''Saǥai Muittalægje'' was an early

Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, R ...

newspaper published twice a month from July 1904 to September 1911. Although only 33 issues were published, ''Saǥai Muittalægje'' played an important role in building Sámi identity and supporting opposition to

Norwegianization Norwegianization (''Fornorsking av samer'') was an official policy carried out by the Norwegian government directed at the Sámi and later the Kven people of northern Norway, in which the goal was to assimilate non-Norwegian-speaking native popul ...

policies. It is considered the first Sámi political newspaper.

History

''Saǥai Muittalægje'' (in modern

Northern Sámi Northern or North Sámi ( ; se, davvisámegiella ; fi, pohjoissaame ; no, nordsamisk; sv, nordsamiska; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the ...

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mo ...

''Ságaid Muitaleaddji''), which means "The News Reporter," was founded by teacher and journalist

Anders Larsen Anders Larsen (December 2, 1870 – December 10, 1949) was a Sami teacher, journalist, and writer. Larsen was born in Seglvik in the municipality of Kvænangen, Norway. His parents were Sea Sami. After working as a primary school teacher in the ...

in Fálesnuorri, Norway. It was published on a press owned by

Gustav Lund Gustav Fridtjof Lund (18 April 1862 – 26 February 1912) was a Norwegian Sámi travelling preacher, known as the "sled preacher". In 1898, he became the first editor-in-chief of the '' Nuorttanaste'' Christian newspaper, which is currently the ...

that also printed the '' Nuorttanaste'' Sámi Christian newspaper. At the time of the paper's founding, Norway was putting increasing pressure on its

and

Kven KVEN (1520 AM, "La Voz 1520 AM & 96.3 FM") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Port Hueneme, California and serves the Ventura County area. The station is owned by Gold Coast Broadcasting and broadcasts a Spanish-language news/t ...

populations to assimilate and identify as Norwegians. By publishing in Northern Sámi, ''Saǥai Muittalægje'' stood in direct opposition to this

policy. It published its last issue in September 1911 due to financial difficulties. ''Saǥai Muittalægje'' is famous for being where

Isak Saba Isak Mikal Saba (15 November 1875 – 1 June 1921) was a Norwegian Sámi teacher and politician. He was born in 1875 in Nesseby, Norway to Per Sabasen and Bigi Henriksdatter Aikio. Saba married Marie Gunneva Hansdatter Holm (1876–1961), daught ...

's "

Sámi Soga Lávlla The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, ...

" (The Song of the Sami People), the Sámi anthem, was first published, on the front page of the 1 April 1906 issue, as a poem. Saba and Larsen were friends and ''Saǥai Muittalægje'' supported Saba in his successful 1906 race to become the first Sámi elected to the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years ...

. Saba was a member of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the cen ...

and he was supported by a coalition of socialists and Sámi activists who helped re-elect him in 1909. The folding of ''Saǥai Muittalægje'' in 1911 contributed to Saba's failed re-election attempt in 1912.

References

External links

Sámi Culture in the Nordic Countries
(Press and broadcasting section) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sagai Muittalaegje 1904 establishments in Norway 1911 disestablishments in Norway Defunct newspapers published in Norway Mass media in Finnmark History of Finnmark Northern Sámi-language newspapers Publications established in 1904 Publications disestablished in 1911 Sámi in Norway Sámi newspapers