The nature of food: indigenous Dene foodways and ontologies in the era of climate change

Abstract

Climate change leading to a drastic decline in caribou populations has prompted strict hunting regulations in Canada’s Northwest Territories since 2010. The Dene, a subarctic indigenous people, have responded by turning to tradition and calling for more respectful hunting to demonstrate respectful reciprocity to the caribou, including a community-driven foodways project on caribou conservation and Dene caribou conservation which I co-facilitated in 2011. In these ways the caribou is approached as a person. Dene responses to caribou decline can best be understood by ontological theories of an expanded notion of indigenous personhood. However, I argue these theories are inadequate without an attention to foodways, specifically the getting, sharing, and returning of food to the land. The necessity of sustenance reveals a complicated relationship of give-and-take between humans and caribou, negotiated by tradition, yet complicated by the contemporary crisis.

“It’s like a connection between all of us”: Inuit social connections and caribou declines in Labrador, Canada

“…Caribou-related activities were viewed as events that facilitated family gatherings, interaction, and shared experiences; contributed to intra-family participation and teamwork for a single activity; and supported ties between different generations within a family, while also maintaining connections with those who have passed away. These findings expand on previous work conducted in other parts of North America that recognize the interconnections between caribou and Indigenous familial bonds, relationships, and co-operation (Beaumier et al 2015, Walsh 2015, Reedy 2016, Rixen and Blangy 2016, Maracle et al 2018. For example, caribou-related livelihoods played an important role for the well-being of Inuit in Qamini'tuaq, Nunavut, through their role in family cohesion (Rixen and Blangy 2016), while the herding of reindeer on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, was seen as an important activity for uniting extended families together (Dillingham 1999).…”

“…Similar to other research, our findings explain how the process of hunting goes beyond the actual harvesting of an animal; rather, hunting is associated with a complex set of activities, values, and social relationships encompassing both humans and animals before, during, and after the actual kill (Chiropolos 1994, Bodenhorn 2000, Walsh 2015. This social complexity of the hunt was described by Inuit in Labrador, including how the caribou harvest facilitated family involvement at multiple stages, including pre-hunt preparation to cooking to consuming caribou together at the dinner table.…”

“…As one participant noted, caribou was not only a connection for those at the dinner table, but also seen as a way for families to connect to ancestors who have passed on. Although previous research has discussed how country foods can support exchanges and ties between people, animals, ancestors, and the land (Walsh 2015), our findings also demonstrate the sense of ease and comfort that people can feel with family experiences and memories that are embedded in their interactions with an animal. Considering families can have a pivotal role in the happiness, health, wellbeing, healing, and development of individuals, and especially children and youth (McNeill 2010, Kral et al 2011, further exploration of the ties between caribou-related activities and family relationships is suggested.…”

“Aboriginal isn't just about what was before, it's what's happening now:” Perspectives of Indigenous peoples on the foods in their contemporary diets

“…Some of these foods, like rice and potatoes, were practical and filling, important for families who were forced into poverty by colonial disruption of their cultures. Similar to what Walsh (2014;2016) has described for the Dene in remote regions of the Northwest Territories, these foods have become "naturalized" or integrated into the diet because of their practicality and are now taken-for-granted and unremarkable. Others, like bologna, achieved high status because they had to be purchased, and provided variety and change from the usual diet.…”

Reframing food as a commons in Canada

“…Another key example comes from the Dené belief in the sacredness of the caribou. Respect for the caribou when killed for food-also ensuring that the caribou will then "allow" themselves to remain as a food source-includes sharing all parts of the animal with the entire community as a commons (Walsh, 2015). The dominant narrative in the industrial food system focusses on monetized food values exclusively, and values that cannot be monetized become secondary or neglected.…”