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The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow: The Forced Displacement of the Northern Sámi
The deep and personal story—told through history, poetry, and images—of the forced displacement of the Sámi people from their homeland in northern Norway and Sweden and its reverberations today
More than a hundred years have passed since the Sámi were forcibly displaced from their homes in northern Norway and Sweden, a hundred years since Elin Anna Labba’s ancestors and relations drove their reindeer over the strait to the mainland for the last time. The place where they lived has remained empty ever since. We carry our homes in our hearts, Labba shares, citing the Sámi poet Áillohaš. How do you bear that weight if you were forced to leave? In a remarkable blend of historical reportage, memoir, and lyrical reimagining, Labba travels to the lost homeland of her ancestors to tell of the forced removal of the Sámi in the early twentieth century and to reclaim a place in history, and in today’s world, for these Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia. When Norway became a country independent from Sweden in 1905, the two nations came to an agreement that called for the displacement of the Northern Sámi, who spent summers on the Norwegian coast and winters in Sweden. This “dislocation,” as the authorities called it, gave rise to a new word in Sámi language, bággojohtin, forced displacement. The first of the sirdolaččat, or “the displaced,” left their homes fully believing they would soon return. Through stories, photographs, letters, and joik lyrics, Labba gathers a chorus of Sámi expression that resonates across the years, evoking the nomadic life they were required to abandon and the immense hardship and challenges they children left behind with relatives, reindeer lost when they returned to familiar territory, sorrow and estrangement that linger through generations. Starkly poetic and emotionally heart-wrenching, this dark history is told through the voices of the sirdolaččat, echoing the displacements of other Indigenous people around the world as it depicts the singular experience of the Northern Sámi. For her extraordinary work, Labba was awarded Sweden’s most important national book prize in 2020, the August Prize for Best Nonfiction.
More than a hundred years have passed since the Sámi were forcibly displaced from their homes in northern Norway and Sweden, a hundred years since Elin Anna Labba’s ancestors and relations drove their reindeer over the strait to the mainland for the last time. The place where they lived has remained empty ever since. We carry our homes in our hearts, Labba shares, citing the Sámi poet Áillohaš. How do you bear that weight if you were forced to leave? In a remarkable blend of historical reportage, memoir, and lyrical reimagining, Labba travels to the lost homeland of her ancestors to tell of the forced removal of the Sámi in the early twentieth century and to reclaim a place in history, and in today’s world, for these Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia. When Norway became a country independent from Sweden in 1905, the two nations came to an agreement that called for the displacement of the Northern Sámi, who spent summers on the Norwegian coast and winters in Sweden. This “dislocation,” as the authorities called it, gave rise to a new word in Sámi language, bággojohtin, forced displacement. The first of the sirdolaččat, or “the displaced,” left their homes fully believing they would soon return. Through stories, photographs, letters, and joik lyrics, Labba gathers a chorus of Sámi expression that resonates across the years, evoking the nomadic life they were required to abandon and the immense hardship and challenges they children left behind with relatives, reindeer lost when they returned to familiar territory, sorrow and estrangement that linger through generations. Starkly poetic and emotionally heart-wrenching, this dark history is told through the voices of the sirdolaččat, echoing the displacements of other Indigenous people around the world as it depicts the singular experience of the Northern Sámi. For her extraordinary work, Labba was awarded Sweden’s most important national book prize in 2020, the August Prize for Best Nonfiction.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 28, 2020
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April 27, 2024
Meticulously researched, vividly descriptive and beautifully written, The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow: The Forced Displacement of the Northern Sámi by Elin Anna Labba (translated by Fiona Graham) is a powerful read.
The award-winning author, whose grandparents were among the sirdolaččat (“the displaced”) paints an intimate portrait of the Bággojohtin,-the forced displacement of the Indigenous Sámi community between 1919 to the 1930s. The author states that approximately three hundred people were displaced during this period and the displacements continued even until the 1950s in Sweden as people were moved from one herding community to another.
“One of the most frequently quoted Sámi proverbs says that the downy birch doesn't break in two; It merely bends. You bear your hurt alone, for breaking down want to make your daily life any easier. Your tears should fall unseen on your shawl. The philosophy of life revolves around the word birget- surviving and coping. Each year the reindeer must survive the winter: that is what matters not people's feelings.”
Traditionally, the Sámi reindeer herding community divided their time between the Norwegian coast in the summers and then migrated inland to their winter pastures in Sweden. The Reindeer Grazing Conventions of 1919 signed between Sweden and Norway restricted the number of reindeer crossing the border, which marked the beginning of the displacement of the community for whom reindeer herding was their way of life. The Norwegian government wanted the land for agriculture and more importantly, wanted a country for Norwegian citizens and they viewed the Sámi as “a red rag to the Norwegian state” whom they believed didn’t belong despite having lived there for generations.
Considered a “burden on the country” and “a race on its way to extinction”, the community not only lost their land and homes, many were continuously displaced for years on end, forcibly separated from their extended families and those they left behind and their herd and made to settle on land where they had to struggle for their livelihood and were subjected to discrimination and humiliating “racial- biology examinations”. Children were stripped of their names, language and heritage, and sent to boarding schools where the main goal was assimilation. With the Lapp Bailiffs appointed to oversee the deportations, the Sami had no say in the matter, their appeals falling on deaf ears. Though financial incentives were offered, they were barely enough to sustain families who lost loved ones and large numbers of their herds en route to their appointed destinations. Those unwilling to move were coerced, fined, forcibly removed and threatened with slaughter of their herd if they did not comply.
The author not only shares her experiences from her travels to the land that was once home to her ancestors but also explores her own connection to the same and how a history of displacement and loss impacts the generations that follow. The author draws from several sources - through personal accounts from families and their descendants, pictures, joiks (traditional songs) and poetry as well as archival documents, and newspaper articles, in giving a voice to her people and sharing their history with readers across the globe. This is an insightful, emotional and heart-wrenching book that sends a strong message, emphasizing how important it is to preserve and share the stories of those who came before us and have been ignored and deliberately erased from history books, so that they are not forgotten.
“For many, recounting the tale is a way to heal. In the language I love best, to remember and to tell a story are almost the same word: muitit means to remember, and to tell or to recount is muitalit. We remember those whose story we retell.”
Many thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Note : The author was awarded the 2020 August Prize, Sweden's most distinguished literary prize, for Best Nonfiction for Sirdolaččat ( original title).
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
The award-winning author, whose grandparents were among the sirdolaččat (“the displaced”) paints an intimate portrait of the Bággojohtin,-the forced displacement of the Indigenous Sámi community between 1919 to the 1930s. The author states that approximately three hundred people were displaced during this period and the displacements continued even until the 1950s in Sweden as people were moved from one herding community to another.
“One of the most frequently quoted Sámi proverbs says that the downy birch doesn't break in two; It merely bends. You bear your hurt alone, for breaking down want to make your daily life any easier. Your tears should fall unseen on your shawl. The philosophy of life revolves around the word birget- surviving and coping. Each year the reindeer must survive the winter: that is what matters not people's feelings.”
Traditionally, the Sámi reindeer herding community divided their time between the Norwegian coast in the summers and then migrated inland to their winter pastures in Sweden. The Reindeer Grazing Conventions of 1919 signed between Sweden and Norway restricted the number of reindeer crossing the border, which marked the beginning of the displacement of the community for whom reindeer herding was their way of life. The Norwegian government wanted the land for agriculture and more importantly, wanted a country for Norwegian citizens and they viewed the Sámi as “a red rag to the Norwegian state” whom they believed didn’t belong despite having lived there for generations.
Considered a “burden on the country” and “a race on its way to extinction”, the community not only lost their land and homes, many were continuously displaced for years on end, forcibly separated from their extended families and those they left behind and their herd and made to settle on land where they had to struggle for their livelihood and were subjected to discrimination and humiliating “racial- biology examinations”. Children were stripped of their names, language and heritage, and sent to boarding schools where the main goal was assimilation. With the Lapp Bailiffs appointed to oversee the deportations, the Sami had no say in the matter, their appeals falling on deaf ears. Though financial incentives were offered, they were barely enough to sustain families who lost loved ones and large numbers of their herds en route to their appointed destinations. Those unwilling to move were coerced, fined, forcibly removed and threatened with slaughter of their herd if they did not comply.
The author not only shares her experiences from her travels to the land that was once home to her ancestors but also explores her own connection to the same and how a history of displacement and loss impacts the generations that follow. The author draws from several sources - through personal accounts from families and their descendants, pictures, joiks (traditional songs) and poetry as well as archival documents, and newspaper articles, in giving a voice to her people and sharing their history with readers across the globe. This is an insightful, emotional and heart-wrenching book that sends a strong message, emphasizing how important it is to preserve and share the stories of those who came before us and have been ignored and deliberately erased from history books, so that they are not forgotten.
“For many, recounting the tale is a way to heal. In the language I love best, to remember and to tell a story are almost the same word: muitit means to remember, and to tell or to recount is muitalit. We remember those whose story we retell.”
Many thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Note : The author was awarded the 2020 August Prize, Sweden's most distinguished literary prize, for Best Nonfiction for Sirdolaččat ( original title).
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
March 13, 2020
Den här boken borde vara obligatorisk för alla i Norden att läsa. Samernas tvångsförflyttning är något det pratas alldeles för lite om så den här boken fyller ett stort tomrum. Texten och rösterna som hörs i boken lyckas beröra en på djupet. Väldigt bra skrivet. Enda minuset (och det är inget minus egentligen utan mera önskan om att få tillgodogöra sig hela boken) är att jojkerna och det andra som är skrivet på samiska skulle ha svenska översättningar i slutet av boken, liksom en kort ordlista där ord som härk och rajd förklaras.
November 23, 2020
An important read for Swedish history.
By collecting stories, letters, photos, and joiks from Swedish Sami families who suffered being dislocated from Norway to Sweden between the 1920's and 1930's, Elin Anna Labba has created a beautiful piece of history. With these she gives voice to those who are no longer here to share their stories and experiences.
The reason for this dislocation? Norway got independent and a flare of nationalism and wanted to be Norwegian with a Norwegian language and Norwegian culture and Norwegian people. A lot of Sami in Sweden had their pasture for their reindeers in Norway during Summer. But they were not allowed their anymore. Instead of going there in the Summer, the state had chosen places where the Sami could herd their reindeers. To places that was already inhabited and it created a bad mood from both parts. These forced moves created harsh lives for the families, broke them apart (where some family members were left behind), parts or whole herds lost because of reindeer who either died or left (back North to their familiar grounds).
The Sami history is very much part of Swedish and Nordic history, but isn't really acknowledged as such and is talked about too little in school. For me, we only had a quick dive into in a Archaeology class at University some years ago. It's a very dark and nasty bit of history that not many people know about. This book is just a small part of it.
This book definitely should be read, and not be listened to on audiobook as I did. I think I would have taken in the stories much better had I read them and not listened to them, I feel like I missed out on lots, especially the photos.
By collecting stories, letters, photos, and joiks from Swedish Sami families who suffered being dislocated from Norway to Sweden between the 1920's and 1930's, Elin Anna Labba has created a beautiful piece of history. With these she gives voice to those who are no longer here to share their stories and experiences.
The reason for this dislocation? Norway got independent and a flare of nationalism and wanted to be Norwegian with a Norwegian language and Norwegian culture and Norwegian people. A lot of Sami in Sweden had their pasture for their reindeers in Norway during Summer. But they were not allowed their anymore. Instead of going there in the Summer, the state had chosen places where the Sami could herd their reindeers. To places that was already inhabited and it created a bad mood from both parts. These forced moves created harsh lives for the families, broke them apart (where some family members were left behind), parts or whole herds lost because of reindeer who either died or left (back North to their familiar grounds).
The Sami history is very much part of Swedish and Nordic history, but isn't really acknowledged as such and is talked about too little in school. For me, we only had a quick dive into in a Archaeology class at University some years ago. It's a very dark and nasty bit of history that not many people know about. This book is just a small part of it.
This book definitely should be read, and not be listened to on audiobook as I did. I think I would have taken in the stories much better had I read them and not listened to them, I feel like I missed out on lots, especially the photos.
February 27, 2022
This is the story of the forced removal of the Sami people from the northern Scandinavian peninsula. It is sad, tragic, heart-rending and another of the horrible tales of the inhumane ruthlessness and brutality of those in power when they feel that it is necessary to make room for more capitalistic "progress"; whether it is the Sami people, the Inuit, the Aborigines, the "Native Americans" or many others, the story is always the same.
In telling their story, based on countless interviews with the children and grandchildren of several of the Sami families in Sweden and Norway who were involved, Elin Anna Labba has done not only the Sami people — her own people and her own family — a great service. She has indirectly brought much-needed attention to the many similar cases on every continent on earth. The cruelty of mankind against mankind obviously knows no limits and no boundaries.
In telling their story, based on countless interviews with the children and grandchildren of several of the Sami families in Sweden and Norway who were involved, Elin Anna Labba has done not only the Sami people — her own people and her own family — a great service. She has indirectly brought much-needed attention to the many similar cases on every continent on earth. The cruelty of mankind against mankind obviously knows no limits and no boundaries.
October 12, 2022
J'ai lu l'excellente version française traduite par Fançoise Sulle. Les Samis, peuple autochtone du nord l'Europe ont vécu les déplacements forcés, l'internement des enfants de forces dans des écoles où parler leur langue devenait interdit. Leurs blessures sont de même natures que celles subies par les Premiers Peuples chez nous. Le livre, écrit par une journalises same, raconte l'histoire de familles déportées. C'est cruel. C'est beau de nature en même temps. C'est instructif et nécessaire. Et ça montre, si besoin encore, que le colonialisme parle plusieurs langues.....
April 17, 2020
Obligatorisk läsning. Oerhört bra, välskriven och med fantastiska bilder. Boken borde bli en lärobok i grundskolan så att alla kommer att känna till och aldrig glömma dessa mörka kapitel i svensk (och nordisk) historia.
July 12, 2021
Jag skäms över att jag är 25 år när jag lär mig om att det här har förekommit i svensk historia. Jag skäms över att under mina 17 år i skola inte har ens yttrats om samernas historia under någon typ av lektion. Jag skäms över att jag inte själv aktivt försökt lära mig mer om svensk historia. Jag skäms.
Den här boken är så oerhört viktig på alla planer. Både inom svensk historia, men också om vår framtid. Samehatet i norr är där. Jag har både läst Stöld och Himlabrand i år och jag kan säga att dem tre böckerna kommer vara mina starkaste läsupplevelser under 2021. Inte för att det handlar om ett folkslag jag vet lite om, utan för att deras berättelser verkligen berör. Deras berättelser handlar om naturen, om människor, om medmänsklighet och om hopp.
Jag håller alla mina tummar och tår - fan, varenda hårstrå på min kropp, att det här är början på att samerna får synas och höras i svensk media, kultur och samhälle. Att litteratur, filmer och musik från samer höjer i skyarna och att vi får ta del av deras verk. Att dessa böcker - bland annat: Herrarna satte oss hit, Stöld och Himlabrand - läses på skolor runt om i landet, så att vi kan lära oss om varandra och att alla kan känna att de hör hemma på marken som vi kallar vårt land.
Den här boken är så oerhört viktig på alla planer. Både inom svensk historia, men också om vår framtid. Samehatet i norr är där. Jag har både läst Stöld och Himlabrand i år och jag kan säga att dem tre böckerna kommer vara mina starkaste läsupplevelser under 2021. Inte för att det handlar om ett folkslag jag vet lite om, utan för att deras berättelser verkligen berör. Deras berättelser handlar om naturen, om människor, om medmänsklighet och om hopp.
Jag håller alla mina tummar och tår - fan, varenda hårstrå på min kropp, att det här är början på att samerna får synas och höras i svensk media, kultur och samhälle. Att litteratur, filmer och musik från samer höjer i skyarna och att vi får ta del av deras verk. Att dessa böcker - bland annat: Herrarna satte oss hit, Stöld och Himlabrand - läses på skolor runt om i landet, så att vi kan lära oss om varandra och att alla kan känna att de hör hemma på marken som vi kallar vårt land.
March 4, 2023
Très beau livre avec des témoignages poignants. À travers eux se tisse une histoire méconnue, grande et petite, vécue au rythme du troupeau et du territoire. Un monde auquel on a refusé le droit d'exister mais qui persiste. C'est très beau. Et important.
February 18, 2024
What a powerful book! This describes the forced relocation many northern Sámi had to undertake in the beginning of the 1920s. The reindeer herding people lived with the seasons, in different parts of Scandinavia, parts that are now Norway, Sweden and Finland. For Norway it was not desirable anymore to have this seasonal migration going on, so they prohibited the people from entering Norway and relocated them to parts of Sweden, with force and a low amount of money to help them. The promised area was often already populated or an obviously less nice area to live. The authorities said the reindeer damage the landscape too much, that more space was needed for agriculture. But from stories and documents it is clear they found the Northern Sámi not fitting in their idea of a modern Norway. In Sweden it also wasn't easy for the Sámi. Reading all this, you realise that these people really had no place to go where they were welcome and valued. Ofcourse you see this pattern with many indigenous people all over the world. And most of it is hushed up, erased from history books.
That's why this book is a gem. It's filled with personal stories, wonderful photography, poems and joiks (Sámi traditional "songs", often addressed to nature). It's wonderfully written and captivating until the end.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions.
That's why this book is a gem. It's filled with personal stories, wonderful photography, poems and joiks (Sámi traditional "songs", often addressed to nature). It's wonderfully written and captivating until the end.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions.
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December 30, 2021Fyller ett ekande tomrum i historieböckerna om tvångsförflyttningarna av samer under 1920-talet i formen av berättelser och minnen från de som upplevt det eller hört berättelser från sina föräldrar och släktingar. Det är inte enbart av viktig historisk betydelse att höra dessa berättelser och förstå den orättvisa, förtryck, och rasism som motiverade förgångna handlingar men också för att förstå varför relationen mellan samer och det svenska samhället ser ut som det gör nu, och hur långt vi ännu har att gå för att göra rätt. Vackert framfört av Elin Anna Labba i ljudboken!
October 3, 2020
En otroligt viktig bok som både var fin och hemsk. Det var intressant och fint att läsa om hur stor betydelse relationen till släkt, vänner, natur och djur hade. Det var fruktansvärt att läsa om hur just dessa band splittrades och att tvångsföfflyttningarna skulle ske till vilket pris som helst.
Det är en viktig del av Sveriges historia som borde vara betydligt mer central än vad den är idag.
Det är en viktig del av Sveriges historia som borde vara betydligt mer central än vad den är idag.
November 7, 2020
Jag visste inte så mycket om tvångsförflyttningarna av samer i Sverige innan jag läste boken. Boken är en väv av röster, berättelser om tvångsförflyttningarna. Det är ett viktigt perspektiv att lyfta. Den är vackert skriven, med en poetisk ton, och målar fram de olika historierna på ett levande sätt. De olika rösterna står i fokus hela tiden. Ett exempel är att frågorna som ställs till olika personer är skrivna i vanlig text medan svaren är i fetstil, tvärtom från en vanlig intervju. Boken är otroligt fint formgiven, varje detalj känns genomtänkt, från bildsättningen till luftigheten på sidorna. Ett återkommande inslag i boken är delar av lagtext, den lagtext som var den rättsliga grunden för tvångsförflyttningarna. Dessa partier med lagtext bröt av från människornas berättelser och satte allt i ett större perspektiv, och gjorde en upprörd. Fin och viktig bok
February 18, 2020
Så fint berättat om något så hemskt och brutalt.
February 25, 2020
Obligatorisk bok.
October 7, 2024
Ett tidsdokument, en viktig bok, som ger förståelse för situationen och ger röst till de som inte hör(de)s.
November 27, 2020
"Den samiska historien är så. Den är små skillnader i vegetationen, en vag förhöjning i marken, kåtor som har bränts ned. Vår berättelse är skylten som ingen satte upp, kapitlet som aldrig ryms i historieboken." (Elin Anna Labba, "Herrarna satte oss hit")
Elin Anna Labba ger röst åt en grupp människor som har tystats ner och glömts bort. De samer som var tvungna att lämna sina hem för att det "moderna" samhället inte ansåg att deras livsstil var lika mycket värd. Det är viktigt att vi utbildar oss om de mörka sidorna av Sveriges förflutna för att vi ska kunna lära oss och bli bättre i fortsättningen. Det är skrämmande hur kontrollerande den svenska staten var i början av 1900-talet, hur de bara bestämmer var samerna ska bo, som att de var spelpjäser på ett bräde, inte människor med egna önskningar och viljor. En berörande och lärorik bok!
Elin Anna Labba ger röst åt en grupp människor som har tystats ner och glömts bort. De samer som var tvungna att lämna sina hem för att det "moderna" samhället inte ansåg att deras livsstil var lika mycket värd. Det är viktigt att vi utbildar oss om de mörka sidorna av Sveriges förflutna för att vi ska kunna lära oss och bli bättre i fortsättningen. Det är skrämmande hur kontrollerande den svenska staten var i början av 1900-talet, hur de bara bestämmer var samerna ska bo, som att de var spelpjäser på ett bräde, inte människor med egna önskningar och viljor. En berörande och lärorik bok!
April 7, 2021
En av de viktigaste böckerna i svensk utgivning under 2020 och Elin Anna Labba vann Augustpriset för bästa svenska fackbok. Den är också nominerad till Norrlands litteraturpris för 2021 (böckerna ska alltså blivit utgivna under 2020 som jag förstår det).
Elin Anna Labba har intervjuat flera personer om tvångsförflyttningar som svenska och norska staten utsatte samer för med start 1919. Vi får en liten bakgrund till varför det bestämdes att dessa tvångsförflyttningar skulle ske men fokus ligger på att synliggöra erfarenheter och röster från personer som blivit tvångsförflyttade och som blivit utsatta för svenska statens förtryck.
En oerhört viktig bok att ha läst för att öka sin kunskap om ett kapitel i svensk historia som vi tyvärr alltför ofta sopat under mattan.
Elin Anna Labba har intervjuat flera personer om tvångsförflyttningar som svenska och norska staten utsatte samer för med start 1919. Vi får en liten bakgrund till varför det bestämdes att dessa tvångsförflyttningar skulle ske men fokus ligger på att synliggöra erfarenheter och röster från personer som blivit tvångsförflyttade och som blivit utsatta för svenska statens förtryck.
En oerhört viktig bok att ha läst för att öka sin kunskap om ett kapitel i svensk historia som vi tyvärr alltför ofta sopat under mattan.
September 30, 2023
2,5/5
To nie książka tylko broszurka. Tego typu materiały można przeczytać w muzeum, na wystawach plenerowych, itp. Informacje są szczątkowe - trochę historii, kilka wywiadów, zdjęcia, skany dokumentów. Są też wiersze nietłumaczone, totalnie nie rozumiem, po co. Ale czego tu najbardziej brakuje to analizy. Samo oddanie głosu pokrzywdzonym nie wystarczy, gdy słabo znamy kontekst tych przesiedleń, oprócz tego czego możemy się domyślić.
Ostatnio coraz bardziej mam wrażenie, że wszystkie reportaże pisane są na kolanie. Mają tylko chwytliwy, na czasie temat i nic poza tym.
To nie książka tylko broszurka. Tego typu materiały można przeczytać w muzeum, na wystawach plenerowych, itp. Informacje są szczątkowe - trochę historii, kilka wywiadów, zdjęcia, skany dokumentów. Są też wiersze nietłumaczone, totalnie nie rozumiem, po co. Ale czego tu najbardziej brakuje to analizy. Samo oddanie głosu pokrzywdzonym nie wystarczy, gdy słabo znamy kontekst tych przesiedleń, oprócz tego czego możemy się domyślić.
Ostatnio coraz bardziej mam wrażenie, że wszystkie reportaże pisane są na kolanie. Mają tylko chwytliwy, na czasie temat i nic poza tym.
December 3, 2021
Känner att det är ofta att jag har för höga förväntningar, för så var även fallet för denna boken. Så klart väldigt välskriven, väldokumenterad med foton och utdrag från arkiv men det är något som gör att jag inte bli så tagen som jag kanske trodde. Är jag en hemsk människa? Vet ej men jag blev iallafall sugen på att hitta något mer på ämnet, dock något mer skönlitterärt.
August 31, 2020
Skrämmande att denna tvångsförflyttning inte är mer omtalad! Lyssnat på författarens egen uppläsning, som var riktigt bra, men det var lite svårt att hänga med ibland, med alla namn på både människor och platser. Av förklarliga skäl så saknas förstås foton i ljudboken; jag hade gärna sett dem.
March 5, 2021
”Urfolks ärvda sår finns nästan aldrig i historieböckerna”, Elin Anna Labba skriver dit viktiga rader på tidigare tomma blad. Bär med mig boken när jag åker hem till Malmberget och ser på marken med nytt perspektiv och en annan respekt för dess historia.
February 10, 2021
Det bästa och det sorgligaste. Så välskrivet, så viktigt. Känner mig knäckt, som sig bör.
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April 13, 2024
Trudna lektura, bo głos autorka oddaje osobom przesiedlonym, ale brakowało mi współczesnego kontekstu.
June 15, 2024
[5 stars] The collected histories of indigenous Sámi families’ forced displacement and resettlement by the Norwegian and Swedish governments following the establishment of borders across their seasonal migration routes. I learned about this book from Dahr Jamail’s podcast, Holding the Fire, and thought it was a powerful introduction to Sámi history in the 1920’s and 1930’s, which I didn’t know much about. The book is organized through oral histories and ancestral artifacts, from the author’s family and others, and I thought it was a compelling way to share the impacts of racist and xenophobic state-making and policy on the people, their reindeer herds, and the land they tended. The final chapter drew some parallels between the Sámi and other indigenous communities, but I wish that aspect had gone deeper. There was also a brief mention of forced boarding school enrollment for Sámi children, and I'm curious to know more about that history too. Recommended to those interested in European indigeneity, multigenerational histories, and story collection as cultural survival.
Publication Info: University of Minnesota Press, April 2024
Goodreads Challenge 2024: 24/48
Nonfiction Reading Challenge: about transportation
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: translation from a country you haven’t visited
Popsugar Reading Challenge: set in the snow
CN / TW: mentions of animal death and descriptions of racism, xenophobia, and forced displacement / ethnic cleansing
Publication Info: University of Minnesota Press, April 2024
Goodreads Challenge 2024: 24/48
Nonfiction Reading Challenge: about transportation
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: translation from a country you haven’t visited
Popsugar Reading Challenge: set in the snow
CN / TW: mentions of animal death and descriptions of racism, xenophobia, and forced displacement / ethnic cleansing
November 10, 2021
En utrolig trist og godt skrevet bok. Så absurd det er å lese om tvangsflytting av mennesker rett over sundet fra der jeg sitter, for bare noen få generasjoner siden. Og ikke minst å gjenkjenne argumentene fra den tiden i dagens debatter.
May 22, 2025
Leste denna for masteroppgavå mi, den e ein nydelig lagd tankevekkande "dokumentar-biografi". Sitte igjen med følelsen av at detta burde vært pensum for alle i Norden.
August 17, 2020
Väldigt gripande och så tragiskt om en för mig helt okänd del av svensk historia, denna tvångsförflyttning av samerna. Mitt höga betyg ges tack vare just att boken speglar något som måste berättas och att det sker med blandning av fakta, poesi och minnen som återges. Dock många samiska ord som gör texten svårförståelig ibland. Hade behövt en ordlista.
May 2, 2021
Berättelser om familjer som tvingas flytta från sina hemtrakter, familjer splittras och för många pågår flytten flera år. Historier som berör mig starkt. Detta var inget som jag fått läsa om i skolan - märkligt. Jag önskar att författaren hade översatt de texterna som skrevs på samiska.
February 28, 2024
The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow gave me more insight into the Sami people's history, which is unsettling to read. When the Northern countries of Sweden and Norway wanted firm boundary lines, the Sami were no longer allowed to cross country borders to take their reindeer herds to their traditional winter and summer lands. The reindeer herds caused damage to the farmer's crops.
The Sami were considered to be inferior in culture and as humans. The name Lapps came from a slur referring to their poverty. The governments instituted policies that limited where the Sami could live and how many reindeer they could own. Families were forced to move without regard to community and family connections, regardless if the new land was familiar or useful to reindeer herding, uncaring if these policies impoverished the Sami whose wealth was their herds.
Elin Anna Labba uses interviews, documents, photographs and the stories of specific people and families in her heart breaking history. It is an all too familiar story of indigenous people at the mercy of governmental powers who devalue their way of life, view them as lesser humans, instituting laws that amount to the destruction of a people and their culture. Most of the Sami endeavored to follow the laws, their appeals rejected. Pregnant women and small children were unspared, forced to walk to their assigned locations. They were measured, photographed naked, to prove their inferiority. Assimilation was forced with bans on speaking their language while they were also banned from moving into houses. No one defended their rights.
The time after that is a vacuum. They never wanted to talk about it. Now I know that my family is not the only one like this; the Sapmi where I grew up is full of people who have bound their wounds with silence.
from The Rocks Will Echo Out Sorrow by Elin Anna Labba
This is a deeply personal book for Labba who had family members displaced by these laws. "We remember those whose story we retell," Labba writes. "This is the joik I sing for you."
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
The Sami were considered to be inferior in culture and as humans. The name Lapps came from a slur referring to their poverty. The governments instituted policies that limited where the Sami could live and how many reindeer they could own. Families were forced to move without regard to community and family connections, regardless if the new land was familiar or useful to reindeer herding, uncaring if these policies impoverished the Sami whose wealth was their herds.
Elin Anna Labba uses interviews, documents, photographs and the stories of specific people and families in her heart breaking history. It is an all too familiar story of indigenous people at the mercy of governmental powers who devalue their way of life, view them as lesser humans, instituting laws that amount to the destruction of a people and their culture. Most of the Sami endeavored to follow the laws, their appeals rejected. Pregnant women and small children were unspared, forced to walk to their assigned locations. They were measured, photographed naked, to prove their inferiority. Assimilation was forced with bans on speaking their language while they were also banned from moving into houses. No one defended their rights.
The time after that is a vacuum. They never wanted to talk about it. Now I know that my family is not the only one like this; the Sapmi where I grew up is full of people who have bound their wounds with silence.
from The Rocks Will Echo Out Sorrow by Elin Anna Labba
This is a deeply personal book for Labba who had family members displaced by these laws. "We remember those whose story we retell," Labba writes. "This is the joik I sing for you."
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
February 9, 2024
En av de viktigaste böckerna i svensk utgivning under 2020. Elin Anna Labba vann Augustpriset för bästa svenska fackbok med Herrarna satte oss hit. Den är också nominerad till Norrlands litteraturpris för 2021.
Elin Anna Labba har intervjuat flera personer om tvångsförflyttningar som svenska och norska staten utsatte samer för med start 1919. Vi får en liten bakgrund till varför det bestämdes att dessa tvångsförflyttningar skulle ske men fokus ligger på att synliggöra erfarenheter och röster från personer som blivit tvångsförflyttade och som blivit utsatta för förtryck.
En oerhört viktig bok att ha läst för att öka sin kunskap om ett kapitel i svensk historia som vi tyvärr alltför ofta sopat under mattan.
Elin Anna Labba har intervjuat flera personer om tvångsförflyttningar som svenska och norska staten utsatte samer för med start 1919. Vi får en liten bakgrund till varför det bestämdes att dessa tvångsförflyttningar skulle ske men fokus ligger på att synliggöra erfarenheter och röster från personer som blivit tvångsförflyttade och som blivit utsatta för förtryck.
En oerhört viktig bok att ha läst för att öka sin kunskap om ett kapitel i svensk historia som vi tyvärr alltför ofta sopat under mattan.
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