Colonialism, Finnish Exceptionalism and the Sámi in Early 1960s’ Youth Novels

• Main Authors: Raita Merivirta, Lydia Kokkola
• Other Authors: yleinen ja kulttuurihistoria, Cultural History and European and World History, 2602220
• Language: English
• Published: Yhdysvallat (USA) 2022
• Subjects: Arctic; Lapland
• Online Access: https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/167994; https://www.pfw.edu/clio/index-contents/

In this paper, we use the term ‘Finnish exceptionalism’ to refer to the myth that Finland was only ever a victim of colonization and never complicit in colonial practices. We argue that cultural adherence to this belief and consequent innocence have been inculcated into Finnish national consciousness from the country’s inception. Using two novels for teenagers published in 1960 and set in Sápmi (Finnish Lapland) to illustrate our arguments, we demonstrate how the ideology of exceptionalism was passed on to new generations of Finns. In both novels, a teenaged Finnish protagonist travels through the Arctic landscape accompanied by a male Sámi, who acts as a guide. Our analyses begin by examining how the novels reflect historical events and the ideology of exceptionalism. We conclude with a more specific focus on the novels as literature for youth, showing how the innocence of the young protagonists synechdocically stands for the innocence of the nation. Keywords: Finnish exceptionalism; Sápmi; Sámi, Finnish colonialism, Finnish youth literature, innocence