Abstract

Food insecurity is one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing northern Indigenous populations in Canada. Widespread lack of adequate, affordable, and accessible food is, in part, attributed to the displacement of land-based traditional foods which represent a key component of Indigenous diets and nutrition. Unlike store-bought market foods, traditional foods are intimately connected to place, while practices associated with their use reflect, reinforce, and reproduce Indigenous knowledge and cultural values, (re)asserting Indigenous food sovereignty. However, participation in harvesting and consumption of traditional foods is in decline, with negative implications for individual and community health and wellbeing. In this thesis, I explore the role and contribution of traditional foods in supporting northern Indigenous food security and food sovereignty, focusing in particular on sociocultural elements embedded within traditional food systems. The first manuscript presents the results of a scoping review of literature located at the intersection of traditional foods and northern Indigenous food security, with a focus on studies that address the sociocultural dimensions of food. A total of 22 articles were selected for review, coded thematically, and analyzed to identify trends, emphases, and gaps in this body of literature. The second manuscript emerged from a community-based partnered research project with Waskaganish Cree First Nation, where local fishing practices have been disrupted due to hydroelectric projects diverting key waterways, and socioeconomic and cultural lifestyle changes. I conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with 23 elders and knowledge holders to better understand the significance of fish for Waskaganish Crees, and how community members have adapted to continue accessing fish in the context of change. Collectively, this thesis establishes the need to support Indigenous-centered approaches for sustainable access to traditional foods in order to address northern Indigenous food crises and uphold Indigenous food sovereignty.