Norway Apologizes for Historical Assimilation Policies | 28 Nov 2024
Norway’s Parliament issued an official apology for the century-long assimilation policies, known as "Norwegianisation," that discriminated against the Sami, Kven, and Forest Finn communities.
- Assimilation Policy promotes integrating diverse groups into the dominant culture, often requiring them to adopt its norms, values, and language, sometimes losing their own cultural identity.
- The Norwegianisation process aimed to erase the cultures and languages of the Sami, Kven, and Forest Finns.
- Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to state-run schools, where they faced discrimination and forced cultural change.
- Sami: Indigenous people from northern Europe, primarily in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, are the speakers of the Sami languages, which are endangered.
- Kvens and Forest Finns: Migrants from Finland and Sweden who settled in Norway centuries ago, with distinct cultural practices.