Sámi

Until the middle of the 20th century, Sámi were called "lappar" and this is the term used in older sources.

Judicial
Court books and kronofogdar

Court books and kronofogdearkiv in Lappmarken for the period up to around 1750. At that time, the term "Lappmarken" referred to the area dominated by more or less nomadic Sami. After the middle of the 18th century, Lappmarken referred to the regions of Lapland in Sweden and Finland.

From 1638, there was a single district court in Lappmarken under the chief justice of Västerbotten with Lapland. In that year it was divided into the Northern and Southern contracts. The North included Torne and Kemi Lapland and the south Umeå, Piteå and Luleå Lapland. At the same time, a special judge, Justitiarius, was appointed for the entire Lapland. There were two häradshövdingar who presumably had some authority over the Lapland belonging to their respective jurisdictions. In the absence of a häradshövding could kronofogden carry out his duties.

Cabinet meeting files 1840–1920

Legal cases that have been dealt with at a local level and that were particularly controversial have often been appealed to higher courts and can be found in the Cabinet meeting files. Cases concerning the Sámi people can often be found here. All the documents in a case are collected in the files. In the database Cabinet meeting files 1840–1920 you can search files from seven different ministries. To find the Sámi cases, type *lapp* in the search box. You will then find all files where the word appears. The word "Lapp" was used instead of Sámi until the middle of the 20th century.

The Cabinet meeting files have been registered to simplify the search. The files themselves are not digital, but you can order copies of them.

Accounts
Sámi church books

In Jämtland and Kopparberg counties unterritorial parishes for the Sámi existed until 1942, called lappförsamlingar. In the counties of Västerbotten and Norrbotten, the Sámi were integrated in the ordinary parishes.

Domkapitel and ecklesiastikverk
Lappfogdar, Länsstyrelser and Jägmästare

Lappfogden were established in the 19th centrury as a part of Länsstyrelsen – the County administration. The role of Lappfogden was to administrate the reindeer grazing lands according to the law of 1886, supervise the care for the reindeers and establish a good relationship between the residents and the Sámi. Lappfogden as an institution came to an end the 30th of June 1971 when the role became an integrated part of Lantbruksnämnderna.

Collections
Sámi language
Maps

Arkivpodden

Podcast series from the Swedish National Archives (in Swedish).

Episode 31
Ett justitiemord i Sápmi?

Episode 14
Sockenlapparna – oumbärliga och utanför

Episode 4
Lapp-Gunnil och förbannelsen

External link

Nuohtti
Search portal for Sámi archival materials.