South Saami Teacher Identity in the Making

Language teacher identity (LTI) can serve as a conceptual tool to study the transition from student teacher to in-practice teacher. Thus, teacher training should be concerned with the ways teachers form their identity in early years. LTI development can involve storying, imagination, and evolve through interactions with colleagues and the wider community. In Saepmie, LTI development is shaped by relations to others, professional development and by the responsibility to pass on South Saami language knowledge and traditions. Teachers' early investment in teacher education becomes integral to envisioning their future identity. By interviewing three South Saami student teachers, I conduct a Narrative Inquiry of LTI, Norway. The narratives involve the complex path of learning South Saami, overcoming language barriers, and imagining a future as teachers and role models in the South Saami community. This creates a connection between attaining South Saami speakerhood and the development of a South Saami LTI. In dialogue with studies from Indigenous settings globally, the chapter concludes on how these perspectives can inform LTI theory.