By the end of the 1880s, national borders had been drawn in the Nordic countries. The Norwegian state was keen to get more Norwegians to move north to invest in agriculture and fishing. As land borders were closed, the number of reindeer and reindeer owners in the Karesuando area increased, writes Sameradion & SVT Sápmi.

grazing rights

In connection with the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905, Norway demanded that the Swedish Sami leave the traditional pastures around the Norwegian coast. In 1919, the first reindeer grazing convention was entered into between Norway and Sweden, which severely limited the Swedish Sami grazing rights in Norway.

This is despite the so-called Lapp Codecill from 1751, which is an extension of the border treaty between Sweden and Norway, which gives the Sami the right to conduct reindeer husbandry across national borders.

Started moving Sami

This led to Sweden starting to move Sami. More than 200 families with 30,000 reindeer were forced to move south from the Karesuando area, according to historian and genealogist Johannes Marainen.

The reindeer herding convention also affected the reindeer herding Sami in Västerbotten and Jämtland, which meant that they could not allow the reindeer to graze on the Norwegian side, but not to the same extent as in the Karesuando area.