Second world war as a trigger for transcultural changes among Sámi people in Finland

ABSTRACT

The article analyses the consequences of the Lapland War (1944–45) and the reconstruction period (1945–52) for the Sámi society in Finnish Lapland, and provides some comparisons to the situation in Norway. Re­constructing the devastated Lapland meant powerful and rapid changes that ranged from novelties of material culture to increasing Finnish ideals, from a transition in the way of life to an assimilation process. The war was a trigger to an accelerated development in which otherwise long-term processes happened in a very short time frame in the post-war period. The post-war development was characterized by economic, political and cultural processes that integrated Sámiland to Finland and the Finnish nation. These processes can be interpreted as a classic modernization process, even “finnicization”, in which the traditional Sámi culture was forced to switch over to the modern large-scale society. In addition to problematic changes, however, the consequences of the war are also considered to have created new possibilities for the Sámi to influence the majority society both as individuals and as ethno-political actors. This was reflected in Sámi ethnopolitical activism, which started in Finland only after WWII. Also, the role of the majority education system had two-fold consequences: strong assimilation features, but also helping to build the educated Sámi “radical” generation that challenged the prevalent Sámi politics in the 1960s.

KEYWORDS:

• Sámi history
• Finnish Lapland
• Lapland War
• reconstruction period
• cultural influences
• finnicization
• ethnopolitical activism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. For my study Saamelainen evakko (1994, revised edition 2004) about the evacuation period of the Finnish Sámi in 1944–45 I interviewed several Sámi and went through a large archive material. For my book Saamelaiset suomalaiset (2012) about the encounters between the Sámi and the Finns in the first part of the twentieth century I focused more on the post-war period, also collecting new data. In this article, I use this material especially in the notes. Although I do not directly point at changes in my own stance from 1994 to this day, the article takes a more careful approach to my earlier, maybe a little more postcolonial interpretations, about the reconstruction era as a dramatic turn for Sámi society and a period of strong assimilation.

2. The Strömstad treaty supplement is considered to have recognised the traditional Sámi privileges, and therefore it has attracted great attention among Sámi historians, see e.g. Pedersen (1987, 1989).

3. See also interview of Vicar M. V. Aho 7.–8.8.1947. T. T. Kaila's drafts and material for the Lapin sota book. JRA Ad:3. OMA.

4. Annual reports of Lapland province governor 1939–1946. OMA; Interviews of Oula Näkkäläjärvi and Inger-Saara Magga. See also pseudonym “Korsa's” causeries in the Sabmelas periodical 1944–1946.

5. Account of Northern Finland evacuation authorities of the evacuation of Northern Finland 30.10.1944. Police inspector Armas Alhava's collection C:1. OMA.

6. War diary of Northern Finland air surveillance staff 2, 7.9.1944. SArk; Enok Kangasniemi was a salesman in Inari. Horses were driven to the south in good time, Arrela, Lauri, (Untitled account of the evacuation journey), in Etto (1977, 105).

7. T. T. Kaila's drafts and material for the Lapin sota book. JRA Ad:3. OMA.

8. Eyewitness accounts of starting the evacuation journey, see e.g. Aikio, Briitta (Untitled account of the evacuation journey) in Etto (1977); Kuuva (1975), Kuuva (1981), Kuuva (1987). German lorries were continuously transporting equipment towards the north, and the German commandant in Ivalo had given the express order that they must not return empty – without evacuees – to Rovanie­mi.

9. Rovaniemi general staff's list of parishes in the region to be evacuated 10.9.1944. JRA Bc:12. OMA; Runtti (1989).

10. Interviews of Maarit Vuomajoki, Maarit Nousuniemi, Eino Jokinen; interviews of Jouni Helander and Josef Aslak Aikio (interviews of Niilo Aikio, SRA).

11. Interview of Vicar M. V. Aho. 7.-8.8.1947. T. T. Kaila's drafts and materials for the Lapin sota book. JRA Ad:3. OMA.

12. Annual report of Inari district physician 1944. Inari and Utsjoki health district Db:1. OMA.

13. Inspector Tauno Lehtinen's account of evacuee inspections e.g.in Ylivieska 27.9.–3.10.1944. Oulu province administrative board evacuee welfare inspector's account Hc:38. OMA; Inari parish administrative committee to Lapland province regional welfare office 23.2.1945. Letter copies. Inari parish administrative committee archive OMA; e.g. interview of Maarit Vuomajoki.

14. Karl Nickul's correspondence 1944–1945. Karl Nickul's archive. KA.

15. Records of local evacuation committee 23.1.1945. Archives of Inari evacuee welfare director Ca:1. OMA; Interview of Vicar M. V. Aho 7.–8.8.1947. T.T. Kaila's drafts and materials for the Lapin sota book. JRA Ad:3. OMA; Lapin Kansa 16.1.1945.

16. Annual report of Inari district physician. 1944. Inari and Utsjoki health district Db:1. OMA; Inari and Utsjoki health district Db:1 Annual reports 1944. OMA.

17. Inari and Utsjoki health district Db:1 Annual reports 1943. OMA; Lapin Kansa 24.10.1944.

18. Inspector Kalle Honka's account of the trip to e.g. Ylivieska 18.12.–22.12.1944. Archives of the evacuee welfare inspector of Oulu provincial administrative board Hc:38. OMA.

19. Karl Nickul to Kaarlo Hillilä 7.3.1945. Karl Nickul's archive KA; Kaarlo Hillilä PM. Hki 11.1.1945 to evacuee department of internal affairs. Hc:3: Arrived documents. Oulu province administrative board archive OMA. Oulu province administrative board to to evacuee department of internal affairs 8.3.1945. Oulu province administrative board, Arrived documents Hc:3. OMA; see also e.g. Matti Sverloff to Karl Nickul 20.9.1945. Correspondence on Skolts. KNA. KA.

20. Outsider relief operations became particularly important to Skolts, especially organized by Karl Nickul on behalf of Lapin sivistysseura (The Society for the Promotion of Sámi Culture). See Karl Nickul's speech in annual meeting of LSS 30.3.1947. Manuscripts. KN archive. KA.

21. Records of Skolt meeting in Ivalo 7.7.1946. Lapland Agricultural Society settlement committee II. Ha: 2–7. OMA.

22. P.M. Arranging Skolt dwelling and landowning issues. Lapland Agricultural Society settlement committee II. Ha:17, OMA.

23. Lapland province administrative board inspector E. Koskimaa's report from e.g. Inari in spring 1945. JRA Bc:1. OMA; Paavo Pandy to evacuee department of Lapland province administrative board 12.5.1945. Lapland province administrative board document 1945, Hc:23. OMA.

24. Interview of Vicar M. V. Aho 7.–8.8.1947. T. T. Kaila's drafts and materials for the Lapin sota book. JRA Ad:3. OMA; Inari Parish 100th Anniversary History 1956,13; Interview of Onni Nikula; Itkonen (1952, 223).

25. Interviews of Maarit Länsman and Teuvo Lehtola; Interview of Enontekiö evacuation chief Bertil Öhman 24.7. 1947 (T.T. Kaila) JRA. OMA; interview of Vicar M. V. Aho 7.–8.8.1947. T.T. Kaila's drafts and materials for the Lapin sota book. JRA Ad:3. OMA.

26. Annual reports of Lapland province governor 1945–1948. OMA. Calculating the damages was problematic, because counted reindeer were hidden for the purpose of increasing compensations and evading taxes.

27. Lapland Agricultural Society settlement committee to Ministry of Agriculture 20.4.1946 and 3.11.1948. Lapland Agricultural Society settlement committee II, Ub:1–2. OMA.

28. Report on Lapp Affairs (1952). The committee also made the radical proposal that “the Sámi of our country should be exempt from regular service in the army”. The aim of the proposal, which was probably formulated by peace activist Karl Nickul, was that the members of a people divided by national borders should not have to confront each other in a military conflict (Lehtola 2005, 161).

29. There is an academic project FEENIKS – Art and culture in the mental and material reconstruction process following the Lapland War (2011–2017) in Finland, coordinated by researchers of the University of Lapland and funded by the Academy of Finland, studying “how Lapland was reconstructed both materially and mentally in various spheres of life by and through art and culture”. See http://www.ulapland.fi/InEnglish/Research/Research-Projects/-Spearhead-projects/Feeniks.

30. See Domestication of Indigenous Discourses? Processes of Constructing Political Subjects in Sápmi, a joint project of two Northern universities, University of Oulu and University of Lapland, funded by the Academy of Finland in 2015–2018 http://www.oulu.fi/giellagasinstitute/domestication. The project draws on the concept of domestication launched by Alasuutari and Qadir (2014, 2–5), referring to taming and adopting global trends to the national and local contexts. The project challenges the straightforward perceptions about unidirectional processes between international trends and local implementations.