Traditional Food Upskilling and Urban Indigenous Food Sovereignty
Report Overview
Title: Traditional Food Upskilling as a Pathway to Urban Indigenous Food Sovereignty
Authors: Dr. Jaime Cidro (Department of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg) and Tabitha Martens
Funder: SSHRC Partnership grant, part of the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network (UAKN).
UAKN Mission: A community-driven research network focused on the Urban Aboriginal population in Canada. It aims to establish a national, interdisciplinary network involving universities, community, and government to facilitate research, scholarship, and knowledge mobilization.
Introduction to Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS)
Concept of Food Sovereignty: Increasingly recognized as a vital intervention to address food insecurity and, more broadly, to regain control over food systems and health.
Winnipeg Context: The North End of Winnipeg, an economically challenged area, grapples with significant food insecurity, characterized by limited grocery stores and restricted access to cultural foods.
Strength in Adversity: Despite these challenges, Indigenous people in Winnipeg are actively working towards "Indigenous Food Sovereignty" (IFS), particularly concerning cultural food.
Urban Indigenous Food Insecurity: Indigenous individuals in urban centers face various food insecurity issues, ranging from insufficient healthy and affordable options to limited access to culturally significant foods.
Food Security vs. Food Sovereignty: While distinct, these concepts are closely aligned. Food security, in an Indigenous context, is often discussed in relation to remote and rural communities, but it is unequivocally present in urban Indigenous communities.
Preliminary Research (2013): Earlier research by Cidro & Martens (2014) indicated that urban Indigenous people experienced food insecurity but were also pursuing broader goals of IFS related to cultural food.
Current Project Aim (Phase 2): This research explored how urban organizations could "upskill" Indigenous food practices (such as food growing, harvesting, and production) to mitigate food insecurity and advance IFS principles within an urban environment. This involved conducting a series of traditional food preparation, cultivation, and procurement workshops, followed by focus groups to discuss IFS principles.
Project Goal: To offer insights for urban organizations, especially Indigenous ones focused on food security, to enhance their programs and policies in support of traditional and culturally-based food production and preparation.
Core Position: This phase posits that IFS is operational within urban contexts, and empowering Indigenous people with IFS skills will yield a wide array of positive social and economic benefits.
Conceptual Framework
Culture and Food Consumption
Academic Gap: The intricate relationship between culture and food consumption is not extensively understood in academic literature, with only a limited number of research projects exploring it (e.g., Adekunle et al., 2010, 2011, 2012; Abdel-Ghany & Sharpe, 1997; Wang & Lo, 2007).
Emergent Literature: Recent research has begun to examine the complex interplay between ethnicity, consumption, and acculturation in Canada (Abdel-Ghany & Sharpe, 1997; Adekunle et al., 2010).
Cultural Foundation for Aboriginal People: Food consumption plays a central role as a cultural cornerstone.
Yukon First Nations Perspective: Interviews revealed that consuming traditional foods upheld fundamental cultural values, including fostering a connection to nature, facilitating sharing, demonstrating adult responsibility for children, and practicing spirituality (Receveur et al., 1998, p. ).
Anishinabek Perspective: Wilson (2003, p. ) highlighted a strong link between food and medicine for Anishinabek people in Ontario, noting that "Certain plants, berries, and animals…are not only consumed for nutritional reasons but can also be used in the production of medicines."
Cultural Benefit: A study by Lambden et al. (2007) involving Yukon First Nations, Dene/Metis, and Inuit women found that they regarded traditional foods as culturally beneficial.
Urban Aboriginal Research Gap: Critically, there has been minimal research on urban Aboriginal people’s preferences and attitudes towards traditional or cultural foods.
Vancouver Study (2012): This study indicated that traditional knowledge is crucial for Aboriginal empowerment among participants and that integrating Aboriginal perspectives and worldviews is essential for comprehending food security (Elliot et al., 2012).
Food Security
Spectrum of Insecurity: Food insecurity manifests along a continuum, from "food anxiety to qualitative compromises in food selection and consumption, to quantitative compromises in intake, to the physical sensation of hunger" (McIntyre & Rondeau, 2009, p. ).
Aboriginal Experience: Many Aboriginal people experience food insecurity, particularly concerning compromises in food types due to the unavailability or prohibitive cost of traditional foods (Sinclaire, 1997).
Economic Impact: The financial strain of supporting a family often compels urban Aboriginal people to reduce their food budgets, potentially leading to a decline in nutrient-rich food consumption.
Statistical Data (Che and Chen, 2001, p. ): Based on the Canadian National Population Health Survey, the prevalence of food insecurity was high among Aboriginal people living off reserves.
More than one-quarter () reported experiencing at least some food insecurity.
experienced a compromised diet.
Aboriginal people were approximately times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to reside in a food-insecure household.
Cultural Food Security: Power (2008) argued for "cultural food security" as an additional layer of food security, emphasizing the need for further research into Aboriginal perspectives. She suggested that "in terms of access, food security may be affected by access to traditional/country food, as well as access to market food" (Power, 2008, p. ).
Inadequate National Food Guides: Milburn (2004) noted that national food guides often reflect Western dietary categories and fail to align with Indigenous realities.
Knowledge Gap: Willows (2005, p. ) identified a critical knowledge gap concerning Aboriginal beliefs about food, highlighting that existing research predominantly focuses on rural areas, with very little available on urban Aboriginal populations.
Food Deserts and Inner City Access
Supermarket Accessibility: Researchers have found that inner cities and low-income areas frequently have reduced access to supermarkets (Cummins & Macintyre, 2005).
Consequences of Limited Access: Residents in these areas become more reliant on smaller food and convenience stores, which typically charge higher prices and offer a narrower selection of healthy foods (Donkin et al., 2000).
Dietary Choices: Accessibility to food retailers providing healthy and affordable options directly influences individuals' dietary choices (Wrigley et al., 2003).
Canadian Context: While research on supermarket accessibility in Canadian cities is limited, two studies suggest that high-need and inner-city neighborhoods often lack supermarket access (Peters & McCreary, 2008; Smoyer-Tomic et al., 2006). This lack of access likely extends to culturally important foods.
Winnipeg Example: Neechi Foods, an inner-city Aboriginal co-op in Winnipeg, serves as an important resource by providing access to many culturally significant foods, such as fish, bison, and blueberries.
Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS) - Detailed Principles and Urban Context
Emergence: Food sovereignty, defined as increased control over food systems, has recently emerged in literature as a vital approach to address food insecurity.
Core Tenets: IFS empowers people with control over the "how, what, and when" of their food consumption, fostering a strong relationship between food production and consumption.
Historical Context: IFS has been a "living reality" for millennia; however, colonial impacts and environmental changes have undermined traditional and local food systems, contributing to high levels of food insecurity and necessitating a reconnection between people and their food sources (Morrison, 2011).
Four Main Principles of IFS (Morrison, 2011):
Food is sacred: Recognizing the spiritual and profound significance of food.
Participation in food systems: Active engagement and decision-making by Indigenous peoples in their food systems.
Self-determination: The right of Indigenous peoples to independently govern their food systems.
Supportive legislation and policy: The necessity of governmental and policy frameworks that uphold and enable Indigenous food sovereignty.
Traditional Practices: These principles acknowledge the historical and inherent connection of food to Indigenous identity, with many IFS initiatives rooted in traditional food practices.
Examples of IFS Initiatives:
Kamal and Thompson (2013) documented an Indigenous land-based food movement in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin, Manitoba.
Rudolph and McLachlan (2013) also reported on IFS initiatives in northern Manitoba.
Urban Application Gap: There is scarce information regarding IFS in urban contexts.
Urban Aboriginal Garden Project (UBC): An urban example where a garden was found to be a decolonizing experience for participants, as it helped reduce dependence (Mundel & Chapman, 2010).
This Project's Contribution: The current study specifically describes an urban Aboriginal journey towards IFS through food skills workshops and the accompanying discussions.
Methods
Project Location and Partnerships
Location: The research was conducted in Winnipeg's North End, an area with a significant urban Indigenous population.
Key Partnerships:
North End Community Renewal Corporation (NECRC) via the North End Food Security Network (NEFSN).
Indian and Metis Friendship Centre (IMFC).
Traditional Food Skills Workshops
Purpose: A series of six traditional food skills workshops were developed to build skills and foster awareness ("upskilling") related to traditional foods.
Design: Based on NEFSN's experience with Indigenous people in the North End and findings from Phase 1 of the project.
Leadership: Co-directed by two Indigenous researchers and NEFSN’s Food Security Coordinator, with local Indigenous knowledge keepers participating in some workshops.
Participant Recruitment: Program participants from IMFC and NEFSN were responsible for recruitment.
Workshop Content and Timeline (June to early fall):
Growing three sisters (corn, beans, and squash).
Harvesting and preparing wild teas.
Fishing (and filleting).
Re-inventing bannock.
Cooking with bison.
Cooking with three sisters.
Data Collection and Methodology
Focus Groups: Each day-long workshop was followed by a focus group, with a more extensive focus group held after the final feast.
Focus Group Questions: Centered on participants' experiences learning traditional food skills and any shifts in their awareness regarding access to cultural foods in an urban setting.
Recording and Transcription: All focus group discussions were recorded and transcribed.
Participant Incentives: Participants received a gift certificate to Neechi Foods, a local Aboriginal food cooperative.
Visual Documentation: A photographer captured various food demonstration activities, and participants received hard copies of photographs they appeared in, along with a recipe book.
High Engagement: The project observed high participant retention and enthusiasm, attributed to its hands-on, participatory nature and strong community connections.
Grounded Theory Approach: Principles of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, ) were employed, a methodology particularly suited for topics with limited existing knowledge, such as operationalizing IFS principles.
Core Principle: Data forms the foundation of the theory, leading to concept development.
Process: Researchers "start with data and construct these data through observations, interactions and materials gathered about the topic or setting" (Charmanz, , pg ).
Coding: Began early in data collection to sort, separate, and synthesize information.
Theme Distillation: Preliminary findings presentations facilitated a fuller distillation of themes (Charmanz, ).
Key Findings
Four overarching themes emerged from the thematic coding process:
1. Food as Reclaiming Identity
Conduit to Culture: Cultural food and related skills were perceived as a vital link to understanding and maintaining Indigenous culture and, consequently, identity.
Urban Identity Challenges: Participants acknowledged the difficulties in forming and preserving cultural identity within an urban environment.
Deeper Connection: Learning food skills provided a deeper connection to Indigenous culture.
Knowledge Reclamation: Workshops offered practical skills and opportunities for facilitators to share historical and cultural knowledge surrounding food and food practices. Personal narratives about farming methods and the colonial impacts on food production served as crucial sources of cultural knowledge reclamation.
Understanding Systemic Barriers: Participants also gained insights into the broader forces that undermined their capacity to make choices supportive of their culture and identity.
Self-Determination: One participant articulated the issue of choice and self-determination: "You know, the Aboriginal people had been…had their choices taken away and it’s [food] just one more way to make a choice."
Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer: Discussions also revolved around the transfer of knowledge across generations, particularly concerns about the diminishing knowledge base regarding food harvesting, gathering, and preparation.
Participant Concern: A participant expressed, "give our kids healthy food, traditional knowledge, and pride in their tradition. Did they even know that these things are tradition? Like cooked corn is traditional, farming is traditional, a lot of kids…. you know I wasn’t taught that."
2. Food Memory and "Blood Memory"
Initial Skills Assessment: Participants initially described their food skills as limited before the demonstrations.
Spontaneous Recollection: The informal, hands-on, and conversational nature of the workshops led many participants to feel as though they had learned these skills before. Engaged in activities like handling fish or working in the garden soil, they described being overwhelmed by memory, which the researchers termed "food blood memory."
Urban Relocation Challenges: Participants also discussed the difficulty of losing these traditional food skills after moving to an urban setting and the societal lack of acknowledgment for these skills.
Participant Narrative: One participant shared: "You know this is for me… just reconnecting…like my great grandpa, my Auntie Jean’s grandpa. He takes me out in the bush and we go pick medicines. I remember this stuff, the fishing. I have that memory of this, but reconnecting again…because when you come to the city, all those skills are not acknowledged as skills. They are put aside and now it’s time for books and school and city life and getting street smart. You put those traditional skills away and you just lose them. So to learn this stuff again….. actually I still do make wicked bannock!"
3. Practicing Culture in the City
Critical Importance: Participants emphasized that maintaining cultural connections in an urban environment was essential for their identity.
Existing Cultural Programming: Winnipeg's North End is home to many organizations offering cultural programs, including feasts that often feature cultural foods.
Perceived Disconnection: Participants felt a disconnect between culture and food in the city, beyond simply consuming it at specific events.
Urban Cultural Practice Through Food: The food skills demonstrations facilitated discussions about the significance of learning how to integrate and practice culture in the city via food, whether through urban fishing, cultivating cultural foods, or purchasing them.
Incorporating Traditional Values: A participant described how they incorporate gratitude learned from family into an urban context, offering tobacco in their city garden, similar to how their father would offer tobacco during a hunt: "I like the traditional aspect…like when you get a fur, or that sort of thing. My dad hunts and when he hunts, if he kills a moose he puts down tobacco. It’s the same thing you know, when you’re taking plants, you have to be thankful to the earth and to give back so it’s nice to incorporate that."
Connection to Land: Another respondent articulated a deep connection to the food in her garden and the importance of connecting to the land even in an urban setting: "just getting my hands dirty [is good]… It’s kind of weird, but I feed them [the plants] and check up on them. To have that connection, you know…that’s what I get out of gardening. I’ve been gardening for a couple of years and it’s just that connection."
4. Food as Relationship Building
Forging Bonds: Most project participants were strangers prior to the workshops and focus groups. Over four months, they developed relationships, sharing personal and family stories.
Social Connector: The process of growing, harvesting, and preparing food acted as a powerful social connector.
Cultural Affinity: Learning tangible skills deeply rooted in their shared culture and identity fostered significant bonds among participants.
Communal Aspect: One respondent highlighted the communal nature of food skill building: "I feel like cooking together and 'doing it up' before we do anything else is a really good way to get to know each other. That’s something people don’t really do in groups anymore, but historically that is how people ate. They ate in groups and cooked in groups. Everybody participated, which is something that was kind of cool for me to watch us all do. Everyone had a little task, a little job, a little something to do and it was sort of a good way for strangers to get to know each other."
Analysis
Critique of Food Insecurity Discourse: The concept of food insecurity is deemed too narrow, failing to acknowledge communities’ proactive efforts to reclaim control over their food systems (Cidro & Martens, ).
Urban Food Challenges: Inner cities are often characterized as food deserts, where access to cultural foods is typically restricted to informal trade networks and a small number of market providers.
Practical Operationalization of IFS: Operationalizing Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS) necessitates a pragmatic and tangible approach in urban settings.
Adapting IFS for Urban Contexts: While urban IFS is often hampered by limited access to traditional territories outside the city, this constraint is not insurmountable. Urban IFS must center on developing food skills as the core mechanism for regaining control over food systems.
Alignment with Previous Research:
The findings regarding cultural connection through food skills development, intergenerational knowledge transfer, and the intrinsic link between food and the natural world resonate strongly with the work of Receveur et al. () concerning First Nations people in the Yukon.
The observed connection between cultural foods and the practice of culture aligns with Lambden et al.’s () study involving Yukon First Nations, Dene/Metis, and Inuit women.
Similar findings related to the "empowerment" of urban Indigenous people through traditional food practices were reported by Elliot et al. ().
Beyond Addressing Needs: Urban Indigenous organizations often frame food-related issues within the scope of food security or as interventions for chronic diseases like Type II diabetes. However, there is a significant opportunity to operationalize IFS principles not only to tackle food insecurity and chronic disease but also as a vital pathway for cultural reclamation.
Adapting Cultural Practice: While practicing Indigenous culture in urban environments can be challenging due to environments often unconducive to land-based activities, this research demonstrates that cultural food skills can be successfully adapted to urban settings.
Profound Impact: Such adaptations can profoundly influence how urban Indigenous people perceive their food systems, identity, interpersonal relationships, and the practice of culture in ways previously considered inaccessible.
Rebuilding Urban Indigenous Food Systems: To fully operationalize urban IFS, a concerted effort to rebuild urban Indigenous food must occur. Winnipeg’s Neechi Commons stands as an excellent example of a community initiative that effectively addresses both market food and cultural food needs.
Recommendations for Programming: Indigenous organizations, or those serving urban Indigenous communities, should consider integrating traditional food skills into their skill-building programs. This approach can enhance self-esteem by fostering cultural knowledge and development.
Conclusion
Winnipeg's North End Significance: Winnipeg's North End is a distinctive urban area rich in cultural knowledge, which has been successfully adapted to its urban Indigenous environment.
Growing Cultural Food Access: While not immediately obvious, the expansion of Neechi Commons, an increasing number of local merchants, and the active participation of Winnipeg’s Indigenous community in trade networks are progressively meeting cultural food needs, particularly with access to market cultural foods.
Benefits of Cultural Foods: Cultural foods, especially land-based ones, are highly nutritious and offer a crucial mechanism to counteract urban food insecurity, particularly in areas identified as food deserts.
Beyond Simple Access: Rebuilding a culture of urban Indigenous food necessitates more than mere access; it requires active engagement and skill development.
Central Role of Upskilling: This research robustly demonstrated that traditional or cultural food "upskilling" is fundamental to operationalizing IFS principles.
Creativity in Urban Contexts: Successfully adapting these food skills in an urban context demands creativity and innovative approaches.
Holistic Benefits: The advantages of traditional food upskilling extend far beyond addressing basic food insecurity. They are deeply interconnected with fostering cultural connection, strengthening community bonds, and building relationships.
Recommendation for Organizations: Urban Indigenous organizations seeking to integrate culture into their programs and services should consider traditional food upskilling as a powerful mechanism that can yield a wide range of social, cultural, and economic benefits.
Important Clarification on Terminology
The authors explicitly state: "It is important to note that we do not see Aboriginal people as an ethnic group. However some of the literature on ethnicity and food preferences may be useful in providing a background for the proposed research." This footnote clarifies that while existing academic literature might use the term 'ethnicity' in relation to food preferences, the project does not categorize Aboriginal people as an ethnic group.