A Recipe for Change: Reclamation of Indigenous Food Sovereignty in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation for Decolonization, Resource Sharing, and Cultural Restoration

Māori women leading local sustainable food systems

“…The women reported many problems with the industrial food system, the introduction of cheap processed foods and the unsustainable nature of conventional agriculture, including an overreliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Similar to food sovereignty discourse, the women defined the issues impacting Māori communities as having to do with environmental degradation, resource depletion and economic inequalities impacting access to healthy, sustainable and culturally appropriate food (Kamal, Linklater, Thompson, Dipple, & Ithinto Mechisowin Committee, 2015). For each of the women, their mahi (work) related to growing food brought much satisfaction, good health and well-being, although there were always challenges to overcome.…”

“…Food sovereignty study emphasizes gender equity, women’s leadership and access to or control over productive resources (Desmarais, 2015). Indigenous sovereignty and autonomy are interconnected with the relationship to the land (Kamal et al, 2015). While food sovereignty is appearing on the Indigenous anti-colonical agenda, the “explicit link to regaining or redeveloping women’s traditional knowledge and provisioning role is rare” (Grey & Patel, 2015, p. 439).…”

Identifying Perspectives About Health to Orient Obesity Intervention Among Urban, Transitionally Housed Indigenous Children

“…Their descriptions are consistent with the concept of Indigenous food sovereignty, which is the right of peoples to define their own culturally based food policies and strategies for sustainable production, distribution, and consumption of food. The extant literature shows that decreased food sovereignty has been associated with decreased traditional food intake and related decrease in physical activity and health (Kamal et al, 2015) and may account in part for the lack of consensus about what qualified as “traditional food.” Increased food sovereignty for children and their families may improve future interventions.…”

“…This is consistent with Sarti and colleagues (2017) who found that gardening changes attitudes toward vegetables as children not only eat more vegetables but also advocate the consumption of vegetables at home. Finally, Indigenous gardening often centers not only raising nutritionally rich foods but also on the teachings behind the foods (Kamal et al, 2015). Indigenous urban children appeared to have internalized the notion that traditional gardening practices are healthy.…”

“…Second, poverty affects Indigenous children at higher rates, which in turn, increases risks of food insecurity related to hoarding food, overeating, and obesity (Brockie et al, 2015). Third, urban Indigenous youth are more likely to have limited access to healthy foods and experience decreased food sovereignty (Kamal et al, 2015). Although obesity has not been found to increase with homelessness, in limited research among non-Indigenous youth (Grant et al, 2007), homelessness may introduce a hunger-obesity paradigm, as well as other stressors that affect dietary habits (C.…”