Learning to Reconcile: Entextualisation of a Multilingual Municipality Sign in Educationscapes of Sápmi

Abstract

The sign of the trilingual municipality Gáivuotna – Kåfjord – Kaivuono is one of the most discussed items in the linguistic landscapes of Sápmi and Norway. In 1992, the municipality was included in the Administrative Area for Sámi Language, and monolingual Norwegian road signs were replaced with bilingual ones that also included the North Sámi name. Shortly afterwards, the bilingual signs were repeatedly painted over, removed, or even shot at, and the vandalism gained enormous media attention. Meanwhile, vandalised versions of the road sign found their way into both national and local museums. Since 2002, the signs have been left untouched, and in 2016, the Kven name of the municipality was included without any conflict. Based on material ethnography, this chapter analyses the replacement of the sign as processes of entextualisation and as acts of reconciliation aimed at both learning about injustice in the colonial past and building justice for the future.