Indigenous people in Northern Canada are among the world’s great hunters who have provided food for their people over thousands of years. Since colonization and the introduction of settler systems and policies, Indigenous people’s relationship with food has drastically changed. Today, roughly 22% of residents in the Northwest Territories are not able to access nutritious food, and in Nunavut, that number jumps to 60%. In the North, food is not only groceries; food is part of the land and wildlife, which nourishes the body and mind, and connects families to cultural identity.
In Canada’s North, access to healthy food is difficult because of the remoteness of communities, the high costs of living, impacts of climate change, colonial policies and resource development. The consequences are dire and include malnutrition, chronic disease, depression, substance abuse, low income families, and disconnection from traditional ways of life.
While the impacts of food insecurity are jarring, Indigenous communities continue to look for ways to preserve traditional harvesting while also moving toward food systems unheard of in Northern Canada. Here, the soil is poor and the growing season is incredibly short. Greenhouses, community gardens and small scale agriculture are now funded through several pilot projects. Hunting, which is more culturally appropriate and healthy, is increasingly expensive and impeded by restrictions due to wildlife population decline in many areas. This project examines food insecurity in the Arctic and looks at how people here are finding ways to access nutritious, culturally acceptable food.
This project was funded by The Trebek Initiative, a grant program from the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.Indigenous people in Northern Canada are among the world’s great hunters who have provided food for their people over thousands of years. Since colonization and the introduction of settler systems and policies, Indigenous people’s relationship with food has drastically changed. Today, roughly 22% of residents in the Northwest Territories are not able to access nutritious food, and in Nunavut, that number jumps to 60%. In the North, food is not only groceries; food is part of the land and wildlife, which nourishes the body and mind, and connects families to cultural identity.
In Canada’s North, access to healthy food is difficult because of the remoteness of communities, the high costs of living, impacts of climate change, colonial policies and resource development. The consequences are dire and include malnutrition, chronic disease, depression, substance abuse, low income families, and disconnection from traditional ways of life.
While the impacts of food insecurity are jarring, Indigenous communities continue to look for ways to preserve traditional harvesting while also moving toward food systems unheard of in Northern Canada. Here, the soil is poor and the growing season is incredibly short. Greenhouses, community gardens and small scale agriculture are now funded through several pilot projects. Hunting, which is more culturally appropriate and healthy, is increasingly expensive and impeded by restrictions due to wildlife population decline in many areas. This project examines food insecurity in the Arctic and looks at how people here are finding ways to access nutritious, culturally acceptable food.
This project was funded by The Trebek Initiative, a grant program from the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.