During the second half of the 1950s Karasjok District Council was the first Norwegian local authority to introduce compulsory nine-year education. At the same time Sámi groups worked to promote further education taught in the Sámi language and including Sámi history and culture. The first such college was established in Karasjok in 1958 and it stayed in rented premises until the completion of this building in 1979.