Nimíciwinán, nipimátisiwinán – “Our food is our way of life”: On-Reserve First Nation perspectives on community food security and sovereignty through oral history in Fisher River Cree Nation, Manitoba

Abstract

Food insecurity in Indigenous communities in Canada continue to gain increasing attention among scholars, community practitioners, and policy makers. Meanwhile, the role and importance of Indigenous foods, associated knowledges, and perspectives of Indigenous peoples (Council of Canadian Academies, 2014) that highlight community voices in food security still remain under-represented and under-studied in this discourse. University of Winnipeg (UW) researchers and Fisher River Cree Nation (FRCN) representatives began an action research partnership to explore Indigenous knowledges associated with food cultivation, production, and consumption practices within the community since 2012. The participatory, place-based, and collaborative case study involved 17 oral history interviews with knowledge keepers of FRCN. The goal was to understand their perspectives of and challenges to community food security, and to explore the potential role of Indigenous food knowledges in meeting community food security needs. In particular, the role of land-based Indigenous foods in meeting community food security through restoration of health, cultural values, identity, and self-determination were emphasized by the knowledge keepers—a vision that supports Indigenous food sovereignty. The restorative potential of Indigenous food sovereignty in empowering individuals and communities is well-acknowledged. It can nurture sacred relationships and actions to renew and strengthen relationships to the community’s own Indigenous land-based foods, previously weakened by colonialism, globalization, and neoliberal policies.

“Part of Who We Are…”: A Review of the Literature Addressing the Sociocultural Role of Traditional Foods in Food Security for Indigenous People in Northern Canada

“…Framed as a public health issue, numerous studies have explored the contribution of traditional foods to the physical health and nutritional security (i.e., access to sufficient nutrients) of northern Indigenous communities [4,65,66]. More recent research efforts have attempted to illuminate the relationships between traditional foods, cultural identity, and cultural continuity [14,67,68]. At the same time, efforts have been made within and across disciplinary fields to extend notions of health and food security to better align with Indigenous knowledge and worldviews and the needs of Indigenous communities.…”

“…Despite these challenges, traditional foods remain a critical pathway to support Indigenous food security. They represent a preferred and central component of Indigenous diets [26], contributing to holistic wellbeing [34] and fulfilling an important function in supporting and maintaining the continuity of Indigenous knowledge and cultural identity [7,14,39].…”

“…However, Power [12] argues that the definition fails to adequately capture the realities of food (in)security for Indigenous food systems. Traditional foods, in addition to providing sustenance, are critical to the fostering of cultural identity, wellbeing, and connections to land [8,13,14]. Skinner et al [15] underscore the need for food security to "incorporate race, ethnicity, and culture" (p. 2).…”

Applying Digital Technology to Understand Human Experiences of Climate Change Impacts on Food Security and Mental Health: Scoping Review

“…Food security involves not only access to and affordability of adequate food, but importantly, culturally appropriate food and acquisition practices -particularly in Indigenous and ethnic communities [67,111]. Thus, the availability of digital tools to capture and share traditional ecological knowledge is an important aspect of inclusive and user-centered climate change apps, as cultural aspects are often not captured in many food security assessments [68].…”

“…However, a key gap persists when we consider digital resource access issues among vulnerable communities, particularly in the global south, which are also facing the brunt of adverse climate change impacts [23,40,[66][67][68]. This gap -referred to as the global digital divide -is characterized by the 'first-level' digital divide (i.e., differences in digital access among citizens), as well as the 'second-level' digital divide (i.e., differences in citizens' usage of computers and the internet) [69].…”