“Perhaps you have forgotten. That’s one of the great problems of our modern world, you know. Forgetting. The victim never forgets. Ask an Irishman what the English did to him in 1920 and he’ll tell you the day of the month and the time and the name of every man they killed. Ask an Iranian what the English did to him in 1953 and he’ll tell you. His child will tell you. His grandchild will tell you. And when he has one, his great-grandchild will tell you too. But ask an Englishman—” He flung up his hands in mock ignorance. “If he ever knew, he has forgotten. ‘Move on!’ you tell us. ‘Move on! Forget what we’ve done to you. Tomorrow’s another day!’ But it isn’t, Mr. Brue.” He still had Brue’s hand. “Tomorrow was created yesterday, you see. That is the point I was making to you. And by the day before yesterday, too. To ignore history is to ignore the wolf at the door.”
- A Most Wanted Man, John le Carré
Coincidentally this is what's brought up in Dreamer, where I let Tauriel talk about how this kind of trauma is generational. It's something that comes back in the story again and again, mostly seen from Kili's perspective. 400 years may seem like a long time but consider that the injury was done to Kili's great great grandfather. I know very well what went on in the late 1800s with my family, which is the equivalent, seen from a generational POV.
I chose the 1620s because that's when silver was found at Nasafjäll and a silver mining project was started and that was not a great experience for the Sámi in the neighbourhood. After that the colonisation of Sápmi began in earnest.