On November 8, 1852, 35 adults and 22 children arrived at the Kautokeino church site, where Sheriff Lars Johan Bucht was attacked and killed with his own knife. A group of women surrounded the merchant Carl Ruth and beat him to death. After this, the merchant’s building, where spirits were sold, was set on fire, and the priest and his household were whipped. This event is known as the Kautokeino Rebellion. The rebellion marked the end of a conflict that had been ongoing for several years between a group of Sámi involved in the Laestadian revival movement and representatives of the non-Sámi powers in Kautokeino: merchants, the priest, and the sheriff. 

In the trial following the rebellion, many of the rebels, including those under 18, were sentenced to shorter or longer sentences. Two of the rebellion leaders, Mons Somby and Aslak Hætta, were executed by beheading in Alta on October 14, 1854. They were executed in front of a large crowd, including 50 infantry soldiers who had been sent north from Trondheim. Their bodies were buried in the Kåfjord cemetery, and their heads were sent to the University of Christiania for research. The skulls were returned and reburied in Kåfjord cemetery in 1997. 

A large number of the women who participated in the rebellion were sentenced to the workhouse and sent south to Trondheim to serve their sentences (the men were sent to Akershus Fortress). The workhouse was a place for disciplining and punishing individuals, and it was often used for those serving shorter or less severe prison sentences. 

Elen Aslaksdatter Skum, who played a central role in the Kautokeino Rebellion, was sentenced for her involvement in murder, arson, and robbery. In the original sentence, she was sentenced to death. However, in August 1854, because she was a woman, her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour at the workhouse in Trondheim. 

In September 1854, she arrived at the workhouse along with her mother, Anne Sara, and her younger brother, Henrik Skum. Henrik was sent to Akershus Fortress, where he served his sentence alongside the other male prisoners and died there in 1858. At the workhouse, the women were to receive education in Norwegian and religious re-education and guidance. We do not have sources about Elen's own feelings about her time at the workhouse, but we know a little from what the prison chaplain wrote. He stated that 5-6 years after their arrival at the workhouse, Elen Skum was very reluctant to be taught and had made little progress in learning Norwegian. Another source from 1861, a letter from the chief inspector, revealed that her difficulties with language were related to her poor hearing. He also wrote that she showed little interest in socializing with the other prisoners and mostly spent time with her mother, with whom she had a very close relationship, speaking Sámi. 

By 1864, most of the prisoners had been released. In 1864, the Supreme Court addressed the case of the six remaining female prisoners at the workhouse. All of them, except for Elen, were pardoned and released, including her mother, Anne Sara. Elen served alone for an additional three years, and in 1867, she was also pardoned and released by the Supreme Court, allowing her to return home to Kautokeino. There are few sources about Elen's life after this. When she returned home, she was 40 years old. She passed away at the age of 67 in February 1895.

Sources and further reading

Berg, B. A. (2023), “Kautokeino-opprøret”, Stor norsk leksikon.

Korsvik, T.R. (2021), “Elen Skum - opprørslederen som ble dømt til døden”, Kvinnehistorie.no.