Self-Governance and Sami Communities

Jesper Larsson is an associate professor and senior lecturer in Agrarian History at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. He is an affiliated faculty to the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University Bloomington. This book is part of his appointment as a research fellow at The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja is a researcher in Agrarian History at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. She is a doctor of philosophy in Agricultural Sciences and did her postdoctoral work at the Department of Economic History at Stockholm University. She also works as senior analyst at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. She is of Sami descent.

“This monograph is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The authors undertook a qualitative study of property histories in northwest Fennoscandia using data points from law, anthropological accounts, geography, and accounts of ecological life. This academic study meets the rigour of academic publishing but does so in a readable and accessible manner.” (Tenille E. Brown, Comparative Legal History, October 26, 2024)“The book by Jesper Larsson and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja is really fascinating and a definite must-read for anyone interested in the history of reindeer pastoralism and, may be, pastoralism in general.” (Kirill V. Istomin, Pastoralism, June 8, 2022)

• Part I: Introduction, Framework, Methods and Starting Points.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Linking long-term changes in socioecological systems with the development of property rights.- Chapter 3: Methods and staring points.- Chapter 4: Important variables.- Part II: Land Use, Livelihood and Ecological Settings.- Chapter 5: Fishing.- Chapter 6: Hunting.- Chapter 7: Reindeer husbandry.- Chapter 8: Other.- Part III: Synthesis.- Chapter 9: From private to common – coevolution of land-use practices and property rights.- Chapter 10: Early modern self-governance and colonial structures – the current state of affairs.