page_title: Sámi Assembly of 1917
hierarchical_section_title: Sámi Assembly of 1917
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Det første samemøtet 6. februar 1917 i Trondheim. Bildet er tatt inne i Metodistkirken i Trondheim. Mange av medlemmene er kledd i samedrakt av sørsamisk type. Bak ved prekestolen sees fra venstre Ellen Lie, Elsa Laula Renberg og pastor Trygve Wahlström.
context_page_description: The Sámi Assembly of 1917 was the first Sámi National Assembly. The Sámi who took part in the assembly were from both Norway and Sweden. The meeting was held at the Methodist Church in Trondheim from 6 to 9 February 1917. The Sámi National Day is celebrated on 6 February to commemorate the beginning of this assembly. Around 150 participants gathered at the assembly, of which the majority consisted of Southern Sámi from Nordland, Trøndelag and Hedmark.
  Elsa Laula Renberg from Helgeland and the Sámi Women's union at Brurskanken initiated the assembly. Renberg was the assembly's chairwoman and gave the opening speech at the meeting. The other major Sámi leader at that time, Daniel Mortenson from Røros/Elgå, was also a chairman and gave a lecture at the assembly about reindeer farming and how it had become hampered by the Joint Sámi Act of 1883. The lecture sparked a debate that led to the forming of a separate committee concerning reindeer farming by the assembly. The committee later presented a proposal for a new reindeer farming act, which influenced the final shaping of the law in 1919.
context_section_description: The Sámi Assembly of 1917 was the first Sámi National Assembly. The Sámi who took part in the assembly were from both Norway and Sweden. The meeting was held at the Methodist Church in Trondheim from 6 to 9 February 1917. The Sámi National Day is celebrated on 6 February to commemorate the beginning of this assembly. Around 150 participants gathered at the assembly, of which the majority consisted of Southern Sámi from Nordland, Trøndelag and Hedmark.
  Elsa Laula Renberg (1877–1931) from Helgeland and the Sámi Women's union at Brurskanken initiated the assembly. Renberg was the assembly's chairwoman and gave the opening speech at the meeting. The other major Sámi leader at that time, Daniel Mortenson from Røros/Elgå, was also a chairman and gave a lecture at the assembly about reindeer farming and how it had become hampered by the Joint Sámi Act ("Felleslappeloven") of 1883. The lecture sparked a debate that led to the forming of a separate committee concerning reindeer farming by the assembly. The committee later presented a proposal for a new reindeer farming act, which influenced the final shaping of the law in 1919. The other main issue at the assembly was the demand for a separate Sámi school, where children were taught and allowed to write in the Sámi language.
caption: Participants at the first Sámi national assembly, photographed at the Methodist Church in Trondheim on 6 February 1917. Around 150 Sámi people gathered at the assembly from Norway and Sweden. 6 February has since become the Sámi National Day.
  Credit: Schrøderarkivet/Sverresborg
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