This paper discusses two exceptions to the otherwise overpowering trend amongst North European universities, to favor English as an academic language, to wit the Sámi University College in Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino (Norway), and Fróðskaparsetur Føroya, the University of the Faroe Islands, which respectively use Sámi (primarily North Sámi) and Faroese as official languages. Clearance may be found in the institutional self-conception and identity.