How Sámi Radio programs started

The first radio program broadcast in Sami was a Christmas church service transmitted from the church of Polmak in Norway in 1936. In Norway, Sami broadcasts were started on a regular basis in the end of 1946. In Finland, broadcasts in Sami were started as a result of active individuals and their personal connections. When the Sami had been evacuated to Ostrobothnia, a Sami organization called Samii Litto was founded in Alavieska in 1945.

The central figures of the new association included e.g. Nilla Outakoski and Johan Nuorgam. Nilla Outakoski who was studying theology in Helsinki knew Hella Wuolijoki who became the Director General of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE in 1945. Wuolijoki was interested in developing the production of radio programs in Sami, and already in the fall of 1946 there may have been some broadcasts in Sami.