Towards Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Abstract

Food insecurity refers to an individual’s lack of access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food which would enable them to lead a healthy life. Today, urban Indigenous communities in Canada face wide-scale food insecurity due to historical injustices of the past. Colonialism has displaced Indigenous peoples from their lands, destroying their culture and assimilating them through extreme measures. The forced eradication of the buffalo, the Indian Act, the Residential School System, and a series of highly restrictive food programs represent some of the most destructive influences on increasing food insecurity among Indigenous communities. As such, there is an ongoing need to support efforts in revitalizing Indigenous ways of life, which includes addressing the issues surrounding Indigenous food systems. Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS) involves activities that consider the sociocultural meanings, acquisition, and processing techniques of Indigenous food, which recognizes the sacred, participatory relationship between Indigenous peoples and their foods. For instance, IFS efforts include but are not limited to supporting hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging, gardening, and preservation projects. IFS provides opportunities for restoring cultural practices and can help develop a sense of healing, connection, and empowerment. Reciprocity (i.e., a broader appreciation of the connection between food and land) through IFS efforts allows for past and future generations to become part of the connection to food. As such, food systems in Indigenous communities go beyond the need for sustenance and instead entail a variety of efforts to reintroduce reasonable and adaptive efforts of rebuilding Indigenous food systems and ways of life.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alissa Overend