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For many Indigenous communities in Canada, food insecurity is a major, ongoing problem. [1] [2] A variety of factors, from poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic, government inaction and climate change, exacerbated by both historical and ongoing discrimination faced by Indigenous Canadians, have played a role in the creation of this crisis. [3] [4]
Indigenous peoples are at a higher risk than non-Indigenous peoples to experience food insecurity. Food insecurity is directly linked to being in a low-income household, [2] and Indigenous people on average experience higher amounts of income inequality than non-Indigenous peoples. A November 2019 report found that 48% of First Nations households were food insecure, with provinces such as Alberta having numbers as high 60%. [5] First Nations children, in particular, experience major food insecurity. [6]
In one community (according to one 2002 study), it was the consensus that the price of market foods in a northern community were very high, and that there needed to be government-implemented policies that would help lower the cost of food in more remote locations. [7] In the 2020s, food insecurity still remains a major issue for Inuk people, as it has been noted that food prices are still unsustainably high, despite attempts by Canadian government agencies to lower them. [8] [9] In 2022, Manitoban First Nations also expressed concerns about dealing with rising food prices. [10]
Other barriers for obtaining a steady diet of traditional food include hunting equipment costs, transportation, and a lack of knowledgeable hunters and fishers are just some of the reasons consumption of traditional food has proven to be difficult. The use of land using non-traditional techniques, such as those found in mining and logging, affect the availability of appropriate food sources. [7] The main concern of the community was the loss of knowledge of traditional food practices between generations. Younger members of the community are not being taught to hunt, fish, gather or prepare the traditional foods that their ancestors ate and that are integral to a strong and healthy community. [7] Increased development also leads to changing animal migration patterns as well as decrease in animal population and this again will influence the amount of land-based food that can be obtained through traditional ways. [2] The location of an Indigenous community has a large impact on the prevalence of food insecurity in that particular place. Northern communities are at a greater disadvantage than Indigenous communities that are located close to urban centers. The price of market food is higher in more remote communities because of transportation costs. [11] Certain Inuit communities are even more disadvantaged than others because climatic changes that affect hunting and fishing have only been recorded in certain communities. [12]
In Nunavut the average life span is approximately 12 years lower than the average Canadian. This is for a number of reasons such as access to healthcare, lower average of socioeconomic standing, poor quality of housing, and the quality of basic services such as drinking water and affordable food. The studies done in this area are very limited but there has been some information collected. The project Climate Change and Health in Nunavik and Labrador looked at the impacts on health in these communities due to changing climates and access to land-based food sources such as fish, geese and seals. [13] There is concern for the senior citizens in these communities because they cannot go and hunt for themselves but still rely on land-based sources of food. Food security for urban Indigenous people is also important to look at. Not having proper access to food can lead to a number of health issues such as low birth weights, developmental delays, depression, anxiety and suicide. These issues are already pressing in Indigenous communities and a lot could be done to help with more equal access to food. [7] High rates of diabetes are a large indicator of the food that Indigenous people are ingesting. There has been a change in diet from traditional foods to European foods and medicine. The members of this northern Ontario Indigenous community[ clarification needed ] stated their preference for wild meat and berries because they believe it is healthier than store-bought foods. The cost of food is also high unless the person is purchasing processed "junk foods". These types of foods can lead to a decline in physical health and this is not the preferred diet of a traditional Indigenous person. [7] There are certain essential nutrients that are especially of concern in Indigenous diets: protein, zinc, vitamin D, iron, omega 3 fatty acids, and selenium. These influence a person's physical health as well as their mental and emotional health. The caribou and other traditional foods are excellent sources of these nutrients. [12]
Climate change is a serious concern for Indigenous Canadians. [14] This region has already felt the impacts of the change of environment on their food supply. There are very distinctive Indigenous cultural groups in the north including the Yukon First Nation, Dene, Metis, Gwich’in, and Inuit. Approximately 70% of Indigenous adults in the North hunt and fish as a means of sustenance and 96% of those adults rely on the food they receive from natural resources. [13] Climate change has been found to have an impacts on the movement of animals and the hunting conditions. Sea ice travel is a main component of hunting for Inuit. They must travel across ice roads to gain access to wildlife resources. If the ice is not as strong or does not reach as far than this results in less hunting time and a lesser chance of bringing home a substantial amount of food. [13] The implications of less hunting time have a severe effect on the nutritional value of the Inuit diet. The decreased ice road time also hinders the delivery of market foods and increases the price of these staples when other modes of transportation (such as flying) have to be employed. [13] Other weather conditions such as increased winds, higher rainfall records, decreased snowfall, lack of extreme cold temperatures, increased coastal erosion, decreased animal population growth and lower fresh water levels all contribute to food insecurity in certain northern Inuit communities. [12] Establishing a community based food supply is a viable option for northern and remote Indigenous communities because it ensures that everyone is meeting the nutritional needs that are essential for survival. These communities need to adapt to the changing environment or their food security will decline substantially. [13]
The COVID-19 pandemic, which already hit the Indigenous communities particularly hard, [15] [16] has also had a negative impact on their food security. Food prices increased as the Canadian economy entered a recession due to the pandemic, but even as the rest of the economy began to recover in 2021, food prices were still projected to go up. [17]
Eskimo is an exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit and the Yupik of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group, the Aleut, who inhabit the Aleutian Islands, are generally excluded from the definition of Eskimo. The three groups share a relatively recent common ancestor, and speak related languages belonging to the family of Eskaleut languages.
Nunavik is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of 443,684.71 km2 (171,307.62 sq mi) north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec and part of the wider Inuit Nunangat. Almost all of the 14,045 inhabitants of the region, of whom 90% are Inuit, live in fourteen northern villages on the coast of Nunavik and in the Cree reserved land (TC) of Whapmagoostui, near the northern village of Kuujjuarapik.
Indigenous peoples in Canada are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Although "Indian" is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them to be pejorative. "Aboriginal" as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act, 1982, though in some circles that word is also falling into disfavour.
Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender or religion is another element of food security. Similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Individuals who are food-secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Food security includes resilience to future disruptions of food supply. Such a disruption could occur due to various risk factors such as droughts and floods, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars. Food insecurity is the opposite of food security: a state where there is only limited or uncertain availability of suitable food.
Igloolik is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be on the peninsula. The name "Igloolik" means "there is a house here". It derives from iglu meaning house or building, and refers to the sod houses that were originally in the area, not to snow igloos. In Inuktitut the residents are called Iglulingmiut.
Pond Inlet is a small, predominantly Inuit community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada, located on northern Baffin Island. To the Inuit the name of the place "is and always has been Mittimatalik." The Scottish explorer Sir John Ross had named an arm of the sea that separates Bylot Island from Baffin Island as Pond's Bay, and the hamlet now shares that name. On 29 August 1921, the Hudson's Bay Company opened its trading post near the Inuit camp and named it Pond Inlet, marking the expansion of its trading empire into the High Arctic.
Food sovereignty is a food system in which the people who produce, distribute, and consume food also control the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution. This stands in contrast to the present corporate food regime, in which corporations and market institutions control the global food system. Food sovereignty emphasizes local food economies, sustainable food availability, and centers culturally appropriate foods and practices. Changing climates and disrupted foodways disproportionately impact indigenous populations and their access to traditional food sources while contributing to higher rates of certain diseases; for this reason, food sovereignty centers indigenous peoples. These needs have been addressed in recent years by several international organizations, including the United Nations, with several countries adopting food sovereignty policies into law. Critics of food sovereignty activism believe that the system is founded on inaccurate baseline assumptions; disregards the origins of the targeted problems; and is plagued by a lack of consensus for proposed solutions.
Nain is the northernmost permanent settlement in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, within the Nunatsiavut region, located about 370 km (230 mi) by air from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The town was established as a Moravian mission in 1771 by Jens Haven and other missionaries. As of 2021, the population is 1,204 mostly Inuit and mixed Inuit-European. Nain is the administrative capital of the autonomous region of Nunatsiavut.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is a Canadian Inuk activist. She has been a political representative for Inuit at the regional, national and international levels, most recently as International Chair for the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Watt-Cloutier has worked on a range of social and environmental issues affecting Inuit, most recently, persistent organic pollutants and global warming. She has received numerous awards and honours for her work, and has been featured in a number of documentaries and profiled by journalists from all media. Watt-Cloutier sits as an adviser to Canada's Ecofiscal Commission. She is also a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Clyde River is an Inuit hamlet located on the shore of Baffin Island's Patricia Bay, off Kangiqtugaapik, an arm of Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, of Nunavut, Canada. It lies in the Baffin Mountains which in turn form part of the Arctic Cordillera mountain range. The community is served by air and by annual supply sealift.
Torngat Mountains National Park is a Canadian national park located on the Labrador Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The park encompasses 9,700 km2 of mountainous terrain between Northern Quebec and the Labrador Sea. It is the largest national park in Atlantic Canada and the southernmost national park in the Arctic Cordillera. It partially contains the Torngat Mountains, the highest mountains in mainland Canada east of the Rocky Mountains.
Malahat First Nation is a Coast Salish First Nations community of W̱SÁNEĆ representing approximately 350 members with two reserve lands located on the western shore of Saanich Inlet, Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The Malahat First Nation is one of many nations within the Coastal Salish group that live on their traditional lands. The Coastal Salish are Indigenous to the Northwest mainland, coast, and islands. The Malahat First Nation is a member nation of the Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council and was the ninth First Nation in Canada to be certified by the First Nations Financial Management Board. The ancestral languages of Malahat Nation are Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓ and SENĆOŦEN. The Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓ or Halkomelem language is spoken in Washington State and British Columbia and is within the Coastal Salish language family. Currently it is being revitalized, as it is mainly spoken by elders in the community. The Chief of Malahat Nation is George Harry. George served on the council for four years before being elected as Chief on June 10, 2019.
Inuit are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Yukon (traditionally), Alaska, and Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo–Aleut languages, also known as Inuit-Yupik-Unangan, and also as Eskaleut. Inuit Sign Language is a critically endangered language isolate used in Nunavut.
The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America. The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat, and Yupik, and the Aleut who live in the Aleutian Islands of Siberia and Alaska. The term culture of the Inuit, therefore, refers primarily to these areas; however, parallels to other Eskimo groups can also be drawn.
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool that attempts to measure and track hunger globally as well as by region and by country, prepared by European NGOs of Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. The GHI is calculated annually, and its results appear in a report issued in October each year.
The Arctic is a vast polar region comprising the northernmost parts of Canada, Norway, Greenland (Denmark), Sweden, Finland, the United States (Alaska), Iceland and Russia. In recent years, the Arctic has been at the forefront of political and social issues. Several matters have risen surrounding the issues of poverty and global warming and their effects on indigenous people in this region. Indigenous people in the Arctic statistically fall below their nation's poverty line.
The Tar Sands Healing Walk was a 14 km annual prayer walk in demonstration against crude oil extraction in the Athabasca tar sands. It began in 2010, starting just north of the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta at a location known as the Syncrude Loop, and traveling through the heart of the tar sands extraction zone. The walk was led by local Indigenous Elders, who prayed for the healing of the land and to bring attention to the destructive impacts of the tar sands.
Climate change disproportionately impacts indigenous peoples around the world when compared to non-indigenous peoples. These impacts are particularly felt in relation to health, environments, and communities. Some Indigenous scholars of climate change argue that these disproportionately felt impacts are linked to ongoing forms of colonialism. Indigenous peoples found throughout the world have strategies and traditional knowledge to adapt to climate change, through their understanding and preservation of their environment. These knowledge systems can be beneficial for their own community's adaptation to climate change as expressions of self-determination as well as to non-Indigenous communities.
The Food Justice Movement is a grassroots initiative which emerged in response to food insecurity and economic pressures that prevent access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods. The food justice movement moves beyond increasing food availability and works to address the root cause of unequal access to adequate nutrition. Like other Environmental Justice initiatives, the Food Justice Movement advocates for rights-based solutions that identify the underlying human rights that allow individuals to achieve adequate food security and nutrition. This differs from policy-based solutions that focus on food availability and affordability by increasing food production or lowering the cost of food.
There is a relationship between climate change, food security, and migration. Climate change's effects on the processing, storage, transportation, and consumption of food as well as on agriculture will diminish food security. Climate change threatens food access and utilization separately as well as the stability of each. The intersection of climate change and food insecurity with ongoing trends in migration is expected to exacerbate these issues. Among the many drivers of migration from rural areas to more populated ones is diminishing food security caused by climate change. Conflict resulting from climate change-induced food insecurity can influence migration. Climate change and food insecurity affect different demographics in various ways. The increase in climate-induced migration has led to the consideration of policy changes surrounding migration. Several organizations including The World Bank, The World Food Program, and The World Wildlife Fund are working to address the concerns at the intersection of these three issues.