The Sami folk high school started in 1942 as a school for young Sami that needed more education that the Swedish folk school or nomadic school offered its pupils. The school was managed by the Swedish mission society, an organization within the Swedish church. The school was successful but struggled with financial problems. The result was that a foundation with Sami representation managed the school instead after 1972. The following year was even more successful. The number of students increased, and the management could offer more courses and their curriculum had more Sami elements than earlier. However, there was also some conflicts during the 1970s. The largest one being the language boycott addressing the issue of Sami languages at the Sami folk high school as a subject in the school, and as an important part of the Sami culture and identity. This article describes the education of the Sami folk high school’s first 40 years with the help of a model for Sami pedagogy developed by Keskitalo and Määttä. The model shows that the education is to a large extent affected by outer factors—self determination, as well as inner factors—language issues and the curriculum.
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