Importance of traditional foods for the food security of two First Nations communities in the Yukon, Canada

Abstract

The importance of traditional foods in the diet of Yukon First Nations has not changed over the past 15 years. However, limited availability of food species, access to harvesting equipment and decrease in available time to go out on the land to harvest are food security challenges facing households today.

Full Issue

“…Future research on the sustainability of food environments and TFS needs, however, to shift from a focus on food security towards the concept of food sovereignty (Grey & Patel, 2015). In the Indigenous context, food sovereignty encompasses the ability to acquire foods in socially acceptable ways, such as through traditional practices (FAO, 1996;Schuster, Wein, Dickson, & Chan, 2011;Willows et al, 2009) that may encompass IK. An Indigenous food sovereignty framework explicitly connects the health properties of food with the health of the environment and identifies a history of social injustice as having radically reduced Indigenous food sovereignty in nations such as Canada (Morrison, 2011).…”

Community-based health research led by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

“…Many northern Aboriginal communities regularly experience periods of interruption of traditional food supply due to the temporal fluctuations in natural resources (21,22); for example, "no-summer" summers where the sea ice never breaks up and whales cannot be hunted (23), or years with irregular caribou migration patterns, that reduce accessibility for hunters (24). Climate change may exacerbate this situation by affecting species distribution, population abundance, morphology and behaviour (25).…”

Healthy Roots: Building capacity through shared stories rooted in Haudenosaunee knowledge to promote Indigenous foodways and well-being

“…It is well known that traditional foods harvested locally contribute towards the holistic well-being of Indigenous peoples and that a shift towards marketed foods has had negative consequences for health and well-being (Elgeland et al, 2011;Schuster et al, 2011). Quality may be compromised as store-bought foods can contain more saturated fats and refined carbohydrates, while traditional foods are more biologically diverse and more nutrient dense (Gagné et al 2012).…”

“…In doing so, food security should not be narrowly defined as having enough to eat or enough household funds to purchase processed foods that may be more accessible (Willows et al, 2009). Rather, its meaning, certainly in an Indigenous context, encompasses the ability to acquire foods in socially or culturally acceptable ways that may encompass access to traditional knowledge as well as knowledge of the local environment (FAO, 1996;Schuster et al, 2011;Willows et al, 2009).…”

“…Access to knowledge, including Indigenous knowledge, contact with Elders, and increased cultural capacity around traditional foods are important determinants of food security, nutritional health, and well-being (Neufeld et al, 2017). The concept of food sovereignty encompasses acquiring foods in culturally acceptable ways, such as through traditional practices (FAO, 1996;Schuster et al, 2011;Willows et al, 2009). An Indigenous food sovereignty framework explicitly connects the health properties of food with the health of the environment and identifies a history of social injustice as having radically reduced Indigenous food sovereignty in nations such as Canada (Morrison, 2011).…”