ISSN 2535-5406 Vol 5, No 1 (2022) http://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.4466                                

Date received: 09-05-2021                     Date accepted: 30-09-2021                       Peer reviewed article 

© 2022 the author(s). This is an OpenAccess publication licensed under terms given in: 
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (CC-BY 4.0). https://www.humanrer.org 

Research articles 

Indigeneity versus diversity  

Renate Banschbach Eggen 

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway, renate.eggen@ntnu.no  

Abstract 

The article deals with the representation of the Sámi in the new national curriculum for 

primary and lower secondary education in Norway. More precisely, it focuses on a specific 

formulation in the fourth core element of the curriculum for religious education, in which an 

awareness of Sámi perspectives is presented as part of the diversity competence which pupils 

are supposed to acquire. Based on a critical analysis of governmental documents dealing with 

education it is argued that the term ‘diversity’ as it is used in the fourth core element 

addresses Sámi perspectives in a way that may induce readers to think of the Sámi as one of 

an increasing number of minorities in an originally Norwegian society. This implication, even 

if unintended, is highly problematic. It can be interpreted as a violation of both ILO 169, Article 

31 and CRC, Article 29 (1), especially since the Sámi are a people indigenous to Norway. 

Keywords 

Human rights education, Sámi, indigenous people, curriculum, diversity, decolonisation.  

http://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.4466
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://www.humanrer.org/
mailto:renate.eggen@ntnu.no


  R. Eggen 

137 

 

Introduction 

‘The Norwegian state is founded on the territories of two peoples – the Norwegians and the 

Sámi’ (Mellgren, 1997). This statement made by the King of Norway, Harald V, in opening the 

third Sámi Parliament in 1997, points at a fundamental feature of Norway: it is a nation 

consisting of and belonging to two peoples whose initial equality seems unquestionable. The 

history of the Norwegian state, however, is a history of two peoples of which one is the 

coloniser and the other the colonised. 

Today the injustice inflicted on the Sámi people is acknowledged by the Norwegian 

government. In 1990 the Norwegian state ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) 

convention 169—the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. Norway thus both recognised 

the Sámi as an indigenous people and acknowledged the state’s responsibility to promote the 

full realisation of their social, economic, and cultural rights and to take measures to facilitate 

the revitalisation, maintenance and development of Sámi languages, culture, and traditions. 

Education plays a vital role in this process of decolonisation. Education policy documents, 

especially curricula, provide essential tools for building up a collective identity based on 

equality and mutual acknowledgement (Vesterdal, 2019). In Norway the process of 

decolonisation has had a short history compared to the long-lasting process of assimilation 

and humiliation of the Sámi. It is still the case that many Norwegians are unfamiliar with this 

part of Norwegian history and there is still a considerable lack of knowledge about Sámi history 

and culture. It is therefore important that Sámi history and Sámi issues are sufficiently 

represented in the curriculum. Furthermore, the way in which they are presented may be even 

more important. The severe humiliation and denunciation of the Sámi in governmental 

documents up to the 1960s (Andresen, Evjen & Ryymin, 2021) calls for great care and a 

complete lack of ambiguity whenever Sámi issues are dealt with in today’s governmental 

documents. The choice of terms and formulations in those parts of the curriculum dealing with 

Sámi history, culture, and perspectives is therefore of particular significance. Against this 

background the article focuses on a specific formulation within the new national curriculum, 

which applies from 2020 (Norwegian Directory for Education and Training, 2020).  

In the following I will discuss a passage in the new Curriculum for knowledge of Christianity, 

religion, philosophies of life and ethics (Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, 

2020), which is the curriculum for the subject of religious education (RE) in Norwegian primary 

and lower secondary schools. In all subject-specific curricula in the new national curriculum 

(Norwegian Directory of Education and Training, 2020), the most essential content, 

perspectives and methods are presented as core elements in the first part of the document. 

The RE curriculum contains five core elements: (1) Knowledge of religions and philosophies of 

life, (2) Exploring religions and philosophies of life using different methods, (3) Exploring 

existential questions and answers, (4) Being able to take the other’s perspective, (5) Ethical 



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

138 

 

reflection. Indigenous perspectives are mentioned in the first core element and Sámi 

perspectives in the fourth. In the first core element, diversity is one of the topics in focus. It is 

mentioned in the immediate context of indigenous perspectives, but indigenous perspectives 

are not explicitly linked to diversity. In the fourth core element (Being able to take the other’s 

perspective), however, Sámi perspectives are explicitly linked to diversity competence:  

The subject shall support pupils in developing diversity competence. Sámi perspectives 

are included. Topics related to gender and functional ability are also included. 

(Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training, 2020, p. 3) 

The categorisation of Sámi perspectives as diversity competence is highly problematic. The 

main objective of this article is to explain why.  

Sámi history  

The Sámi were living in Sápmi/Sábme/Saepmie—an area which today covers substantial parts 

of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia—long before national borders were drawn. They have 

been present as long as any of the other peoples living in this area. From the middle of the 

1600s, Danish-Norwegian kings’ efforts to gain sovereignty over Sámi settlement areas led to 

an aggressive Christianisation of the Sámi. In Lutheran Denmark-Norway, in which the 

monarch was also head of the Church, the building of churches and Christianisation were 

effective ways of marking sovereignty (Henriksen, 2020). The Sámi were forced to dissociate 

themselves from their religion and, consequently, from an essential part of their culture. 

Practising Sámi religion was condemned as witchcraft and sorcery, and accordingly persecuted 

and punished. Sámi drums, which in addition to being key religious objects are expressions of 

Sámi culture, were either burned or confiscated (Hansen & Olsen, 2004; Rydving, 1993). 

During the 1700s the Sámi’s basis of existence was more and more affected by tax regulations 

and other changes to the legal framework (Hansen & Olsen, 2004). At the same time, 

missionary work was mainly carried out in Sámi. Priests were supposed to preach in Sámi, 

spiritual literature and hymns were translated and in the beginning of the 1800s the process 

of translating the Bible into Northern Sámi was started (Henriksen, 2020). Thus, the missionary 

offensive led to a considerable strengthening of the Sámi language. This changed in the middle 

of the 1800s.  

In 1814 Norway left the union with Denmark and entered a union with Sweden in which it had 

extensive internal political freedom. From 1850 to 1970, Norwegianisation was official 

government policy (Minde, 2003). More than one hundred years of forced assimilation of the 

Sámi into a culturally uniform Norwegian population resulted in the disparagement and near 

extinction of Sámi culture. Norwegianisation, which was pursued by both the Norwegian 

government and the Norwegian State Church, aimed to wipe out the Sámi religion, culture 



  R. Eggen 

139 

 

and languages within the borders of Norway (there were similar processes in Sweden, Finland, 

and Russia). Norwegianisation meant that the Sámi had to disown their Sámi identity to avoid 

punishment, social exclusion, and shame (Minde, 2003; Eidheim, 1996). Many stopped using 

their Sámi language and considered it to be better for their descendants not to be recognised 

as Sámi or even to know they were Sámi. Boarding schools for indigenous pupils, a means of 

assimilation in many countries (Stavenhagen, 2015), were also established, separating Sámi 

youths from their families and cultural roots. Consequently, the natural process of learning 

and developing Sámi languages, Sámi culture and traditional knowledge was interrupted. This 

has led to the current situation in which the revitalisation of Sámi languages and culture must 

be safeguarded through national legislation and educational measures (Bull & Gaski, 1994; 

Lile, 2008, p.36). 

The so-called Alta conflict, a controversy over the construction of a power plant in the Alta 

River, was essential to Sámi resistance against the government’s Norwegianisation policy 

(Andresen, Evjen & Ryymin, 2021). It led to a massive people´s movement in which Sámi and 

non-Sámi stood together. The Norwegian State’s use of force to remove the protesters 

received massive international attention and was strongly criticised (Minde, 2008). The Alta 

conflict (1968 -1984) undoubtedly put Sámi indigenous rights onto the political agenda. In 

1988, the right of Sámi citizens to secure and develop their language, culture and social life 

was included in the Norwegian constitution (§110 later changed to §108). With the Sámi 

Parliament, established in 1989, the Sámi people got their own political body. This meant that 

the right of indigenous people to participate in decision-making in matters concerning their 

own cultural development, language, and education—as laid down in ILO convention 169 and 

in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 18) (United 

Nations, 2007) —became a reality for the Sámi in Norway. The ILO Indigenous and Tribal 

Peoples Convention 169 (International Labour Organization, 1989) was adopted in 1989 and 

in 1990 Norway was the first nation to ratify it. The convention includes crucial obligations 

concerning Sámi children’s right to an education that ensures they can maintain or regain and 

develop their Sámi identity. In accordance with the convention the Norwegian Education Act 

(1998) contains a specific section (§6) on Sámi education, which establishes Sámi children’s 

right to receive education in Sámi and through the medium of Sámi. Curricula for instruction 

in the Sámi language and curricula for specific Sámi subjects are issued by the Sámi Parliament. 

Since 1997 new curricula are always published in both Norwegian and Sámi versions. The Sámi 

version is for use in the Sámi administrative area, which encompasses 13 municipalities where 

Sámi languages have the same legal status as Norwegian. It emphasises Sámi traditional 

knowledge and Sámi perspectives, and is also available in Norwegian. Even though there is 

still a long way to go, over the last 30 years essential measures have been taken to facilitate a 

revitalisation of Sámi language and culture (Andresen, Evjen & Ryymin, 2021).  



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

140 

 

Norwegianisation, however, not only affected the Sámi: it had a profound impact on the entire 

population. A devastating effect of Norwegianisation was the negative attitude towards the 

Sámi that was planted in the minds of everyone who grew up and lived in Norway. This was 

nurtured by the way in which the Sámi part of the population was treated by institutions, 

government officials and in schools, and how the Sámi were presented in government 

documents. Norwegianisation was a political program aimed at extinguishing the Sámi culture, 

the Sámi way of life and any Sámi consciousness through convincing not only the Sámi but 

also the Norwegian population that the Sámi were culturally and mentally underdeveloped. 

The prejudice that was officially spread and, over many decades, allowed to take root in the 

population takes time to eliminate (Lile, 2019b). This is a challenge many indigenous peoples 

face. Accordingly, a central claim in the ILO convention No. 169 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples 

Convention is that educational measures should be taken in order to eliminate prejudice. It is 

emphasised that ‘… efforts shall be made to ensure that history textbooks and other 

educational materials provide a fair, accurate and informative portrayal of the societies and 

cultures of these peoples’ (ILO 1989, Article 31). A corresponding claim is also found in the 

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (United Nations, 2007, Article 

15). Stavenhagen, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights of 

Indigenous Peoples, points out that inappropriate and disrespectful representation of their 

cultures in educational texts and materials has been a considerable problem for indigenous 

peoples in different countries (Stavenhagen, 2015). A critical analysis of the way in which Sámi 

perspectives are presented in the Norwegian national curriculum is therefore both justified 

and imperative.  

Previous research and the concept of diversity 

Decolonial critique in both indigenous research and research in general has raised questions 

concerning the way in which reality is presented in academic research and official documents. 

In her ground-breaking book Decolonizing Methodologies. Research and Indigenous Peoples, 

Smith casts light on the ways in which academic research is dominated by Western thought 

and how imperialistic perspectives influence research methods and contribute to maintaining 

established power relations (Smith, 2012). A central concern of decolonial approaches to 

education is how indigenous perspectives, values and cultural knowledge are or should be 

represented in teaching materials and curricula and taught about at school or university (e.g., 

Yumagulova et al, 2020; Smith, Tuck & Yang, 2018; Nutti, 2016). An overarching goal is to 

ensure that indigenous people are given the possibility to regain and develop their indigenous 

identity and dignity through education. One of the things discussed is whether the transfer of 

indigenous knowledge to indigenous students should mainly take place in indigenous-based 

schools or be integrated into mainstream education (Gjerpe, 2018).  



  R. Eggen 

141 

 

In her comparative study of Norway and Aotearoa/New Zealand, Gjerpe points out that 

Norway—like Aotearoa/New Zealand—has established indigenous-based education within 

the national education system (the Sámi-based curriculum for use in the Sámi administrative 

area). However, most Sámi students attend mainstream schools. On this basis she argues that 

an indigenisation of mainstream education is essential—not only to ensure culturally 

appropriate education for Sámi students but also for non-Sámi students. Based on this 

perspective, the mainstream curriculum must satisfy the two criteria required by ILO 169: on 

the one hand it has to ensure that Sámi students get the possibility to gain Sámi cultural 

knowledge and develop their Sámi identity (ILO, 1989, Article 2,2(b); 27,1; 28,1; 33); on the 

other hand, it must ensure that all students learn about the Sámi and their culture (ILO, 1989, 

Article 5(a), 5(b); 31). The way in which the Sámi are represented in the national mainstream 

curriculum affects both Sámi students’ self-image and the way in which non-Sámi students 

conceive the Sámi and their culture. This must be kept in mind when we discuss the specific 

passage in the RE curriculum. 

Discussion of the curriculum’s representation of the Sámi should be placed within a 

decolonisation discourse, not least since it concerns the relation between the Sámi and the 

non-Sámi parts of the population. The Norwegian studies of Andreassen and Olsen 

(Andreassen & Olsen, 2020b; Olsen & Andreassen, 2018; Olsen & Andreassen, 2016) and 

Eriksen (Eriksen, 2018) as well as the Swedish study of Svonni (Svonni, 2015) are examples of 

research on the representation of the Sámi or Sámi issues in national curricula. All these 

studies are related to the decolonisation discourse. The text passage in the fourth core 

element of the RE curriculum, however, categorises Sámi perspectives in terms of ‘diversity 

competence’ and thereby places them in a diversity discourse. Discussing Sámi issues from a 

diversity perspective means that the focus is on anti-discrimination and the empowerment of 

minority groups in general. The dimension of indigeneity is left out. Considering that the text 

passage in question addresses Sámi perspectives, this is problematic. There is good reason 

why international legislation singles out indigenous people as a group needing specific 

protection, as Wiessner underlines:  

This differentia specifica of indigenous peoples, the collective spiritual relationship to 

their land, is what separates them also from other groups generally, and diffusely, 

denominated ‘minorities’, and what has created the need for a special legal regime 

transcending the general human rights rules on the universal and regional planes. 

(Wiessner, 2011, p. 129) 

The fact that implementation of indigenous rights in Norway to a great extent is linked to the 

question of self-determination (Weigård, 2018; Henriksen, 2008) shows a fundamental 

difference between indigenous rights and human rights and highlights the context of 



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

142 

 

colonialism. To discuss representations of the Sámi in the curriculum within a diversity 

discourse, therefore, is incorrect. However, in order to better understand what is implied 

when the term diversity is used in national educational documents it is necessary to consider 

how the word has been used.  

In Norway, ‘diversity’ (Norw. mangfold) is increasingly used in the field of education to 

describe the heterogeneity of a population (Åberg, 2020); the word has frequently occurred 

in political documents on education over the last decade. At the same time, the term and the 

way in which it is used has been subject to discussion. From a critical point of view, it has been 

pointed out that the term diversity casts a veil over a complex and challenging subject, its 

positive basic tone making it difficult to address specific challenges and subject them to critical 

discussion (Borchgrevink & Brochmann, 2008). With reference to a 2013-2017 national 

campaign called ‘Competence for Diversity’ (Norw. Kompetanse for mangfold), Westrheim & 

Hagatun (2015) point out the inadequacy of the term diversity in critical discussions on 

education in a multicultural society. According to their analyses it provides an overarching 

perspective on minorities that is defined by the majority, a perspective that makes the 

affected groups invisible. Åberg concludes in her study of the term in two main education 

policy documents that diversity is ‘… an unfit tool to conceptualise difference, and therefore 

to discuss equity and social justice in education.’ (Åberg 2020, p. 169) Given the critical voices 

of these researchers, we see it is problematic to categorise awareness of Sámi perspectives as 

diversity competence and make questions on the relationship between the Sámi and non-

Sámi population part of the diversity discourse.  

However, there are other, less critical voices which consider diversity competence to be a term 

which is well-suited for discussions on multiculturality and education. Røthing argues that 

diversity is a term which opens new possibilities. Accordingly, her approach to diversity is to 

provide a new definition. She considers diversity, or more precisely the term diversity 

competence that is used in the current RE curriculum, to be a concept which enables critical 

consciousness and reflections on power relations (Røthing, 2020). Referring to Røthing’s 

conception of diversity competence, Olsen & Andreassen point to the inner variety of Sámi 

culture and identity and argue for an understanding of diversity that also covers this inner 

variety of being Sámi. In Røthing’s and Olsen & Andreassen’s approach diversity stands out as 

a term which, when filled with the right content, functions as a tool for promoting equity and 

social justice in education. Based on this approach the actual formulation in the curriculum 

(‘Sámi perspectives are included. Topics related to gender and functional ability are also 

included.’) may be read as an explanation of the term diversity competence, a more precise 

definition of the term being given by including a list of topics.  However, the definition of 

diversity competence is only one part of the message conveyed. By categorising topics as 

diversity competence, the sentences inevitably also say something about these topics. In the 



  R. Eggen 

143 

 

present study the focus is on what the text passage communicates about Sámi perspectives. 

The question that must be answered in the following is, therefore, what is the meaning of the 

text with respect to the Sámi and their perspectives. 

Method 

An answer to the question above must be based on an analysis of the text passage itself: ‘The 

subject shall support pupils in developing diversity competence. Sámi perspectives are 

included.’ The meaning of this passage, however, depends to a great extent on the meaning 

of the term diversity competence, and this meaning cannot be retrieved from analyses 

restricted to the use of diversity in this text. Since the national curriculum is a key 

governmental document on education, it belongs to a group of education policy documents 

which constitute a larger context, sharing the same technical terminology. Therefore, an 

examination of the meaning of diversity in the actual text passage must rely on analyses of 

the term in a wider range of official educational documents. These analyses focus on the 

meaning of texts, which, being part of governmental documents, construct a certain 

understanding of reality which is meant to be normative. Accordingly, Fairclough’s critical 

discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2003), based on a conception of texts as parts of social events, 

is a suitable methodological approach.  

Fairclough points out that ‘… meaning-making depends upon not only what is explicit in a text 

but also what is implicit – what is assumed.’ (Fairclough, 2003, p. 11). Implicitness is an 

essential feature in the curriculum text, given the fact that the Norwegian national curriculum 

is both a key educational steering document and, at the same time, meant to give working 

instructions to teachers. This means the curriculum is an ideological document meant to 

communicate the government’s conception of education and society which, at the same time, 

must be of a limited size. In order to keep the text short, meaning-making cannot rest on 

explicit elements but must to a considerable extent rely on implications anchored in adjacent 

governmental texts, which are usually much longer. Consequently, how the term diversity is 

understood in the actual text passage in the curriculum depends on the meaning ascribed to 

the term diversity in contemporary governmental documents on education. According to 

Fairclough (2003), meaning is, among other things, the result of implications, assumptions, 

and semantic and lexical relations in texts. In the following analyses of governmental texts on 

education I will use Fairclough’s discourse analysis approach to identify and explain the 

meanings of diversity in these texts. I will focus on logical implications, value assumptions, 

semantic relations between sentences and clauses, and internal semantic and lexical relations 

as measures of meaning-making. 

Before analysing other governmental documents, we must take a closer look at the text-



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

144 

 

passage in the RE curriculum itself: ‘The subject shall support pupils in developing diversity 

competence. Sámi perspectives are included.’ Applying Fairclough’s categories one can 

identify a positive value assumption of diversity competence: triggered by the presentation of 

diversity competence as an objective of RE lessons, diversity competence stands out as 

something desirable. One can also point to a logical implication concerning the term diversity 

itself. The fact that the term diversity constitutes the first part of the compound expression 

diversity competence implies that the meaning of diversity includes the notion that it is 

something that one must be enabled to handle. Accordingly, in the following analyses of 

governmental documents the focus will be on passages in which diversity appears to be 

something that must be handled.  

Material 

The governmental documents analysed consist of Official Norwegian Reports (Norw. Norges 

offentlige utredninger) (NOU) and White Papers (Norw. Meld.St) published by the Ministry of 

Education and Research from 2015 to 2018 which the database labels as ‘dealing with 

education’. Since this study focuses on diversity in the population as something that must be 

addressed, only documents that dealt with this issue were of interest. Therefore, searches 

were made by using the noun ‘diversity’ (Norw. mangfold) and the adjective ‘diverse’ (Norw. 

mangfoldig) in order to extract passages relevant to the research. The search resulted in the 

three Official Reports and five White Papers listed below. The document titles are presented 

in English with the original Norwegian text in brackets. Due to the lack of official translations 

for most of the documents many of the titles and quotes from the documents are based on 

my translation.  

- NOU 2018:15: Official Norwegian Reports. Qualified, prepared and motivated. – A 

knowledge base of structure and content in upper secondary education and training 

(Kvalifisert, forberedt og motivert — Et kunnskapsgrunnlag om struktur og innhold i 

videregående opplæring).  

- NOU 2017:2: Official Norwegian Reports. Integration and trust — Long-term 

consequences of high levels of immigration (Integrasjon og tillit. Langsiktige konsekvenser 

av høy innvandring). 

- NOU 2015:8: Official Norwegian Reports. The school of the future. Renewing subjects and 

competences (Fremtidens skole. Fornyelse av fag og kompetanser).  

- Meld.St. 4 (2018 –2019):  (White Paper). Long-term plan for research and higher education 

2019–2028. (Langtidsplan for forskning og høyere utdanning 2019–2028). 

- Meld.St. 25 (2016 –2017): (White Paper). The humanities in Norway (Humaniora i Norge).  

- Meld.St. 28 (2015 –2016): (White Paper). Subjects and in-depth subject study – A renewal 

of the Knowledge Promotion Reform [Fag – fordypning – forståelse — En fornyelse av 



  R. Eggen 

145 

 

Kunnskapsløftet]. 

- Meld.St. 19 (2015–2016): (White Paper). Time for play and learning. Improving the content 

in the kindergarten [Tid for lek og læring. Bedre innhold i barnehagen]. 

- Meld.St. 16 (2015–2016): (White Paper). From outsiderness to a new chance. Co-

ordinating adult learning [Fra utenforskap til ny sjanse. Samordnet innsats for voksnes 

læring]. 

Analysis and findings 

In these eight documents, passages found to contain either the noun ‘diversity’ (Norw. 

mangfold) or the adjective ‘diverse’ (Norw. mangfoldig), referring to variety in the population 

as well as to something that must or should be addressed, were analysed. The aim of the 

analyses has been to identify meanings of the term ‘diversity’ that are relevant for 

understanding the term ‘diversity competence’, as used in the RE curriculum. Using 

Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, three characteristics/features of diversity could be 

identified in most of the analysed texts: firstly, diversity is something that is increasing or has 

increased; secondly, diversity represents a challenge; and thirdly, diversity is linked to 

immigration.  

The first mentioned feature of diversity is communicated both explicitly through the present 

and past participles increasing and increased, and implicitly through the adjectives more and 

larger, which due to their comparative forms express increase. The feature of diversity being 

a challenge is expressed explicitly only twice, once through the subject and once through the 

verb challenge. However, the implicit presentation of diversity as something that requires 

measures to be taken can be said to be strong, since it is based on quite clear logical 

implications: diversity is presented as something that needs to be handled—it creates a need 

for something or places greater demands on something. The third feature of diversity—that 

of it being a consequence of immigration—is mainly presented explicitly in the documents. 

Diversity is connected to immigration; either straightforwardly in the same sentence, in two 

paratactical sentences sharing the same subject, or in two paratactical clauses with an 

underlying causal relation between them.  

The table below shows the specific occurrences in the eight governmental documents which 

were analysed. In the columns the occurrences within each of the NOUs and white papers are 

quoted, followed by the actual page number in the actual document. In cases where the same 

linguistic representation occurs several times in the same document, each page number 

represents a separate occurrence.  

 



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

146 

 

Table 1 Occurrences of diversity/diverse in eight education policy documents 

  1.) Diversity as 

increasing or having 

increased  

2.) Diversity as a 

challenge:  

 

3.) Diversity as a consequence 

of immigration 

NOU 

2018:15 

‘more diverse’ (pp. 41, 

57, 204) 

‘Larger diversity’ (pp. 

114, 157)  

‘increased diversity’ (p. 

248) 

  

NOU 

2017:2 

‘increased diversity’ (pp. 

16, 28) 

‘more diverse’ (pp. 147, 

166) 

‘increasing diversity’ (p. 

168) 

‘… handling the challenges 

attached to cultural 

diversity’ (p. 16) 

  

‘The Norwegian society’s 

ability to handle diversity …’ 

(p. 24).  

‘Cultural diversity and value-

conflicts as a consequence of 

immigration …’ (p. 16)  

 

‘Immigration leads to increased 

diversity in society …’ (p. 28) 

 

‘…work immigration … gives them 

a more diverse population to 

employ from.’ (p. 147)  

 

‘Cultural and value diversity as a 

consequence of immigration …’ (p. 

168).  

NOU 

2015:8 

‘larger diversity’ (pp. 8, 

17) 

‘increased diversity’ (pp. 

19, 20, 21, 31, 50) 

‘Social changes attached to 

… increased diversity … lead 

to the need for …’ (p. 20)  

‘Features of development 

such as increased diversity 

… lead to the need for …’ (p. 

21). 

‘the immigrants’ part of the 

population is presumed to 

increase. This contributes to an 

increased ethnic, religious and 

cultural diversity in the Norwegian 

society’ (p. 19).  

Meld.St 4 

(2018-

2019) 

‘increased diversity’ (pp. 

26, 72) 

 ‘We have got increased cultural 

diversity, and Norway has received 

many immigrants with 

competence that is valuable for 

the country.’ (p. 26)  

 

‘In recent generations immigration 

to Norway has increased …. This is 

enriching and has brought about 

an increased diversity.’ (p. 72)  

Meld.St. 

25 (2016-

2017) 

‘increased diversity’ (p. 

71) 

‘A democratic society which 

is supposed to function in a 

global reality characterized 

 

 

 



  R. Eggen 

147 

 

  1.) Diversity as 

increasing or having 

increased  

2.) Diversity as a 

challenge:  

 

3.) Diversity as a consequence 

of immigration 

by … increased diversity, 

must develop …’ (p. 71)  

 

‘… in a time marked by 

diversity …, it will not be 

possible to prepare for the 

future by ‘(p. 89). 

 

Meld.St. 

28 (2015-

2016  

 

‘increasing diversity’ (p. 

6)  

‘more diverse’ (pp. 6, 21) 

‘Society’s increasing 

diversity and new forms of 

communication challenge 

the education system in 

different ways.’ (p. 6) 

 

Meld.St. 

19 (2015-

2016) 

‘more diverse’ (p. 26)  

‘increased diversity’ (p. 

39) 

‘larger diversity’ (p. 43) 

‘Increased ethnic, religious 

and cultural diversity will 

lead to an increased need 

for …’ (p. 39) 

 

Meld.St. 

16 (2015-

2016)  

‘more diverse’ (pp. 14, 

29) 

‘A more diverse population 

makes higher demands on 

…’ (p. 14). 

 

 

The meanings carried by ‘diversity’ in these governmental education documents are that 

diversity is increasing, that it represents a challenge, and that it is a consequence of 

immigration. Accordingly, the term ‘diversity competence’ in the curriculum may be 

interpreted as referring to having enough knowledge, judgement, or skills to handle the 

challenge which diversity as the result of increased immigration represents. Including Sámi 

perspectives in this competence means putting them in conjunction with immigration, and 

the challenges caused by immigration. The formulation ‘the subject shall support pupils in 

developing diversity competence. Sámi perspectives are included’ may therefore easily lead 

to an understanding of the Sámi being one of an increasing number of minorities in an 

originally Norwegian society. This is also supported by Åberg’s findings in her study of the 

conceptions of diversity in two of the same documents. Her conclusion is: ‘The implications 

are that notions of Norwegianness and otherness are reproduced along cultural lines’ (Åberg 

2020, p.169). 

Discussion 

Fairclough’s focus is on the social effects of texts, or more precisely on the social effects of 

meaning, because, as he points out, ‘… it is the meanings that have social effects’ (Fairclough, 

2003, p. 11). The social effects of the meaning of diversity competence in the RE curriculum 



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

148 

 

may be devastating, depending on how the text is interpreted by the people who read it and 

by their individual processes of meaning-making. Considering that erroneous immigration 

theories developed by Norwegian historians around 1850 wrongly stamped the Sámi as 

immigrants and both deprived them of their land rights and provided a foundation for defining 

them as culturally and intellectually underdeveloped, categorising awareness of Sámi 

perspectives as diversity competence may be considered to verge on a violation of the ILO 

convention’s regulations. It even may be seen as a violation of the United Nations Convention 

of the Rights of the Child (CRC) Art 29 (1) if we consider Sámi children in Norway (Lile, 2019a), 

and it communicates disrespect for the rights of the Sámi as an indigenous people of Norway. 

Lile points out: 

 Teaching respect for the rights of groups that are subject to prejudice in society is 

genuinely difficult. There is this attitude component attached to prejudice, that 

functions as a shield against information and new knowledge that can threaten that 

prejudice. (Lile, 2019b, p.160) 

Prejudice against the Sámi is still a problem in Norway (Andresen, Evjen & Ryymin, 2021). Texts 

which present or discuss Sámi issues or perspectives should therefore be thoroughly 

scrutinised and formulated with precision and care, without any room for ambiguity. The way 

in which the majority school system addresses indigenous issues must respect the human 

rights of indigenous peoples and, in the context of the CRC Art 29 (1) (United Nations, 1989), 

there are concerns for human rights education in Norway.  

The implications outlined above are not only to be found in governmental documents but also 

in public usage. An example is the name of a five-year national campaign (2013-2017) initiated 

by the Ministry of Education and Research—Competence for diversity (Norw. Kompetanse for 

mangfold). The evaluation report states: ‘The aim of the diversity competence initiative is to 

enable staff in kindergartens and schools to support children, students and adults from 

minority backgrounds in such a way that, as far as possible, they complete their formal 

education’ (Lødding, Rønsen & Wollscheid 2017, p.12). It can be logically inferred from the 

formulation ‘complete their formal education’ that the persons in question have not been 

living in Norway, where there is a statutory right to education. A logical implication is therefore 

that the children, students, and adults referred to are immigrants. 

In public usage, the term diversity is not only connected to immigration but is also explicitly 

linked to integration. The name of the Directorate for Integration and Diversity (Integrerings- 

og mangfoldsdirektoratet) exemplifies public usage, especially since it is frequently mentioned 

in the Norwegian media. This organ is ‘a specialist directorate, an administrative body and the 

national competence centre responsible for the integration field’ and its key responsibilities 

include the resettlement of refugees and facilitating immigrant participation in the labour 



  R. Eggen 

149 

 

force and in local communities (Directorate of Integration and Diversity, n.d). The connection 

between diversity and immigration implied in governmental documents and in public usage, 

together with the explicit connection between diversity and integration in official usage, 

justifies characterising the text in the fourth core element of the RE curriculum as a colonial 

approach. The concept of integration is contradictory to the aims of recognising and 

protecting the social, cultural, religious, and spiritual values and practices of an indigenous 

people and of respecting the integrity of their values, practices, and institutions (ILO 169, 

Article 5). These are obligations which the Norwegian state has bound itself to by ratifying ILO 

convention 169.  

The impression of the RE curriculum’s text’s colonial nature is strengthened if we compare it 

to a formulation found in an official document from 1930. In his article on Sámi history, 

Pedersen (2015) draws attention to a category applied by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 

the 1930 census: ‘Sámi and Kven – Citizens of other countries. Blind, deaf mute, imbeciles, and 

lunatics’ [Samer og Kvener. – Andre lands statsborgere. Blinde, døvstumme, åndssvake og 

sinnsyke] (Central Bureau of Statistics, 1930). Keeping in mind that diversity in the analysed 

governmental documents is connected to immigration, the text in the fourth core element of 

the RE curriculum is alarmingly similar: ‘The subject shall support pupils in developing diversity 

competence. Sámi perspectives are included. Topics such as gender and functional ability are 

also included’. 

Conclusion 

The main objective of this article has been to explain why the way in which Sámi perspectives 

are presented within the RE curriculum is highly problematic. In order to explain what the 

curriculum’s categorisation of Sámi perspectives as diversity competence may communicate 

about the Sámi it was necessary to make visible the meaning of diversity in other 

governmental documents dealing with education. Based on an analysis of three NOUs and five 

White Papers I have argued that the text passage, ‘the subject shall support pupils in 

developing diversity competence. Sámi perspectives are included’, may induce readers to 

think of the Sámi as one of a growing number of minorities in an originally Norwegian society: 

this conflicts with the ILO 169 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. In addition, the study 

has drawn attention to the fact that the utmost clarity and unambiguousness in governmental 

documents and official usage are essential whenever Sámi issues are addressed.  

A critical discussion of the text passage in focus has also a place in human rights education 

which, for Sámi children and young people, implies empowering them to regain and develop 

their own cultural identity and to exercise and rely on their own Sámi perspectives. The way 

in which Sámi perspectives are presented in the curriculum may play a significant role in either 



Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

150 

 

supporting or counteracting this process. The formulation ‘the subject shall support pupils in 

developing diversity competence. Sámi perspectives are included’ is particularly relevant in 

this respect, since it is the only place in the core elements of the RE curriculum where the term 

Sámi is used, or the Sámi are explicitly mentioned.  

References 

Andreassen, B.-O. & Olsen, T. (2020a). Urfolk og nasjonale minoriteter i skolen [Indigenous 

people and national minorities in school]. In B.-O. Andreassen, & T. Olsen (Eds.), Urfolk 

og nasjonale minoriteter i skole og lærerutdanning (pp. 9-33). Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.  

Andreassen, B.-O. & Olsen, T. (2020b). ‘Sami religion’ in Sámi curricula in RE in the 

Norwegian school system: An analysis of the importance of terms. Religions, 11(9), 1-

16. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11090448  

Andresen, A., Evjen, B. & Ryymin, T. (Ed.) (2021). Samenes historie fra 1751 til 2010 [History 

of the Sámi from 1751 to 2010]. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. 

Balto, A.M. & Kuhmunen, G. (2014). Om Máhttáhit ieaamet ja earáid = Máhttáhit - Omskola 

dem och oss! - Sámiskt självbestämmande och Sámiskt ledarskap [Re-educate them 

and us! Sámi Self-determination and Sámi Leadership]. Kárášjohka-Karasjok: Cálliid 

Lágádus. 

Borchgrevink, T. & Brochmann, G. (2008). Mangfold uten grenser [Diversity without limits]. 

Samtiden 3, 22-31. https://doi.org/10.18261/ISSN1890-0690-2008-03-04  

Bull, T. & Gaski, H. (1994). Fornorskningspolitikk og språkundertrykking [Norwegianisation 

politics and language oppression]. In E.-A. Drivenes, M.A. Hauan & H.A. Wold (Eds.), 

Nordnorsk kulturhistorie. Det mangfoldige folket (vol 2, pp. 246-258). Oslo: Gyldendal 

Norsk Forlag. 

Central Bureau of Statistics. (1930). Folketellingen i Norge. 1 desember 1930, 4. hefte. 

(Norges offisielle statistikk IX. 17.) [Population Census in Norway. December 1st, 1930, 

4. brochure]. (Official Statistics Norway IX. 17.)]. Oslo: Aschehoug & Co.  

Directorate of Integration and Diversity. (n.d). About IMDi. Retrieved from 

https://www.imdi.no/en/about-imdi/ 

Education Act. (1998). Act relating to primary and secondary education and training (the 

Education Act). LOV-1998-07-17-61. Retrieved from 

https://lovdata.no/dokument/NLE/lov/1998-07-17-61  

Eidheim, H. (1996 [1969]). When ethnic identity is a social stigma. In T. Hylland Eriksen (Ed.), 

Sosialantropologiske grunntekster (pp. 281-291). Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal.  

https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11090448
https://doi.org/10.18261/ISSN1890-0690-2008-03-04
https://www.imdi.no/en/about-imdi/
https://lovdata.no/dokument/NLE/lov/1998-07-17-61


  R. Eggen 

151 

 

Eriksen, K. G. (2018). The indigenous Sámi citizen and Norwegian national identity: Tensions 

in curriculum discourses. Human Rights Education Review, 1(2), 25–45. 

https://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.2852 

Eriksen, K. G., & Svendsen, S. H. B. (2020). Decolonial options in education – interrupting 

coloniality and inviting alternative conversations. Nordic Journal of Comparative and 

International Education (NJCIE), 4(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3859 

Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: 

Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203697078  

Gjerpe, K. K. (2018). From indigenous education to indigenising mainstream education. 

FLEKS - Scandinavian Journal of Intercultural Theory and Practice, 5(1), 1-18. 

https://doi.org/10.7577/fleks.2190 

Hansen L.I. & Olsen. (2004). Samenes historie frem til 1750 [The Sámi’s History up to 1750]. 

Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk forlag. 

Henriksen, J. B. (2008). The continuous process of recognition and implementation of the 

Sami people's right to self-determination. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 

21(1), 27-40, https://doi.org/10.1080/09557570701828402 

Henriksen, M. B. (2020). Bibelen på samisk. Historisk blikk på samiske bibeloversettelser. 

[The Bible in Sámi. A historical perspective on Sámi Bible translations]. Kirke og kultur, 

124(01), 68-84. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-3002-2020-01-07 

International Labour Organization. (1989). C169 - Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. 

(ILO 169). Retrieved from 

https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_C

ODE:C169 

Lile, H. S. (2008). FNs menneskerettigheter og urfolksrettigheter. En innføring med fokus på 

Sámiske rettigheter [The UN’s human rights and indigenous rights. An introduction 

with focus on Sámi rights.]. Gáldu Čála. Tidsskrift for urfolks rettigheter, 1.  

Lile, H. S. (2019a). Human rights education. In M. Langford, M. Skivenes M. & K. H. Søvig 

(Eds.), Children’s rights in Norway (pp. 415-448). Retrieved from 

https://www.idunn.no/file/pdf/67110782/childrens_rights_in_norway.pdf%20www.id

unn.no  

Lile, H. S. (2019b). The realisation of human rights education in Norway. Nordic Journal of 

Human Rights, 37(2), 143-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/18918131.2019.1674007  

Lødding, B., Rønsen, E. & Wollscheid, S. (2017). Utvikling av flerkulturell kompetanse i 

lærerutdanningen, grunnopplæringen og barnehagene. Sluttrapport fra evalueringen 

https://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.2852
https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3859
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203697078
https://doi.org/10.7577/fleks.2190
https://doi.org/10.1080/09557570701828402
https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-3002-2020-01-07
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C169
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C169
https://www.idunn.no/file/pdf/67110782/childrens_rights_in_norway.pdf%20www.idunn.no
https://www.idunn.no/file/pdf/67110782/childrens_rights_in_norway.pdf%20www.idunn.no
https://doi.org/10.1080/18918131.2019.1674007


Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

152 

 

av Kompetanse for mangfold [Development of multicultural competence in teacher 

education, primary and secondary education and kindergartens]. (NIFU Rapport 

2018:1). Retrieved from 

https://www.udir.no/contentassets/0da7bd0dc463429e9132e56dbacfdbee/kompetan

se-for-mangfold.pdf 

Mellgren, D. (1997, October 7). Norway’s king apologizes for treatment of Sami people. The 

Associated Press. Retrieved from 

https://apnews.com/article/e98d6c4f07f9479c7c256c51c5c0699b 

Minde, H. (2003). Assimilation of the Sámi – Implementation and consequences. Acta 

Borelia, 20(2), 121-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/08003830310002877  

Minde, H. (2018). The destination and the journey. Indigenous peoples and the United 

Nations from the 1960s through 1985. In H. Minde (Ed.) in collaboration with: S. 

Jentoft, H. Gaski and G. Midré, Indigenous peoples: Self-determination – knowledge – 

indigeneity (pp. 49-86). Delft: Eburon Academic. 

Ministry of Education and Research. (2015). NOU 2015: 8. Fremtidens skole. Fornyelse av fag 

og kompetanser [Official Norwegian Reports NOU 2015: 8. The school of the future. 

Renewal of subject and competences]. Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/da148fec8c4a4ab88daa8b677a700292/no

/pdfs/nou201520150008000dddpdfs.pdf   

Ministry of Education and Research. (2016a). Fra utenforskap til ny sjanse. Samordnet 

innsats for voksnes læring [From outsiderness to a new chance. Co-ordinated effort for 

adults’ learning] – Meld.St. 16 (2015–2016). White paper). Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/daaabc96b3c44c4bbce21a1ee9d3c206/no

/pdfs/stm201520160016000dddpdfs.pdf  

Ministry of Education and Research. (2016b). Tid for lek og læring. Bedre innhold i 

barnehagen [Time for Play and Learning. Better content in kindergartens] – Meld.St. 19 

(2015–2016) (White paper). Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/cae152ecc6f9450a819ae2a9896d7cf5/no/

pdfs/stm201520160019000dddpdfs.pdf  

Ministry of Education and Research. (2016c). Fag – Fordypning – Forståelse — En fornyelse 

av Kunnskapsløftet [Subject – In-depth Studies – Understanding. A Renewal of the 

Knowledge Promotion Reform] – Meld.St. 28 (2015–2016). (White paper). Retrieved 

from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/e8e1f41732ca4a64b003fca213ae663b/no/

pdfs/stm201520160028000dddpdfs.pdf   

https://www.udir.no/contentassets/0da7bd0dc463429e9132e56dbacfdbee/kompetanse-for-mangfold.pdf
https://www.udir.no/contentassets/0da7bd0dc463429e9132e56dbacfdbee/kompetanse-for-mangfold.pdf
https://apnews.com/article/e98d6c4f07f9479c7c256c51c5c0699b
https://doi.org/10.1080/08003830310002877
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/da148fec8c4a4ab88daa8b677a700292/no/pdfs/nou201520150008000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/da148fec8c4a4ab88daa8b677a700292/no/pdfs/nou201520150008000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/daaabc96b3c44c4bbce21a1ee9d3c206/no/pdfs/stm201520160016000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/daaabc96b3c44c4bbce21a1ee9d3c206/no/pdfs/stm201520160016000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/cae152ecc6f9450a819ae2a9896d7cf5/no/pdfs/stm201520160019000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/cae152ecc6f9450a819ae2a9896d7cf5/no/pdfs/stm201520160019000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/e8e1f41732ca4a64b003fca213ae663b/no/pdfs/stm201520160028000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/e8e1f41732ca4a64b003fca213ae663b/no/pdfs/stm201520160028000dddpdfs.pdf


  R. Eggen 

153 

 

Ministry of Education and Research. (2017a). Humaniora i Norge [The humanities in Norway] 

— Meld. St. 25 (2016–2017). (White paper). Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/e51d8864c32248598e381e84db1032a3/n

o/pdfs/stm201620170025000dddpdfs.pdf  

Ministry of Education and Research. (2017b) NOU 2017: 2 Integrasjon og tillit. Langsiktige 

konsekvenser av høy innvandring [Official Norwegian Reports NOU 2017: 2 Integration 

and trust — Long-term consequences of high immigration]. Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c072f7f37da747539d2a0b0fef22957f/no/p

dfs/nou201720170002000dddpdfs.pdf   

Ministry of Education and Research. (2018a). Langtidsplan for forskning og høyere utdanning 

2019–2028 [Long-term plan for research and higher education 2019–2028] — Meld. St. 

4 (2018–2019). (White paper). Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/9aa4570407c34d4cb3744d7acd632654/no

/pdfs/stm201820190004000dddpdfs.pdf  

Ministry of Education and Research. (2018b). NOU 2018: 15 Kvalifisert, forberedt og 

motivert — Et kunnskapsgrunnlag om struktur og innhold i videregående opplæring 

[Official Norwegian Reports NOU 2018: 15. Qualified, prepared and motivated. – A 

knowledge base on structure and content in upper secondary education and training]. 

Retrieved from 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c69184206be24cc49be8dff70088c208/no/

pdfs/nou201820180015000dddpdfs.pdf  

Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training. (2020). Læreplan i kristendom, religion, 

livssyn og etikk (KRLE) [Curriculum for knowledge of Christianity, religion, philosophies 

of life and ethics] (RE-curriculum). Retrieved from https://www.udir.no/lk20/rle01-03  

Nutti, Y.J. (2016). Decolonizing indigenous teaching: Renewing actions through a critical 

utopian action research framework. Action Research, 16(1), 1-23. 

https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750316668240  

Olsen, T. A. & Andreassen, B-O. (2016). Ansvar, hensyn og forpliktelse. Urfolk og samiske 

forhold i barnehagens rammeplaner [Responsibility, attention and obligation. 

Indigenous peoples and Sámi matters reflected in the framework plans for 

kindergartens]. In N. Askeland, N. & B. Aamotsbakken (Eds.), Folk uten land? Å gi 

stemme og status til urfolk og nasjonale minoriteter (pp. 60-76). Kristiansand: Portal 

forlag. 

Olsen, T. A. & Andreassen, B-O. (2018). ’Urfolk’ og ‘mangfold’ i skolens læreplaner 

[‘Indigenous peoples’ and ‘diversity’ in the school curricula]. FLEKS - Scandinavian 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/e51d8864c32248598e381e84db1032a3/no/pdfs/stm201620170025000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/e51d8864c32248598e381e84db1032a3/no/pdfs/stm201620170025000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c072f7f37da747539d2a0b0fef22957f/no/pdfs/nou201720170002000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c072f7f37da747539d2a0b0fef22957f/no/pdfs/nou201720170002000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/9aa4570407c34d4cb3744d7acd632654/no/pdfs/stm201820190004000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/9aa4570407c34d4cb3744d7acd632654/no/pdfs/stm201820190004000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c69184206be24cc49be8dff70088c208/no/pdfs/nou201820180015000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c69184206be24cc49be8dff70088c208/no/pdfs/nou201820180015000dddpdfs.pdf
https://www.udir.no/lk20/rle01-03
https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750316668240


Human Rights Education Review – Volume 5(1) 

154 

 

Journal of Intercultural Theory and practice, 5 (1), 1-17. 

https://doi.org/10.7577/fleks.2248 

Pedersen, S. (2015). Samenes historie. Fra undertrykking til kulturelt likeverd [The Sámi’s 

history. From oppression to cultural equality]. In A. Holt-Jensen & S. Dyrvik (Eds.), 

Likeverd. Grunnlaget for demokrati (pp. 173-192). Res Publica. 

Rydving, H. (1993). The end of drum-time. Religious change among the Lule Saami, 1670s-

1740s. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International.  

Røthing, Å. (2020). Mangfoldskompetanse og kritisk tenkning. Perspektiver på undervisning 

[Diversity competence and critical thinking. Perspectives on teaching]. Olso: Cappelen 

Damm Akademisk. 

Smith, L.T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies. Research and indigenous peoples. London: 

Zed Books. 

Smith, L.T., Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2018). Indigenous and decolonizing studies in education: 

Mapping the long view. Milton: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429505010  

Stavenhagen, R. (2015). Indigenous peoples’ right to education. European Journal of 

Education, 50(3), 254-257. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejed.12136  

Svonni, C. (2015). At the margin of educational policy: Sámi/indigenous peoples in the 

Swedish national curriculum 2011. Creative Education, 6(9), 898-906. 

https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.69091 

United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Retrieved from 

https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx  

United Nations (2007). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

(UNDRIP). https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-

content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf 

Vesterdal, K. (2019). Championing human rights close to home and far away: Human rights 

education in the light of national identity construction and foreign policy in Norway. 

Human Rights Education Review, 2(1), 5-24. https://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.2907  

Weigård, J. (2018). Is there a special justification for indigenous rights? In H. Minde (Ed.), in 

collaboration with: S. Jentoft, H. Gaski and G. Midré, Indigenous peoples: Self-

determination- knowledge- indigeneity (pp. 177-193). Delft: Eburon Academic. 

Westrheim, K. & Hagatun, K. (2015). Hva betyr ‘kompetanse for mangfold’i 

utdanningssystemet [What does ‘competence for diversity’ signify within the 

education system]? Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 99 (3–4), 168–180. 

https://doi.org/10.7577/fleks.2248
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429505010
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejed.12136
https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.69091
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf
https://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.2907


  R. Eggen 

155 

 

Wiessner, S. (2011). The cultural rights of indigenous peoples: Achievements and continuing 

challenges. European Journal of International Law, Volume 22(1), 121-140. 

https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chr007  

Yumagulova, L., Yellow Old Woman-Munro, D., Gabriel, C.., Francis, M., Henry, S., Smith, A., 

& Ostertag, J. (2020). Preparing our home by reclaiming resilience: Lessons from 

Lil’wat Nation, Siksika Nation and Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, Canada. Nordic 

Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 4(1), 138–155. 

https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3626 

Åberg, I.B. (2020). Diversity is the others: A critical investigation of ‘diversity’ in two recent 

education policy documents. Intercultural Education, 31(2), 157-172. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2019.1702294 

https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chr007
https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3626
https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2019.1702294

	Indigeneity versus diversity
	Abstract
	Keywords
	Introduction
	Sámi history
	Previous research and the concept of diversity
	Method
	Material
	Analysis and findings
	Discussion
	Conclusion
	References