Maria Katrina Stenberg (1 May 1884 - 23 March 1969), commonly known as Karin Stenberg, was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

teacher and activist in the early Sami unification movement in Sweden.

Biography

Karin Stenberg was born in 1884 in Árraksuoloj,

Arvidsjaur Municipality Arvidsjaur Municipality (; ) is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is Arvidsjaur. History Arvidsjaur Municipality was for a long time inhabited only by the Sami people. They were back then a hunting people, living ...

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...

, to Maria Mattsdotter Stenberg (born 1851) and Jon Nilsson Stenberg (born 1845). Her parents were both

Forest Sami The forest Sámi () are Sámi people who lived in the woods and who, unlike the reindeer-herding Sámi people (the "fell Sámi"), did not move up into the fells during the summer season. Historically, there have been forest Sámi in Sweden in the ...

from the ''

siida A is an organisation of humans traditionally present in Sámi people, Sámi societies consisting of several families of reindeer herders whose reindeer graze together. s traditionally encompassed more resources than reindeer, but after changes ...

'' (Sami community) of Västra Kikkejaur in Arvidsjaur. Stenberg studied at the Sami school for primary school teachers in Mattisudden,

Jokkmokk Municipality Jokkmokk Municipality (, , , ) is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Jokkmokk. The name ''Jokkmokk'' is Sami for the words "river" and "bend", since the town is situated close to a bend in the nearby r ...

, graduating in 1904. She spent her entire professional career working as a teacher in Arvidsjaur. In addition to teaching, Stenberg was an active supporter of Sami issues, especially those relating to the Forest Sami. In 1905, she traveled to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

to attend what has been called the "First folk education course for Samis" (''Samernas första folkbildningskurs''), which was financed in part by politicians

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

and Anna Lindhagen. In 1916, she helped found a Sami association in Arvidsjaur. During Christmas of 1919, she joined several other representatives of the growing Sami movement in meeting with member of parliament Carl Lindhagen, who supported Sami rights. In 1920, she co-authored the manifesto ''Dat Läh Mijen Situd!: Det är vår vilja: En vädjan till Svenska Nationen från Samefolket'' (''This Is Our Wish: An Appeal to the Swedish Nation from the Sami People''). The purpose of the document was to influence the 1919 Lapp Committee, which was investigating Sami rights and the conditions of

reindeer herders Reindeer herding is when reindeer are herded by people in a limited area. Currently, reindeer are the only semi-domesticated animal which naturally belong to the North. Reindeer herding is conducted in nine countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russ ...

. In the 1930s, Stenberg led a project to save Arvidsjaur's old Sami ''kyrkstad'' or ''lappstan'' (a group of cabins used when visiting a church overnight), which was threatened by road construction. The ''lappstan'' is today preserved as a historical site. In 1942, Stenberg and Reverend

Gustav Park Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

led an initiative to open the Sami Folk High School (

: ''Samernas Folkhögskola''), a

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

for the Sami in

Sorsele Sorsele (; ; Ume Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Sorsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,277 inhabitants in 2010. Sorsele is also the nearest town to the ski resort Nalovardo. It is known for conta ...

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County (), sometimes called Westrobothnia, is a county or '' län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the ...

. The school is still in operation and has been known since 1999 as the Sami Education Center (Swedish: ''Samernas utbildningscentrum'',

: ''Sámij åhpadusguovdásj'') She was also a leader in the Sami organization Same Ätnam, which was founded in Jokkmokk in 1945. Stenberg received several awards over the course of her life, including the

Royal Patriotic Society The Royal Patriotic Society () is a Sweden, Swedish royal family, royal society founded in 1772 in Stockholm, Sweden, by royal charter of King Gustav III of Sweden. The original aim was to improve agriculture, mining and the textile industry. The ...

's medal, the Olof Högberg Award, and the Swedish Craft Association's silver medal. She was also a member of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

, first class.

Biography

References

Further reading