Iniatives in Food Sovereignty
(excerpted from '1st Annual Interior of B.C. Indigenous Food Sovereignty Conference' report held at En'owkin Centre, Sept. 2006)
Since the time of contact with non Indigenous settlers in the southern interior of B.C. many traditional Indigenous harvesters including hunters, fishermen, and gatherers from the Ktunaxa, Nlaka’pamux, Secwepemc, St’at’imc, Syilx, and Ts’ilqotin nations have repeatedly expressed concern about the declining health and abundance of culturally important foods in our respective traditional territories. Therefore, the Interior of B.C. Indigenous Food Sovereignty Conference (IFSC) Planning Committee formed and is dedicated to organizing the time and space for traditional Indigenous harvesters to come together and articulate and debate Indigenous food sovereignty issues. Also as a result of these discussions and debates IFSC aims to find solutions to the consequent insecurity of Indigenous food systems in the southern interior of B.C.
Objectives
The main objectives for Inidgenous Food Sovereignty is to:
- Promote the intergenerational transmission of Indigenous food related knowledge especially between children, youth and Elders.
- Provide opportunities to observe and experience practical hands on activities related to gathering, preparing, and preserving Indigenous foods.
- Provide opportunities to enhance or establish traditional food exchange or trade networks within the interior region
- Give an expression to the real struggles of Indigenous peoples of the interior of B.C. asserting our inherent responsibility to nurture and take care of our relationship to indigenous food systems on the land, and in the water and forests.
- Presenting our proposals from the perspective of food sovereignty on issues related to agrarian, forestry, fisheries, rangeland, land, and water reform and rural development.
Eco-cultural Restoration - Current Situations and Concerns
Our languages, land, foods and people exist as one in an interconnected web of life in the same way that all human beings
were created as one. The traditional ecological knowledge, wisdom and values of sharing
and taking care of one another have successfully sustained present and future generations of Indigenous
peoples for thousands of years. Even though our cultures have undergone drastic changes since the time of
contact with non-Indigenous settlers, the core values embedded in the teachings of Coyote continue to form
the foundation of our survival in the modern world. While it may be unrealistic to think that people of
different cultures will adopt all of our cultural values, we believe it is necessary that the cultural values of
giving, sharing and avoiding over-consumption can be integrated into the lifestyles of all people. We believe
that the different races were created and brought together to test how we deal with our actions and enact
our teachings around sharing and taking care of the land and one another in the current ecological and
cultural crisises we are faced with.
The underlying eco-philosophy and worldview embedded in our Interior Salishan languages and tribal social structures emphasize good relationships between all of creation. Therefore, our relationship with the land, plants, and animals that
make up our food systems, embodies a deep and profound gratitude and spiritual
understanding of the sacredness of the gift of food. Appreciation of the healing power of Indigenous foods,
water and medicines is demonstrated through ceremonies, rituals, offerings and prayers. The prayers,
offerings, rituals and ceremonies keep foods alive spiritually, and make gathering and preparing food more
than just a “job”. The offerings demonstrate reciprocity and reverence for the plants and animals that have
sacrificed their lives, as well as a deep understanding of the cyclical nature and nterconnected aspects of
life.
Since the time of contact with non-Indigenous settlers, the disruption of the intergenerational transmission of Indigenous food related knowledge in our families and communities, combined with the appropriation and destruction of our land, forests, water, and air has eroded indigenous food systems and ways of life. Transmission of cultural knowledge through the generations has been severely disrupted due to forced assimilation into the residential school system and mainstream culture. While fewer and fewer of the younger generations are learning to speak Salishan languages in their homes and communities, some of the spiritual teachings have been maintained through research and practice. In an ecological ontext of life and death, observing mourning procedures and food restrictions are an example of how some of the spiritual teachings related to the delicate exchange of energy between humans and food have survived the process of colonization.
There is a serious concern over what will happen to Indigenous cultures and ways of life if our relationship to the land, plants, animals, and one another continues to be degraded. Our semi-nomadic lifestyles have been severely impacted by the unjust allotment of small plots of land on Indian reserves. Displacement from the land and the centralization of food production in the mainstream culture has resulted in a sedentary lifestyle and decreased access to Indigenous hunting, fishing and gathering sites throughout our traditional territories. Parents working full time in both urban and rural areas are forced to compete in the fast paced
capitalist economy and lack the support of the extended family which is characteristic of our tribal social
structures. Therefore, parents have less time to participate in hunting, fishing and gathering activities and
spend less time teaching their children Indigenous food related knowledge. In turn, the decrease in the
cultivation of culturally important food and medicine plants has resulted in an absence of the cultural
management strategies, practices and techniques that contributed to the relative stability that was existed in
Indigenous food systems prior to contact.
The absence of harvesting and tilling the soils in important root digging areas combined with the suppression of fire in maintaining forage for ungulate species, are only two examples how the absence of our cultural strategies and practices has resulted in the declining populations of culturally important plants and animals. The social and economic values underlying the principles driving the government and economic institutions who are asserting full jurisdiction and control in land use management and planning (LUMP) are fundamentally rooted in a conflicting worldview that believes that humans are separate from and dominant over nature. The consequent disregard for Indigenous food values, principles and worldview in LUMP challenges people from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures to learn to communicate across cultures about how to protect, conserve and restore Indigenous ecosystems for the benefit of all.Holistic approach to restoring the health of Indigenous food systems
"The land nourishes us in all ways; physical, spiritual, mental and emotional.
The health and security of our people is vitally dependent on continued and improved access
to sufficient amounts of healthy Indigenous foods and medicines on the land
and in the forests and waterways."The cultural concept of "food as medicine" promotes a holistic approach to maintaining and restoring the health of our bodies and the ecosystems that provide us with our food. In a proactive approach to health care, we believe it is
necessary to make healthy food choices and provide adequate amounts of clean, fresh
culturally adapted foods, and water for our children and families. We assert that the basis of Indigenous
food sovereignty rests with the ability of people to respond to their individual and family needs for adequate
food and nutrition by making informed culturally appropriate choices that include Indigenous foods,
medicines and values. Making healthy choices based on Indigenous knowledge and wisdom involves
learning and applying cultural concepts and protocols that set out guidelines for the most appropriate way of
learning, sharing, gathering, and eating Indigenous foods 
and medicines. We assert that it is vital that
relevant messages about the health and nutritional values of Indigenous foods are communicated to
children through cultural practice, as well as through education materials and the media to encourage them
to make healthy, culturally relevant food choices.
As Indigenous peoples, our bodies are best adapted to using energy most efficiently by practicing a seminomadic lifestyle and eating traditional diets that consist of foods high in protein, and complex carbohydrates, high in fibre and rich in vitamins and minerals. The traditional diet of the interior tribes consists of fat and protein from animal sources, as well as complex carbohydrates found in plants. The traditional diet is considered low in carbohydrates because it consists of little or no refined starches or sugars. Roots and berries provide complex carbohydrates and animal species (including fish, deer, moose, and elk) are important sources of protein. Traditional foods are available in seasonal cycles and provide the nutrients that are needed at the time of year they are available and are prepared using methods that help to retain and enhance the nutritional value. The cooking of foods in underground pits enhances the taste and nutrient value of meats through the transfer of nutrients from the wild greens used to layer the pits. Pit cooking also helps to avoid the loss of water soluble vitamins and enzymes through the contemporary method of boiling. Some indigestible carbohydrates found in Indigenous root vegetables require pit cooking methods to convert the carbohydrates to a more digestible form.Intergenerational Transmission of Indigenous Food Related Knowledge – Barriers
The philosophy that "we don’t inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children" speaks of the
importance of maintaining healthy intergenerational relationships between children, youth, adults and
Elders. To ensure there are plenty of Indigenous foods left for future generations, it is vital that we
encourage youth and children to be a positive influence for change and be disciplined in our responsibility to
take care of the land and all of its inhabitants. The belief that "Our DNA is encoded with the memory of the
land, food and cultural values" speaks of the importance of knowing who we are and where we come from.
The medicine wheel is a tool adopted by many Indigenous peoples that teaches about the generational phases of life and the aspects of our health and human development that are related to each phase. The first phase begins at birth and is related to our emotional development. Many children were placed in residential school in this phase of development. The forced assimilation into the residential schools disrupted the emotional development in the earliest phase of life. The emotional development of many generations was disrupted because those who were in residential schools were taught a punitive form of discipline and the effects of this were passed on to younger generations. The second phase of development relates to the physical aspects of our health up until the age of 25 years old. Many important puberty rituals were discontinued in this phase of life after the residential school experience, thereby hindering the healthy sexual development of youth. The phase from 25-50 years old is the phase where the youth have developed into adults and are now developing the mental aspects of health. The age of 50 years and older is most related to spiritual development and transition into the phase of life where one acquires wisdom and becomes an Elder.
Prior to colonization, Indigenous food related knowledge was passed along from generation to generation through the
parents, family and community. Social and political control over Indigenous peoples by
governments and economic institutions over the last 150 years has been largely reinforced through the
education system. Provincial government legislation made it mandatory for parents to enroll all children in
public schools and this has seriously disrupted the intergenerational transmission of Indigenous food related
knowledge and continues to erode the breakdown of the traditional family and social structure. The cultural
values and methods of sharing Indigenous food related knowledge between the generations is excluded
from the goals of education in the public schools. The curriculum is designed to assimilate children into the
mainstream culture and economy, and learning is evaluated based on normative standards that reflect the
values of mainstream society. Due to the major impact that the mainstream culture has had on our food
systems and ways of life, we are challenged to find ways to maintain Indigenous teachings in a ‘microwave’
society where people have forgotten that there are no quick lessons related to traditional teachings and
human development. Acquiring traditional values and teachings requires time, patience, dedication and
hard work to understand where we are on the wheel of life and how we relate to other beings.
Practical solutions to acquire or pass on Indigenous food related knowledge
Teaching methods applied in the mainstream education system fail to accommodate the integrated manner in which
Indigenous knowledge is traditionally passed on in the family unit and socially. Therefore, the
process of restoring Indigenous food systems will involve a process of decolonization in education. We
believe that to achieve Indigenous food sovereignty we must undo the negative effects of colonization and
take responsibility for maintaining healthy intergenerational relationships within the family and community.
To encourage children and youth to get back out on the land, families must come together and take responsibility to ensure that children are maintaining healthy relationships with Elders who are willing to share their knowledge. A participatory education approach integrates food and survival skills into day to day family and community activities and rewards children and youth to nurture good relationship between the land and one another, as well as participate in hunting, gathering and fishing activities. This will require a change in the way our children are currently being educated.
Some examples of ways to teach Indigenous food related knowledge:
- Hunt, fish and gather Indigenous food more often. Sovereignty is a responsibility and action. "Just
do it". The actual "doing" is what strengthens the movement. Don’t just wait for it to happen or for
the government to come up with a "plan".
- Organize group hunting, fishing and gathering activities to increase participation and learning
opportunities, and support those that have never received the teachings.
- Deliver family and community based workshops to make people aware of cultural issues related to
Indigenous foods.
- Use the language and announce babies to the land. They will then grow up and set goals to berry
pick, hunt, fish and gather.
- Teach the babies about community and continue to pay attention to grandchildren in urban areas.
- Keep in contact with home communities to strengthen our culture and stop the disconnection
between on-reserve and off-reserve friends and relatives.
- Teach cultural values and principles to non-Indigenous people with kindness, compassion and an
open heart free from anger, harshness or hate.
- Take responsibility to respond to your individual and families food needs in a healthy way.
- Go hunt, fish and gather Indigenous foods with family/ friends. Enjoy the fresh air,
exercise, laughter & companionship.
- Follow the natural rhythms of the seasons and eat local organic foods that are in season. Avoid
imported foods.
- Feed babies/ children meat & berries from the land at an early age to acquire a taste and the conditioning to eat it.
- Establish a "baby food" distribution network of Indigenous and organic foods for single/ unemployed Moms & Elders so it is convenient for them. Always ensure children, babies and expectant mothers
always have enough Indigenous foods.
- Incorporate Indigenous food gathering activities into daycare and school programs.
- Control diabetes by limiting intake of carbohydrates and increasing protein. (If you are diabetic be
sure to work with your Doctor to check your blood sugar frequently and regulate insulin intake).
- Replace foods containing sugar and starches with Indigenous foods.
- Establish a clinic that works from a base of holistic health and Indigenous healing.
- Build working kitchens in community health centers where people can prepare daily meals,
especially for school lunches and Elders.
- Take children out to demonstrate the actual practice of food gathering, preserving and cooking.
- Teach by example. Use singing and drumming, rather than lecturing to help young people reconnect with the land.
- Teach children survival skills.
- Teach the youth by encouraging them to work with Elders ‘one on one’. Create an Adopt an Elder program
- Be sure to begin teaching children cultural ways when they are born and they will have a better
chance of adopting the cultural teachings.
- Grandparents, aunties and uncles must help the parents bring up the children.
- Encourage young people in their 20’s to take the younger ones out hunting, fishing, or gathering, and there will be a double intergenerational outcome.
For more information or to read the full Indigenous Food Sovereignty report based on Indigenous Food Sovereignty conference DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION OF THE FINAL REPORT.
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