Editing Kautokeino Municipality (section)

==General information==
[[File:This is the center of the sami town Kautokeino.jpg|thumb|View of the village of Kautokeino]]
The municipality of Kautokeino was established in 1851 when the large [[Porsanger Municipality|Kistrand Municipality]] was divided in two: the southern part became Kautokeino Municipality and the northern part remained as Kistrand Municipality. Initially, there were 869 residents in the new municipality. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901160307/http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |archive-date=1 September 2012 |access-date=5 April 2013 |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no}}</ref>

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed [[Troms og Finnmark]] county. Previously, it had been part of the old [[Finnmark]] county.<ref name="snl5">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Troms og Finnmark |encyclopedia=[[Store norske leksikon]] |publisher=[[Kunnskapsforlaget]] |url=https://snl.no/Troms_og_Finnmark |access-date=26 December 2019 |date=24 December 2019 |editor-last=Mæhlum |editor-first=Lars |language=no |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027034837/https://snl.no/Troms_og_Finnmark |archive-date=27 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 January 2024, the [[Troms og Finnmark]] county was divided and the municipality once again became part of [[Finnmark]] county.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-05 |title=Fylkesinndelingen fra 2024 |url=https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/kommuner-og-regioner/kommunestruktur/fylkesinndelingen-fra-2024/id2922222/ |publisher=Regjeringen.no |language=no}}</ref>

===Name===
The first element in Guovdageaidnu is {{wikt-lang|se|guovda}} which means "middle" or "half". The last element is {{wikt-lang|se|geaidnu}} which means "[[road]]" or "way". Combined it means "half way", since the location is halfway between two traditional migrating points. It is also the geographic centre of Northern [[Sápmi]]. ''Kautokeino'' is a [[Finnicization|Finnicized]] form of the Sámi name {{lang|se|Guovdageaidnu}}, and it is also adopted by the Norwegians.

The official name of the municipality was ''Kautokeino'' until 1987 when it was changed to the bilingual ''Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 July 2002 |title=Ot.prp. nr. 111 (2001-2002) |url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/dok/regpubl/otprp/20012002/Otprp-nr-111-2001-2002-.html?id=125740 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210045906/http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/dok/regpubl/otprp/20012002/Otprp-nr-111-2001-2002-.html?id=125740 |archive-date=10 February 2012 |access-date=23 April 2007 |publisher=Regjeringen.no |language=no}}</ref> It was the first municipality in Norway to get a [[Sámi languages|Sami language]] name. In 2005, the name was again changed, such that either ''Guovdageaidnu'' or ''Kautokeino'' can be used interchangeably.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Endring av skrivemåten for tospråklige kommuner. Endring av skrivemåten for tospråklige kommunenavn, Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino |url=http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiztldles?doc=%2Fusr%2Fwww%2Flovdata%2Ffor%2Flf%2Fov%2Fov-20041210-1636.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328045747/http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiztldles?doc=%2Fusr%2Fwww%2Flovdata%2Ffor%2Flf%2Fov%2Fov-20041210-1636.html |archive-date=28 March 2014 |access-date=25 April 2007 |language=no}}</ref> The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called {{lang|se|Guovdageaidnu}} when it is spelled alone, but it is {{lang|se|Guovdageainnu suohkan}} when using the Sami language equivalent to "Kautokeino Municipality".<ref name="sami name">{{Cite web |title=Stadnamn og rettskriving |url=https://www.kartverket.no/til-lands/stadnamn/stadnamn-og-offisielle-sprak-i-noreg |access-date=2023-11-19 |publisher=[[Kartverket]] |language=no}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
{{main|Coat of arms of Kautokeino}}
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 4 September 1987. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]], a [[Lavvu|lavvo]] [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]"'' ({{langx|no|I blått en gul lavvo}}). This means the arms have a blue [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[lavvo]] (also spelled ''lavvu''). The lavvo has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The lavvu (often spelled as 'lavvo') is still in use by reindeer herders who follow their herds according to the season and food availability of food for the animals, and so it was chosen as the symbol for the municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Kautokeino |access-date=21 January 2023 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kautokeino, Finmark |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-20-11.html |access-date=21 January 2023 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 September 1987 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1987-09-04-731?q=flagg |access-date=21 January 2023 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>