Drowned cultural environments

Exhibition

January 17 - March 21, 2026

Ájtte - Swedish Mountain and Sami Museum, Jokkmokk

The desert-like shore of Lake Tjaktjajávrre, which was dammed when the Seitevare power plant was inaugurated in 1968. Several stumps stick out of the sand as a reminder of what it looked like before the dam. Photo: Frida Palmbo, Norrbotten Museum. — The desert-like shore of Lake Tjaktjajávrre, which was dammed when the Seitevare power plant was inaugurated in 1968. Several stumps stick out of the sand as a reminder of what it looked like before the dam. Photo: Dag Avango, LTU.

The exhibition shows how the water reservoir at Seitevare hydroelectric power plant has affected the cultural environment in the area.

Seitevare power plant is located on the border of Sarek National Park. The reservoir forms a huge wall right across the deep valley where the Black River and the Holy Falls once flowed. People have lived in this landscape for thousands of years, with different ways of life and resource use.

When the Seitevare power plant was built, the landscape changed significantly. The people who have lived and still live in the area have had to adapt to the new conditions.

The exhibition is a result of the research project “Climate change, regulations and Norrland's water-related cultural environments”. The aim of the project is to build a deeper understanding of the consequences of hydropower expansion and climate change for cultural landscapes in northern Sweden's river valleys and for the people who live and work there.

The project includes historians, archaeologists and geographers from Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University, the National Board of Antiquities, Norrbotten Museum, Västerbotten Museum and the County Administrative Board of Västernorrland. The project is funded by the National Board of Antiquities' funds for research and development. It began in 2022 and is planned to continue until 2025.