Atostugan

The Sami Klementsson family built Atostugan in the 1920s, even though it was forbidden for the Sami to erect permanent buildings.

ATOSTUGAN

The site where Atostugan is now located is one of the oldest Sami settlements known in literature. It is documented from the 18th century and is actually called Risbäckens sommarviste. The small Atostugan was built as a black building by the Sami Klementsson family in the early 1920s. At that time, it was forbidden for the Sami to erect permanent buildings in the mountain area. Thanks to the controversy surrounding Atostugan, the law that discriminated against the Sami was changed in 1928 and they were no longer required to live in huts. The hut was later used as a teacher's residence at the hut school for Sámi children that existed here until 1945. Teaching took place in huts. The children also lived in huts similar to the newly restored one now on the site.

SEPARATION SITE, KLABBGÄRDA

A few hundred meters from Atostugan down towards Risbäcken is an old reindeer separation site. Here the Sami gathered their reindeer to separate them from those of other Sami villages or to mark the calves born during the summer. The fence, a so-called klabbgärda, has collapsed so that the trunks have fallen outwards in the original order, so the division into a larger paddock and several smaller ones is clearly visible. The division was made by bringing the reindeer into the large paddock. As the reindeer were caught and tagged, they were taken into the smaller pastures.The first reindeer separation fence was built in the 1890s. Before that, when reindeer were herded in the old way, individual reindeer were separated on the reindeer paddock or on a hillside while the herd rested.