Gáivuotna - Kåfjord

Infobox_Kommune
name=Kåfjord
alt_names_first=Gáivuona suohkan
idnumber=1940
county=Troms
landscape=
capital=Olderdalen
governor=Bjørn Inge Mo(AP)
governor_as_of=2003
arearank=106
area=991
arealand=950
areapercent=0.31
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=315
population=2,332
populationpercent=0.05
populationdensity=2
populationincrease=-13.9
language=Bokmål and Sami
lat_deg=69| lat_min=27| lat_sec=14| lon_deg=20| lon_min=45| lon_sec=46
utm_zone=34W| utm_northing=7705010 |utm_easting=0490712| geo_cat=adm2nd

munwebpage=www.kafjord.kommune.no

Gáivuotna (Northern Sami) or Kåfjord (Norwegian language), Finnish "Kaivuono" is a municipality in the county of Troms, Norway.

Kåfjord was separated from Lyngen July 1, 1930.

Geography

The municipality is situated on the eastern side of the Lyngen fjord, and around its eastern arm Kåfjord. The municipal centre is Olderdalen. Other villages include Birtavarre, Kåfjorddalen, Djupvik, Nordmannvik and Manndalen, where the international indigenous peoples' festival "Riddu Riđđu" is hosted each year.

The name of the municipality was "Kåfjord" until 1994, when it was changed to Gáivuotna-Kåfjord [ [http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/dok/regpubl/otprp/20012002/Otprp-nr-111-2001-2002-.html?id=125740 Ot.prp. nr. 111 (2001-2002) - regjeringen.no ] ] It was the fifth municipality in Norway to get a Sami name. In 2005 the name was again changed such that either the Sami "Gáivuotna" or the Norwegian "Kåfjord" name can be used [ [http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiztldles?doc=/usr/www/lovdata/for/lf/ov/ov-20041210-1636.html FOR-2004-12-10-1636 Endring av skrivemåten for tospråklige kommuner. Endring av skrivemåten for tospråklige kommunenavn, Deatnu-Tana, Gáivuotna-Kåfjord, Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino, Kárášjohka-Karasjok og Unjárga-Nesseby, Troms og Finnmark ] ] .

The names

"Kåfjord" is a Norwegianized form of the Sámi name "Gáivuotna". The meaning of the first element is unknown, the last element is "vuotna" 'fjord'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1865). It shows a spinning wheel

Economy

Fishing and small-scale farming have been the most important sources of income. Now many people work in education and other public service. The population has declined for many years, but the decline is now less rapid than earlier. A new optimism has arisen among young people, largely due to the increasing cultural activities.

Population

The minority of the population is of Sami origin. Due to assimilation pressure from the Norwegian State, the language was largely lost in the 20th century. Now efforts are being made to reintroduce Sami, largely concentrated in the municipality's largest village, Manndalen.

History

In 1945, the villages of Kåfjord were burned to the ground during the retreat of German forces from Finland and Finnmark. This was as far west as the Wehrmacht used their scorched earth tactics.

References