Sami and Swedish : Identity formation for students in the nomadic school's textbooks during the 1920's

This paper examines how Sami identity is related and affected by the nomadic school's textbooks during the 1920's. This is followed by a comparison with the textbooks for the Swedish elementary school during the same time period to examine the differences in mediated norms in the textbooks of the two schools. Previous research shows that the school system is a way of controlling and creating desirable citizens that fit into the majority of society's norms. Previous research also shows that there is a hierarchy in the Sami community where Sami occupied with reindeer herding stand above other Sami, and this affects the extent of how a Sami chooses and dares to identify as Sami. This study examines how Sami people are portrayed and by which norms the children are met in textbooks. The results indicate that the norm for a Sami created and portrayed by white men is a nomadic reindeer herder and this norm was enforced upon Sami children through the nomadic school but also shown in the textbook for the Swedish elementary school. The opportunities for creating their own identity were greater for Swedish children than Sami children. The result is analysed on theories of postcolonial theory regarding the exercise of power through language, and norm-critical theory focusing on norms regarding ethnicity and masculinity