set 14 June 2018. The commission was led by former government minister Dagfinn Høybråten. In May 2019, it expanded its mandate to also include Forest Finns.

The report was delivered to the Parliament 1 June 2023. It is about 750 pages and is based on about 760 personal stories, collected through interviews, public meetings, and an online portal. The material is archived with the National Archives.

The main finding was that Norwegianization policy had serious consequences—loss of language, culture, and identity—that continue to have effects today. The recommendations concerned more knowledge among the population, strengthening of Sámi languages and Kven, cultural competence in public services, and better mechanisms for resolving conflicts.

What has happened after the report?

The Parliament addressed the matter 12 November 2024 and made 17 decisions. The first is the apology: "The Parliament wishes to express its deepest regret for the abuses that Norwegianization policy caused for the Sámi, Kvens/Norwegian Finns, and Forest Finns." The decision goes further than previous apologies, because here the Parliament asks forgiveness for the Parliament's own active role in the policy—the national assembly names itself as responsible. To learn how such decisions are made, you can read the article on the Parliament.

The other decisions include, among other things, a national center of expertise on Norwegianization and injustice, local language and culture arenas, and a language education initiative in Kven and Sámi languages from kindergarten to adult education.

The most recent concrete measure is the action plan for Kven language 2026–2031, presented 26 May 2026 with 21 measures and 3 million kroner allocated for 2026. Kven organizations have criticized that little new funding came with the plan. The full parliamentary statement on reconciliation policy will come in 2027—four years after the report.

The languages today

Around 30,000 people speak Sámi in Norway, of which about 25,000 speak North Sámi, 600 speak Lule Sámi, and 500 speak South Sámi. North Sámi is considered threatened, Lule Sámi and South Sámi are considered seriously threatened. The numbers are estimates: Statistics Norway (SSB) does not register ethnicity.

Public documents estimate 10,000–15,000 Kvens/Norwegian Finns, while Kven organizations operate with 30,000–50,000. Between 2,000 and 8,000 speak Kven, which was recognized as a separate language in 2005 and is considered seriously threatened. Now it is often grandparents who teach it to their grandchildren.

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