The Norwegian Sámi Mission had its headquarters in Trondheim for nearly a hundred years. The organization was initially established in Tromsø in 1888 under the name Norsk Finnemisjon (Norwegian Finnish Mission), and in its early years, the mission was partly driven by opposition to the Norwegianization policy. A primary goal was the publication of Sámi-language Bibles. The organization was primarily founded by a group of high-ranking clergy, but in its early years, only Sámi people were employed as missionaries. The first of these was Mikkel Esaiasen from Finnmark. At this time, the organization had decided that only Northern Norway would be its mission field, but the scope was expanded in the years after 1900, and in 1916, the headquarters was even moved to Trondheim. In the first years until the war, the mission was located in Dronningens gate, then for a time in Søndre gate, but from 1973, it moved to Sommergården/Svaneapoteket. In 1966, the organization changed its name from Norsk finnemisjonsselskap (Norwegian Finnish Mission Society) to Norges Samemisjon (Norwegian Sámi Mission). 

In the early 20th century, the organization was perceived by some as accommodating to the Norwegianization policy. After the Finnemisjonen (Finnish Mission) took over the only Sámi school in Trøndelag, the Havika boarding school near Namsos, the Norwegianization practices led by the school’s management were met only with expressions of "disappointment" from the school owner in certain cases. Otherwise, it seems the organization took a rather passive stance on this, allowing the Norwegianization policy to continue at Havika. Among the Sámi who expressed criticism of the practices at Havika was Daniel Mortenson. 

In the southern Sámi area, however, the mission’s organization of large annual Sámi festivals at Majavatn was more positively received. The Sámi Mission took this over from a previous private initiative in 1918. From 1948, the mission also had a Sámi-language library that could be used by anyone interested. Among the Sámi missionaries who worked at the headquarters, Peder Vesterfjell (1936–1940) and Anton Vesterfjell (1945–1963) are particularly notable. Anton Vesterfjell was known for his efforts to strengthen cooperation with Russian Sámi.

Sources and further reading

Sannhets- og forsoningskommisjonens rapport (2023), Stortinget.

Steen, Adolf (1963) Finnemisjonen 75 år – 1888 – 1963, Norsk finnemisjonsselskap, Trondheim. 

Trondhjems Adressebok 1925, Trondheim folkebibliotek.