Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja

Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja is a researcher specializing in historical perspectives on the organization and governance of natural resources. In recent years, she has studied developments in an Indigenous Sami context. She defended her PhD-thesis in 2008 on how biological and historical values in the agrarian landscape were addressed within Swedish agricultural policy in the late twentieth century.

Alongside her research, she has many years of experience working in public administration, with a focus on issues related to policy evaluation, policy analysis and quality management.

Since January 2025, she has been a researcher in the ERC-funded project Transition from Transport Reindeer Herding to Reindeer Pastoralism: A study of Indigenous Governance during Change (TransRein) at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The project examines the transition from hunting, fishing, and small-scale reindeer herding to large-scale reindeer pastoralism in the Early Modern period (c. 1500–1800) with a focus on Indigenous governance.

• Lecturer, Agrarian history summer course, LB0094
• Co-supervisor for PhD-candidate William Renström, SLU

Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja is a researcher in Agrarian History at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) since 2025. Her previous appointments include positions as researcher and lecturer at SLU and before that a postdoctoral fellowship in Economic History at Stockholm University. She holds a PhD in Agrarian History (2009) and an MSc in Agronomy from SLU (2001). She has also served as quality coordinator at the vice-chancellor's office at Mid Sweden University, evaluator and senior policy analyst at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and administrative officer at the County Administrative Board in Jönköping, Sweden.

Books

Larsson, Jesper, and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja. 2022. Self-Governance and Sami Communities. Transitions in Early Modern Natural Resource Management. Palgrave Macmillan. xvi + 248 p. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-87498-8. [Reviews: Pastoralism, 12(25) (2022) (link); Transnational Environmental Law 12(1):225–229 (2023) (link); Bebyggelsehistorisk tidskrift 85, 92–94 (2023) (link); and, Comparative Legal History 12(2), 242–246 (2024) (link).]

Päiviö, Eva-Lotta. 2008. Det agrara landskapet på vinst eller förlust: Biologiska och historiska värden inom lantbrukets nya uppdrag. [Defining and Measuring the New Role of Agriculture in the Agricultural Landscape]. PhD Diss. SLU. Uppsala. 231 p. [link] 

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Larsson, Jesper, and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja. 2025. 'Self-governance and Adaptation: Rethinking Indigenous Arctic Histories'. International Journal of the Commons, 19 (1): 307–321. DOI: 10.5334/ijc.1550

Larsson, Jesper, and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja. 2021. 'Hunting by Early Modern Lule Sami Households'. Arctic, 74(3): 323–338. DOI:10.14430/arctic73281 

Larsson, Jesper, and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja. 2020. 'Freshwater Fishing Strategies in Early Modern Sami Households'. Arctic Anthropology, 57(2): 197–211. DOI: 10.3368/aa.57.2.197

Larsson, Jesper, and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja. 2020. 'Early Modern Reindeer Husbandry, Sami Economy, and Grazing Rights'. International Journal of the Commons, 14(1): 91–107. DOI: 10.5334/ijc.965

Päiviö, Eva-Lotta. 2017. 'Livelihood diversification in Early Modern Sami Households in Northern Sweden'. In: Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective, Alps Scandinavia and Beyond, Eds.: A. Panjek, J. Larsson and L. Mocarelli, p. 137–159. University of Primorska Press, Koper. [link] 

Conference Reports and Book Reviews

Frankelius, Per; Päiviö Sjaunja, Eva-Lotta, and Maths Isacson. 2018. Book review of Traktorernas intåg: Teknik, produktion och marknadsföring i Sverige under introduktionstiden 1905–1930 by Per Thunström. [The Tractors´ Entry: Design, Production, and Marketing During the Introduction Period 1905–30]. Historisk tidskrift, 138(2): 327–333. [link]

Päiviö, Eva-Lotta. 2017. Book review of Den goda viljan: Kvinnliga missionärer och koloniala möten i Tunisien och västra Jämtland by Catarina Lundström. [The Good Will: Female Missionaries and Colonial Meetings in Tunisia and Western Jämtland]. Historisk tidskrift, 137(2): 336–338. [link] 

Päiviö, Eva-Lotta. 2012. 'Generationsöverföring inom samiska renskötselföretag i Sverige från c:a 1930 till nutid: En projektbeskrivning'. [Generational Transfer within Sami Reindeer Herding in Sweden From c. 1930 to the Present: A Project Description]. In: Uppsala mitt i Sápmi - Rapport från ett symposium arrangerat av Föreningen för samisk-relaterad forskning i Uppsala, Upplandsmuseet 4–5 maj 2011. [Uppsala in the Middle of Sápmi - Report from a Symposium Arranged by the Association for Sámi-related Research in Uppsala, Upplandsmuseet 4–5 May 2011]. Eds.: H. Tunón, M. Frändén, C-G. Ojala and M-B. Öhman. p. 47–50. Uppsala: Naptek.

Other Publications

Larsson, Jesper, and Eva-Lotta Päiviö Sjaunja. 2024. 'Giron eller Kiruna, ripan och malmen: alla platser har en historia'. [Giron or Kiruna, the Grouse and the Iron Ore: All Places Have a History]. Tidskriften STAD, Movium, SLU, 45:20–24. 

Päiviö, Eva-Lotta; Wissman, Jörgen, and Helena Andersson. 2010. 'Axel 2 – utvärdering av åtgärder för att förbättra miljön och landskapet'. [Axis 2 – Evaluation of Measures to Improve the Environment and Landscape]. In: Halvtidsutvärdering av landsbygdsprogram för Sverige 2007–2013. [Mid-Term Evaluation of the Rural Development Programme for Sweden 2007–2013]. Eds.: Ewa Rabinowicz and Eva Kaspersson. Dnr: Jo 10.013. Stockholm: Ministry of Enterprise. [link]