Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Native Status: originates from the Indian act, administered by the Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

Status Designations: Registered Indian, Bill C-31 Indian, band member, reserve resident, treaty indian, Metis and Inuit.

Food Sovereignty: The right of people to decide and produce their own food, organizing themselves and determining what to plant.

Proposed action under Food Sovereignty Movement: Recognizing food as sacred, adopting an action based approach, pursuing self-determination and advocating for policy reform.

Challenges to Indigenous Peoples: low income, high prices, lack of fresh produce, and contamination.

Impact of challenges: high risk of poor nutritional status and health outcomes; developmental impacts on children; diabetes and health issues.

Caribou Decline: climate change, development, noise, habitat loss, wildfire, predation and mining has resulted in loss of populations.

Mercury Poisoning: industrial waste, coal power plants, medical waste incinerators have resulted in mercury entering the environment and causing damage to nervous system, kidney and brain; leads to birth defects and intellectual disabilities.

PCB contamination: affects country foods in nunavut, leading to health issues like diabetes from whales and seals.

Thrifty Gene: a pseudoscience suggesting genetic adaptions in indigenous people one advantageous in times of food scarcity are not contributing to obesity and diabetes in modern environments with high-calorie diets.