Early Modern Reindeer Husbandry, Sami Economy, and Grazing Rights

Abstract

The main historic trajectory in property rights to land was the development of more exclusive rights by the dissolution of common property. In the Swedish lappmarks the opposite occurred, and by the end of the nineteenth century the old system with privately assigned land finally disappeared when Samis obtained lawful common user rights to large areas for reindeer herding. Earlier research focused on the role of the state. We bring together three previously rather neglected perspectives-self-governance, ecology, and the functionality of large-scale reindeer nomadism-to explain changes in property rights. By analysing how Samis from two types of villages in Lule lappmark using different ecological settings between 1550 and 1780, we show that the older property-rights system dissolved due to the emergence of largescale reindeer nomadism. Grazing land became one of the most valued economic assets, and a common-property regime evolved. The institutional change that spurred the development was new trading patterns during the seventeenth century. By taking a self-governing perspective in a common-pool resource (CPR) context we identify the microlevel interactions between users through which property rights evolved in early modern Sami communities. How indigenous people during this time created and negotiated property rights is highlighted. On a higher level, the CPR perspective facilitates a discussion about Sami property rights in the context of property rights elsewhere, especially regarding common property. We emphasize the importance of addressing self-governance in the analysis of historical property rights of indigenous people.

The climate change, conflict and migration nexus: A holistic view

“…Other important avenues for movement include internal migration – often as an initial response to lack of resources or a natural disaster (Berlemann et al., 2020; Mastrorillo et al., 2016) – and established seasonal/cyclic mobilities (Adeyode, 2019; Butt, 2010; Larsson et al., 2020). It is important to note that these are not mutually exclusive; seasonal/cyclic mobility can be cross border, and under certain circumstances, internal migration can form part of a stepwise pattern towards international movement (Engbersen et al., 2013; Hugo, 2016).…”

Hunting by Early Modern Lule Sami Households

“…Availability did not mean the absence of institutions, only that rules were created in a local context with a bottom-up perspective. Hence, rules about hunting were created in a self-governing contextusers developed their own institutions for regulating, monitoring, and implementing resource use (Ostrom, 2005;Marklund, 2015:37;Larsson and Päiviö Sjaunja, 2020a). The first royal ordinance that regulated hunting in the Swedish lappmark was introduced in 1749 and was aimed at limiting settlers' hunting rights to one-half of a Swedish mile, or 5344 m, from their homesteads.…”

“…The court rulings from these proceedings were often preserved in writing, and they can tell us a lot about hunting. For example, they provide detailed evidence about which gear was used, which prey was hunted, and who participated in the hunt (Larsson, 2016;Larsson and Päiviö Sjaunja, 2020a). At the third (constitutional) level, rules are established regarding who has the right to participate in the collective-choice decisions, but discussion of constitutional rules is beyond the scope of this article.…”

Lule Lappmark and Sources

“…58 Högström (1747, pp. 240-241), Korpijaakko-Labba (1994, p. 113), Larsson and Päiviö Sjaunja (2020) and Marklund (2015, p. 83). 59 J.…”