from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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Many Indigenous peoples in Canada experience challenges in accessing fresh, affordable, and appropriate foods that are the mainstays of Indigenous diet and cultures. Remote, isolated communities face particular obstacles in the realm of food security. On average, the rate of food insecurity among Indigenous peoples in Canada higher than among their non-Indigenous counterparts. A long history of colonization, including the destruction of animals, land, waterways, and connections to Indigenous ways of life, has deeply impacted Indigenous peoples’ well-being, self-determination, and food security.
In this article from 2019, Our Hands at Work: Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Western Canada, author Tabitha Robin creates a new discourse around good food stories in Indigenous communities based on a series of interviews with knowledge holders, Elders, harvesters, activists, and land-based peoples in an attempt to understand what Indigenous food sovereignty looks like in western Canada. These stories offer an alternative approach: one in which Indigenous peoples are represented, can speak to the damages of colonialism, and have opportunities to direct their food and land-based projects in a way that promotes and protects food, culture, and land.
KEY FINDINGS - History: Acknowledging the losses of land and culture through colonialism has been critical in order for these communities to move forward.
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Connection to the land: Often, Indigenous food sovereignty is considered to be specific actions taking place on the land: the harvest, the hunt, the gather, and the seed and sow. And yet spending time on the land and with the land takes many shapes for Indigenous peoples. (Re)learning and practicing traditional languages, for example, are land-based practices. Indigenous languages are a form of communication with creation that can help to bring people and place together.
- Relationships: Relationships are the next act of the processes of food sovereignty as described by the participants. These relationships include the physical connection to the land, where hands meet earth and water, and the connections between people, where hands meet hands, and hands meet hearts. Here we can see the practices of gratitude, nurturing, and also accountability.
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Cultural identity: This is the place where how one views the world and lives one’s culture helps to develop identity. It sits in your body, your mind, your heart, and in your spirit.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH
"Indigenous food sovereignty, as a concept and way of life, is challenging to describe and even more difficult to define. . . . In listening to the participants, I was reminded of the words of Cree scholar Michael Hart, who asks that in Indigenous research, we listen with our whole being. This perspective was critical to the processes of this research project and the richness of data that emerged. Nonetheless, Indigenous food sovereignty . . . means different things to different people—across nations, geographies, and through a variety of circumstances stemming from treaty agreements, residential school experiences, and the impacts of large-scale extraction. In order to make space for these complexities, I left the decision about whether a project was a 'true' example of Indigenous food sovereignty with those who know their work and communities the best: the project participants."
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The image above is from the article and was designed and created by author. It represents the four elements of Indigenous food sovereignty—history, connection to the land, relationships, and cultural identity—revealed through the project participants and the author's own involvement in the projects. |
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