Kautokeino (; ; ; ) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villages include Láhpoluoppal and Máze.
The municipality is the largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Kautokeino is the 236th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,848. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.8% over the previous 10-year period.
Guovdageainnu Municipality (Kautokeino) is one of two cultural centers of Northern Sápmi today (the other being the neighboring Kárášjoga Municipality). The most significant industries are reindeer herding, theatre/movie industry, and the public education system. Kautokeino is one of the coldest places in the Nordics.
General information
The municipality of Kautokeino was established in 1851 when the large Kistrand Municipality was divided in two: the southern part became Kautokeino Municipality and the northern part remained as Kistrand Municipality. Initially, there were 869 residents in the new municipality. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Finnmark county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Finnmark county.
Name The first element in Guovdageaidnu is which means "middle" or "half". The last element is which means "road" or "way". Combined it means "half way", since the location is halfway between two traditional migrating points. It is also the geographic centre of Northern Sápmi. Kautokeino is a Finnicized form of the Sámi name , and it is also adopted by the Norwegians.
The official name of the municipality was Kautokeino until 1987 when it was changed to the bilingual Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino. It was the first municipality in Norway to get a Sami language name. In 2005, the name was again changed, such that either Guovdageaidnu or Kautokeino can be used interchangeably. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called when it is spelled alone, but it is when using the Sami language equivalent to "Kautokeino Municipality".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 September 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a lavvo Or" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a lavvo (also spelled lavvu). The lavvo has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The lavvu (often spelled as 'lavvo') is still in use by reindeer herders who follow their herds according to the season and food availability of food for the animals, and so it was chosen as the symbol for the municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.
History The ice age The area where the Kautokeino settlement is located became ice-free approximately 10,500 years ago after the last Ice age. The northern part of today's Kautokeino municipality became ice-free first, approximately 500–800 years before the area where the settlement of Kautokeino is located today. The ice edge retreated south before disappearing completely from Fennoscandia 9,600 years ago, most recently in Sarek in Sweden.
The Stone Age In Kautokeino there are traces of human activity stretching back 7,000–9,000 years. The people entering the Kautokeino area when the ice retreated has belonged to one of the three main genetic groups in the postglacial period of early Europe; Eastern Hunter-Gatherers, Western Hunter-Gatherers or the Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers. At Kautokeino church, arrowheads have been found where the dating extends over a large period of time. The oldest arrowheads date to 5000–7000 BC, while the youngest date to 1000–0 BC. In 2020, the University of Tromsø conducted archaeological excavations at Gáidnomanjávri I Kautokeino, approximately 300 meters northeast of the church. There, among other things, burnt bone remains were found, the oldest of which were dated to 4846–5009 BC.
In Juntevađđa, about 10 kilometers north of Kautokeino, archaeological excavations were carried out in 2018. The results from the samples show that there has been human activity in the area which has been dated back to 5560–5520 BC, mesolithic period. Among other things, bone remains of reindeer were identified.
The Iron Age Junttevađđa has traces of human activity spanning a long period of time. In 1967, the archaeologist Povl Simonsen excavated at Junttevađđa, where he uncovered a total of 10 stone piles that lay in a row at intervals of between 5 and 13 metres. He found layers of charcoal in the stone piles, and thought these were fire pits. These stone piles are dated to approximately AD 1050. However, later research has concluded that it is not fire pits, but solid hearths associated with tent settlements that have been used by the Sami population.
1550–1751 Until 1751, Kautokeino was part of Sweden.
In 1695, Kautokeino was part of a [common district,] fellesdistriktet, which consisted of Kautokeino and Ávjovárre. The same year, the size of the population of fellesdistriktet was recorded as 36 families (recorded by the census performed by tax authorities, and that has later been estimated to likely indicate around 150–200 persons in fellesdistriktet).Kristian E. Johnsen. https://www.sagat.no/debatt/nsr-og-befolkningen-i-finnmark/19.37508. Ságat.no. Retrieved 27 March 2023. "1690 [...] . De som bodde i fellesdistriktet var ikke med i Adelaer-manntallet. Ifølge skattemanntallene for 1695 i Kautokeino og Ávjovárre utgjorde det totale antallet familier 36. Antall individer utgjorde trolig 150–200 mennesker."
From 1553, Gustav Vasa's bailiffs began systematic taxation of the Sami in the Kautokeino area. There are tax lists from 1553 to 1608, except for the year 1565. In addition, there is an overview of the population and accounting list for 1553. Peter Lorenz Smith writes in the book Kautokeino og Kautokeino lappene: a historical and ergological regional study from 1938 that the "lapp village" in Kautokeino had 8 people in the tax man count in 1553. Today, the term siida is used for what Smith called "lapp village". He further estimates the total population of the Kautokeino siida to 48 people based on an assumption of 6 people per household. In the Swedish tax accounts from 1553, Kautokeino is called the town of Kwothekyla. Smith believes it may be a combination of the words goahti (Sami for a large tent) and kylla(sic) (kylä, Finnish for hamlet). The siida was located on Goahtedievva, which is near today's Kautokeino church. Findings from the Stone Age to our time show that the area has been influenced by human activity for 9,000 years.
In addition to the siida in Kautokeino, there was also a siida at Lahpojávri within today's Kautokeino municipality. In 1553 there were 6 people in the tax census and with Smith's assumption of 6 people per household a population of 36 people.
The first priest to hold a service in Kautokeino was Johannes Torneaus from Övertorneå. This happened in 1641. The service was held in a small log cabin that had just been set up. It is said to have been Kautokeino's first wooden building. Today, the rest of this log cabin is preserved in the Kautokeino museum.
The first resident priest was Swedish Amund Isaksen Curtelius. He wintered in Masi from 1674 to 1675. He was succeeded by Johan Tornberg. In 1682 he was again succeeded by his brother, Anders Nicolai Tornensis. Tornensis had a vicarage built in Kautokeino, and started construction of Kautokeino's old church in 1701. The church was consecrated on 11 February 1703, and was named "St. Charles' Church". The old Kautokeino church was consecrated as a church for 241 years and 296 days before it was burned down by the German occupation forces on 3 December 1944, and was then Finnmark's oldest Protestant church.
There is little written source material about Kautokeino from before around 1550.
1752–1940 In 1752, church herder Johan Björkman was registered as the only permanent resident in Kautokeino. By 1756, it was reported that there were three permanent resident families at the church site: Matz Hinderson Hetta and his family, bell-ringer Michel Andersson Kemi and his family, and Oluf Andersson Tornensis and his family. The reindeer herding Sami around Kautokeino led a nomadic existence, following the migrations of the reindeer. P.L Smith estimates in the book "Kautokeino og Kautokeino lappene" that the population in the area covering today's Kautokeino municipality was 481 people in 1754, based on church records, which he considers to be a fairly accurate census shortly after Kautokeino became part of Norway following the border drawing in 1751.
In 1845, measurements were made for Struve Geodetic Arc at the mountain tops of Lodiken (Luvdiidcohkka) and Bealjasvarri in Kautokeino.
Russia bans reindeer migration across the border to Finland Major Emigration from Kautokeino In 1852, the border to Finland was closed to reindeer migration. This led to a significant number of reindeer herding Sami moving from Kautokeino, with a particularly large emigration to Karesuando, but many also moved to Skjervøy Municipality. P.L Smith writes in the book Kautokeino og Kautokeino lappene that 310 people moved from Kautokeino to Karesuando and Skjervøy between 1852 and 1889, taking with them approximately 25 to 30 thousand reindeer. It is estimated that about 60 people later moved back to Kautokeino.
In 1852, Kautokeino was the site of a Sami uprising against representatives of the Norwegian authorities. This was one of the few violent reactions by the Sami against the exploitation policies of the Norwegian government and was the only known confrontation between Samis and Norwegians with loss of human lives.
The first emigration to Alaska in 1894 On April 10, 1894, 19 people left Kautokeino for Alaska, consisting of 6 families and 1 bachelor. The journey was organized by Willian A Kjellmann from Talvik on behalf of Sheldon Jackson in Alaska. Sheldon Jackson's purpose was to use the Sami's expertise in reindeer herding to teach this knowledge to the Inuit in Alaska. The names of those who left from Kautokeino are listed below, organized by families: Per Aslaksen Rist and his wife Berit Anne Andersdatter Spein with their daughters Marit and Inger. Johan Speinsen Tornensis, his wife Marit Grete Salomonsdatter Näkkäläjärvi, and their daughter Marit. Mikkel Josefsen Näkkälä and his wife Berit Anne Klemetsdatter Hætta. Samuel Johnsen Kemi, his wife Kirsten Persdatter Bals, and their children Samuel and Karen. Mathis Aslaksen Eira, his wife Berit Johannsedatter Hætta, and their son Aslak. Aslak Larsen Somby and his wife Brita Olsdatter Nango. Bachelor Fredrik Larsen.
The 1898 Manitoba Journey Departing from Alta on February 4, 1898, the vessel Manitoba set sail for New York. It carried 539 reindeer and 113 passengers, including 44 individuals from Kautokeino, all part of the Manitoba Journey. This expedition aimed to avert starvation among Klondike gold miners by moving reindeer from Finnmark to the Klondike. Additionally, it sought to establish reindeer farming in Alaska as a means to provide a consistent food source for Alaskans.
Population figures in 1900 The year 1900 saw Kautokeino home to 267 settled Sami individuals and 522 Sami engaged in reindeer herding, making up a total population of 789. In total, 63 people traveled to Alaska from Kautokeino in 1894 and 1898. Relative to the population in 1900, 63 people would have constituted about 7% of the population in 1900. Some of those who traveled in 1894 and 1898 later returned to Kautokeino, so the number does not precisely indicate the proportion of the population in Kautokeino that emigrated to America permanently.