Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Canada: Policy Paper 2019

Source: Stephen Penner, Kathleen Kevany, Sheri Longboat

Year: 2019

“Indigenous Nations in Canada have and continue to deal with a colonial food system that leaves many of these nations located in, what can be best described, as food wastelands, and at worst, imposes a lifetime sentence to a food prison (Finley, 2014). As we walk toward a path of reconciliation, it would be wise to acknowledge that Indigenous people had a well-developed, complex and thriving social-economic systems prior to colonial contact. Recognizing the depth of their intra-generational knowledge and deep understanding of the land can facilitate the development of a meaningful national and Indigenous food policy. One that recognizes mino-pimatwisin (Anishinaabe for good life) and maligit (balance) in Quajimajatuqangit (Inuktitut for Inuit Traditional Knowledge) nidiawemaginidog (Anishinaabe for “all my relatives”). Resulting in a robust and meaningful Indigenous food production system.”

Revitalizing Native Foodways

Source: Kaylena Bray, Melissa K Nelson

Year: 2015

“At a time when food has become better known as a commodity rather than a life source, it is more pressing than ever to remember that food, in its deepest, truest essence, is a gift. It’s a gift that connects us to the land, plants, animals, and waters, that nourishes us, feeds our minds and our bodies, and guides us in our original roles as human members of our sacred ecosystems. As Indigenous peoples, we have a sacred responsibility to take care of our foods and of all the elements of life – soil, water, air, seeds, fire, prayers – that create it.”

Indigenous Food Systems Network Website

Source: Indigenous Food Systems Network

Year: n.d.

“The Indigenous Food Systems Network Website was developed by the WGIFS and is designed to allow individuals and groups involved with Indigenous food related action, research, and policy reform to network and share relevant resources and information.”

Valerie Segrest at TEDxRainier

Source: Valerie Segrest at TEDxRainier

Year: 2014

“The Indian tribes around the Puget Sound have practiced sustainable balance with its foods for thousands of years, but now the prairie lands and mountain berry meadows are disappearing and salmons runs are dwindling. Valerie Segrest, a member of Muckleshoot tribe and native foods educator tells us to listen to the salmon and cedar tree, who teach us a life of love, generosity and abundance, and to remember when we take better care of our land, we are taking better care of ourselves.”

A Conversation on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (Part 2)

Source: Kitatipithitamak Mithwayawin and guests

Year: 2020

“This discussion includes the importance of dismantling structural racism in the food system, how Covid-19 speaks to the inequities of our broken food system, and how intertwined the social and environmental implications of food are for Indigenous peoples.”

Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Source: Food Secure Canada

Year: 2011

"We are a group of community-based activists, scholars and storytellers who work on issues of food sovereignty. We come from diverse regions of Turtle Island and share fundamental beliefs towards the land and all she stands for. We represent fishing, hunting, and gathering peoples and bring an understanding of the impact of colonialism on our regions. Indigenous food systems include all of the land, soil, water, and air, as well as culturally important plant, fungi, and animal species that have sustained Indigenous peoples over thousands of years of participating in the natural world. "

Traditional Foods & Recipes on the Wild Side

Source: Native Women’s Association of Canada

Year: 2012

“This booklet is intended to provide some cultural context, as well as information about traditional foods. You’ll also find a few recipes on the wild side!”

Gifts from Our Relations: Indigenous Original Foods Guide

Source: National Indigenous Diabetes Association

Year: 2020

“The National Indigenous Diabetes Association (NIDA) presents this resource booklet entitled “Gifts from our Relations”, which consists of commonly consumed traditional foods (plants/animals) that are Indigenous to our lands. Colonization, the reserve system, and residential schools have had significant negative impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ land bases, territories, and connections to the land. Regular harvesting and consumption of original foods has been largely replaced with a commercial supply of western, processed, non-nutritive foods. As noted by the Canada Truth and Reconciliation Commission, “...original foods were viewed by missionaries, educators and doctors as being diseased and inferior; in residential schools, teachers taught children to dislike their own foods and inculcated them with the poor eating habits of a non-Indigenous institution.”"

Pathways to the revitalization of Indigenous food systems: Decolonizing diets through Indigenous-focused food guides

Source: Taylor Wilson, Shailesh Shukla

Year: 2020

“The 2019 Canadian Food Guide (CFG) was launched in January 2019 with a promise to be inclusive of multicultural diets and diverse perspectives on food, including the food systems of Indigenous communities. Some scholars argue that federally designed standard food guides often fail to address the myriad and complex issues of food security, well-being, and nutritional needs of Canadian Indigenous communities while imposing a dominant and westernized worldview of food and nutrition. In a parallel development, Indigenous food systems and associated knowledges and perspectives are being rediscovered as a hope and ways to improve current and future food security. Based on a review of relevant literature and our long-term collaborative learning and community based research engagements with Indigenous communities from Manitoba, we propose that Indigenous communities should develop their food guides considering their contexts, needs, and preferences.”

Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples

Source: Harriet Kuhnlein and Nancy Turner

Year: 1991

“The primary purpose of this book is to describe and to reference the published literature on the nutritional properties, the botanical characteristics and the ethnic uses of traditional food plants of Canadian Indigenous Peoples. Since it is recognized that Canadian political boundaries are not honored by plants in their biological habitats, the nutritional and botanical information presented here is often relevant to other regions with northern latitudes where the same species are found, such as northern regions of the United States, Europe and Asia. However, the ethnographic information reviewed and presented in this book is only from Canadian Indigenous Peoples and their immediate neighbors in Alaska and other states bordering Canada.”

Food Security & Three Sisters Sustainability - Conversations in Cultural Fluency

Source: Six Nations Polytechnic

Year: 2016

As part of the Conversations in Cultural Fluency webinar series, Six Nations Polytechnic explores Hodinoshon:hi worldviews. This one focuses on agriculture, food security, and Three Sisters sustainability.

Native Foodways with the Cultural Conservancy

Source: KCET

Year: 2020

“The commodification of food has led to a bottom-line approach that has disconnected people from their food sources entirely. The Cultural Conservancy, an inter-tribal organization headquartered on Ohlone land in modern-day San Francisco, is revitalizing Indigenous knowledge by inviting us to re-engage with the land, honor heirloom seeds, grow clean food and medicines, and decolonize our foodways.”

Chuck and The First Peoples’ Kitchen

Source: Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Year: n.d.

“Members of Indigenous communities across Canada dish out their knowledge with professional chef Chuck Hughes. Sharing integral parts of their Indigenous culture and culinary heritage through the sharing of family and ancestral recipes. From lobster fishing in Chaleur Bay, moose hunting in Newfoundland, to ptarmigan hunting in Nunavut, the 25-year veteran chef travels through forests, rivers and snow-covered landscapes as he prepares world class meals using the resources the land provides. Guided by his mentors, Chuck becomes a privileged witness of the respect Indigenous Peoples have towards nature.”

Moosemeat & Marmalade

Source: Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Year: n.d.

“Moosemeat & Marmalade brings together Bush Cook, Art Napoleon, and classically trained British Chef, Dan Hayes to explore and compare Indigenous and European culture and cuisine. Through his Cree heritage, and rough around the edges persona, Art is a man among men when it comes to hunting and surviving in the Northern wilds. From across the pond, Dan draws on years of history and tradition to create modern food that looks as good as it tastes. Every week one of these chefs choose an ingredient and lead the journey. They couldn’t be more different or more set in their ways but these two chefs come together to create and explore culture, culinary traditions, worldviews and, of course, really good food.”

Exploring Indigenous kitchens of North America with Sean Sherman

Source: The Splendid Table with the Sioux Chef

Year: 2017

“Chef Sean Sherman - founder of the company The Sioux Chef - has made a name for himself in the Upper Midwest by sourcing and cooking with ingredients originally used by Native American groups across the region. The result is an eye-opening and healthy take on modern cuisine. However, his interests are not limited to the native peoples of the Midwest. For his new book, The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen, Sherman and co-author Beth Dooley pulled from his travels to and experiences cooking with native cultures all over North America. Sherman talked with Francis Lam, and shared with him some unique food and ingredients. You can make Sherman's recipes for Maple-Juniper Roast Pheasant and Cedar Tea.”

Ocean and Way of Life: Haida Culture and the Ocean and Rivers of Haida Gwaii

Source: Council of the Haida Nation

Year: 2011

"Our knowledge about the ocean and Haida culture is handed down from generation to generation. lnherited teachings - the collective experience of fishing and harvesting areas and learning methods and times for gathering and preparing seafoods - are passed on by each generation to nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren. This further connects us to the land, sea and culture. ln passing on this knowledge we also pass on cultural values, ethics and laws.”

A Conversation on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (Part 1)

Source: Kitatipithitamak Mithwayawin and guests

Year: 2020

“This video is a shortened version of the full length webinar. It highlights some of the key points and moments. Some of the things discussed include the importance of dismantling structural racism in the food system, how Covid-19 speaks to the inequities of our broken food system, and how intertwined the social and environmental implications of food are for Indigenous peoples.”

Métis Cookbook and Guide to Healthy Living

Source: Métis Centre, National Aboriginal Health Organization

Year: 2008

“This cookbook is full of many more modern recipes than those of olden times, but some of them still have the essence of the old. They are also a testament to the Métis mothers of the past who always found a way to throw together a great meal. To the young parents who will be using this book, remember the good things of your childhood, and as you prepare this food, use the energy from those good memories to re-create those old traditions of sharing good food, stories and laughter. That, I know for sure, will build strong families and a strong people.”

First Nations Health Authority Traditional Foods Fact Sheets

Source: First Nations Health Authority

Year: n.d.

The First Nations Health Authority has published an informative set of facts sheets on traditional food and its nutrition value, traditional harvesting methods, and history of use. Topics include: fish, seafood, wild game, birds, berries and other plant foods.

Resource folder from the Yukon Hospital Traditional Food Program

Source: Yukon Hospital Corporation

Year: n.d.

How does it look like to implement a traditional food program in a hospital, and what are some considerations for food safety? This folder contains policies, forms, and processes for the traditional food program from the Yukon Hospital Corporation.