CHANGES IN SAAMI SOCIOECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS IN JOKKMOKK PARISH 1720-1890

National and provincial policy changes during the 1820s usurped the la nd and resource use rights of the Jokkmokk Saami to protect the rapidl y growing settler population in northern Sweden. Ethnohistorical sourc es suggest that changes took place in Saami socioeconomic structures a s a result of that loss of access to resources. Under pressure from th e Swedish authorities, traditional communal groups such as the siida ( the cooperative hunting/herding village) were replaced by independent households, which competed with each other for resources. While some f amilies became wealthy, other households lost their herds and dropped out of the nomadic society, continuing the process begun with the init ial shift to pastoralism two centuries before. Historical demographic data reveal a decrease in the number of Saami households and total pop ulation at both the parish and village levels after 1830. Conversely, family size grew slightly, reflecting the need for independent and com peting households to provide their own sources of labor.