{"id":1217,"date":"2020-02-05T17:13:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nordligefolk.no\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2026-02-09T20:04:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T20:04:26","slug":"elsa-laula-renberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nordligefolk.no\/en\/elsa-laula-renberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Elsa Laula Renberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pioneer woman Elsa Laula Renberg is one of the most important advocates for the Sami people of all time. She was determined and extremely skilful at engaging people. Elsa Laula was the main person behind the first Sami national meeting on 6 February 1917. The opening date of the meeting, 6 February, is now celebrated as Sami National Day in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsa Laula Renberg (1877-1931) was born near Vilhelmina on the Swedish side. Her parents were nomadic reindeer herding Sami between Helgeland and V\u00e4sterbotten counties, at a time when the colonisation of Scandinavia had reached all Sami areas. Elsa Laula's childhood was characterised by the conflict between the reindeer herding Sami and the settlers. Population growth and the scarcity of land meant that the settlers were encroaching on the best grazing land, pushing the reindeer herding Sami up into the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsa Laula realised early on that she needed to find allies and started building a network. While studying to become a midwife in Stockholm, she became part of a Sami student community working for Sami rights. Together they founded the first Sami association: Lapparnas Centralf\u00f6rbund (1904) and Brurskanken Sami Association in Mosj\u00f8en in 1907.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life or death<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Elsa Laula was only 27 years old when she wrote her own manifesto: For life or death<\/em>. She highlighted issues such as land ownership, reindeer grazing rights, drunkenness and school conditions. She believed it was a matter of life and death for her people who were subjected to so much injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book is the first to be written by a Sami woman and was published in 6,000 copies.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There is only one way,                                                            
and it goes through a unified Sami association
that works in every lifeblood of
the Sami population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To you young men and women
I want to say words.
The future of our people is in their hands.
With their power, our people will
and countries are kept in power.
Get educated and support
the weak in the fight
for life and think about our future goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quotes from Elsa Laula's manifesto (translated from Swedish)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsa Laula married Thomas Renberg, a reindeer herder, and they settled just south of Mosj\u00f8en. Here they practised intensive reindeer husbandry, milking the sows and herding reindeer, while both travelled extensively in their political work. They had six children, four of whom grew up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not until the Brurskanken Sami Women's Association was founded in 1910 that things got moving. With Elsa Laula as chairman, they were strong and active, and plans were made for the first Sami national meeting in Trondheim in 1917. In the invitations, women were especially encouraged to participate, and the number of women was formidable: as many as 40 % of the 150 participants were women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The invitation was accompanied by a special request to Sami women to support the organisation's work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not a single woman should be missing from our organisation. We believe that when S\u00e1mi women join together with the great goal of doing something for the people, they will soon find the means whereby they in their own way will contribute to the realisation of that goal.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Elsa Laula died of tuberculosis at Br\u00f8nn\u00f8y nursing home in 1931, aged just 53. She is buried in Mosj\u00f8en.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facts about Elsa Laula Renberg<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n