Annotated Bibliography: Aboriginal Land Based Food in Canada

Annotated Bibliography

Galloway, T. (2014). Is the Nutrition North Canada retail subsidy program meeting the goal of

making nutritious and perishable food more accessible and affordable in the

North?. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 105(5), e395-e397.

The First Nations northern communities in Ontario and Canada in general are the subject

of the study paper's 2008–2014 time frame. The article's main idea of dietary policy and public
health is identified by author Galloway, T. throughout. Galloway argues that additional measures

are required to address the inaccurate reporting of the government nutrition program known as

"Nutrition North Canada." In order to ascertain the dietary intakes and requirements of the

inhabitants in the North, it is crucial to consult the program report. The program report is also

required to monitor the public health of First Nation communities and to assess community

subsidy rates. The Canadian government created the Nutrition North Canada retail subsidy

program to achieve the objectives of making healthy and perishable food accessible and

affordable in the North, but reviews from previous years show that neither the reports'

assessments of the nutritional needs of the northern communities nor their transparency to the

retailers are accurate (Galloway, 2014).

Although bias isn't mentioned in the report explicitly, it's possible that the research

process actors were biased. Over the course of a year, the community coordinator kept daily logs

of the harvesting activities and costs for the research. These community organizers from each

community were free to alter the prices of the resources used to gather the meat and the value of

that meat. As a result, I think community coordinators may exhibit bias toward information

gathered about costs and food yield.

The article is crucial to this research because, in my previous thinking, since the majority

of indigenous communities have begun embracing modern living practices, including the use of

technologies like refrigerators, TVs, and the internet, they may have lost some of their cultural

aspects based on gender roles. The First Nations communities are the best examples of how to

combine modern technology with the preservation of traditional culture, according to this

research, which dispelled my illusions.

 In conclusion Galloway suggested that giving harvesters the financial support they need

to buy the tools and supplies they need to continue harvesting food in the traditional way will be

more culturally appropriate for them than offering market foods that are more nutrient-dense but

are not appropriate given the cost and needs of the northern communities. The indigenous people

were able to alter their food in accordance with the seasons since they possessed a tremendous

quantity of environmental information. These facts are intriguing because they clearly show how

different urban and Native lifestyles are from each other. As city dwellers, we rarely have to alter

our diets based on the environment. From the article we realize that while one can adapt to any

new way of life, traditional food must be kept because it helps maintain cultural values and

traditions in a family.

Pal, S., Haman, F., & Robidoux, M. A. (2013). The costs of local food procurement in two

northern Indigenous communities in Canada. Food and foodways, 21(2), 132-152.

The following are the main ideas that authors Pal, S., et al. refer to throughout the text:

To ascertain the nutritional shift in diets of First Nations communities in northwest Ontario, it is

required to analyze food security based on the price of purchasing food from stores and the

accessibility of the food gathering resources. The reserves in the wholesome, more culturally

appropriate land-based foods for the indigenous communities of the north contribute to the

nutritional shift. Foods derived from the land are said to benefit in the fight against food

insecurity. In an effort to lessen the nutritional changes, the Canadian government has created the

Nutrition North Canada (retail subsidy) program for distant First Nations communities. In

northwest Ontario, nutritional transition is contributing to diet-related issues like obesity and

diabetes. The change is a result of the high costs associated with harvesting food the

conventional way, which are economically equivalent to food sold in stores. The lack of access
to food in the North is highlighted by the fact that the median household income in Wapekeka

and Kasabonika is approximately 40–50% of the average household income in Ontario (Pal. et.

al., 2013).

The people of the Wapekeka and Kasabonika northwest villages in Canada are two

important indigenous communities in that country. Each community's organizers were requested

to keep a year's worth of harvesting records for their extended families. Additionally, the

researchers went on multi-day hunting outings with two of the main hunters from each village,

Andrew from Wapekeka First Nation and Bradley from Kasabonika First Nation communities.

The hunters gave researchers information on the overall costs and other aspects of obtaining food

in the conventional manner.

The four ways of food hunting used by the First Nations—foot/snowshoe, boat and

outboard motor, snowmobile and float plane assisted hunting—were the most startling part of

this reading (Pal, S. et. al., 2013). It was fascinating to read about how various strategies were

deftly created to hunt in accordance with the season. While motors make it relatively simple to

hunt in the water in the warmer seasons since the forests would be thickly packed, snowmobiles

are an easy mode of transportation in the winter.

The research's authors state that now is a crucial time for elder women to teach younger

generations of women, who were undoubtedly less involved in preparation activities, how to

prepare food. The women in all of our research observations, especially the older women (50+),

were exceptionally skilled in all aspects of food preparation. Incorporating these food

preparation techniques into many of the public activities that in some way or another revolve

around food, communities large and small take pleasure in the women who possess this expertise

and efficiency.
 Reading the article, one will have a better understanding of Native American culture. The

reading illustrated how challenging it is for them to hunt and harvest land-based food throughout

the year in various seasons and challenging weather conditions. I had previously imagined that

their lives must be straightforward and easy due to their straightforward and traditional way of

life. They must be very aware of their surroundings and employ hunting methods that are suited

for the time of year. I also discovered that not all indigenous people are active hunters. Only a

few of them are knowledgeable on how to seek for food on land and in the water. These primary

hunters don't harvest food for their family; instead, they share it with relatives, elders, and other

community members, sometimes depriving their own family of food in the process. I discovered

that they have far greater communal values than the rest of us who live in cities. After finishing

this task, I have a greater respect for their sense of community, way of life, and traditional

methods of food gathering.

Richmond, C., Steckley, M., Neufeld, H., Kerr, R. B., Wilson, K., & Dokis, B. (2020). First

Nations food environments: Exploring the role of place, income, and social

connection. Current Developments in Nutrition, 4(8), nzaa108.

Few studies have looked at how geography affects Indigenous food environments in

Canada, especially among those residing in southern Ontario. This study analyzes and contrasts

the food insecurity situations that affect reserve-based and urban-based Indigenous peoples in

southwestern Ontario in terms of food access and nutritional quality. This study used a cross-

sectional study design and a community-based survey to measure food insecurity, food access,

and dietary quality among Indigenous respondents residing in urban (n = 130) and reserve-based

(n = 99) contexts in southwest Ontario. The survey included a culturally adapted food-frequency

questionnaire. The study found that Both geographies have significant rates of food insecurity
(55% of respondents were from metropolitan areas, and 35% were from reservations,

respectively). Participants who lived in cities were six times more likely to report three different

types of food insecurity than those who were on reservations. Income was listed as a major

obstacle to food access by urban respondents, but time was the biggest issue for those who lived

on reservations. Our results showed overwhelmingly prevalent trends of insufficient

consumption in 3 food categories across all respondents when compared to the recommendations

from Canada's Food Guide. Nearly half (54 and 52%) of respondents from the urban and reserve-

based samples said they ate traditional meals at least once a week, and respondents from both

groups (76 and 52%) said they would want to eat them more frequently..

Public health, social epidemiology, and nutrition experts have contributed significantly to these

studies on the connections between food and the social determinants of health in Indigenous

environments. Notably, despite the fact that geographic location and elements of place have been

crucial to the organization and presentation of this body of research, there hasn't been much

theoretical discussion of "place" as a characteristic that modifies food environments in

quantifiable ways. An academic perspective provided by geography can help to deepen our

understanding of the relationships between people, food, and location. The geographies of

Indigenous health, a relatively young subfield of critical human geography, represents a

significant theoretical advancement in the broader field of human and social geography. With

research issues that are fundamentally centered around the complicated and shifting link between

Indigenous people's health and the environment, this new field of study is most directly informed

by the fields of health geography and Indigenous geography.

In order to recognize and address Indigenous food insecurity, community-led research

and Indigenous food sovereignty are important avenues. Aiming to increase Indigenous food
security, policies, social movements, and research agendas must be directed and established by

Indigenous people themselves. Politics, society, and culture are all inherently predicated on

geography in indigenous food environments.

Wesche, S. D., O'Hare-Gordon, M. A. F., Robidoux, M. A., & Mason, C. W. (2016). Land-based

programs in the Northwest Territories: Building Indigenous food security and well-being

from the ground up. Canadian Food Studies/La Revue canadienne des études sur

l'alimentation, 3(2), 23-48.

In the North of Canada Food security in is complex, and there isn't just one answer. The

authors insist that, in the context of shifting environmental conditions, land-based wild food

programs are beneficial and effective in promoting long-term food security, health, and well-

being for Indigenous communities. These bottom-up initiatives promote cultural continuity as

well as the enduring of knowledge and skills that, over time, raise local food security and food

sovereignty. This study compares and discusses the effects of two community-based programs

that were jointly developed to improve food ways transmission and capacity for wild food

procurement. It also emphasizes the connection between the acquisition of wild food in two

aboriginal communities in the Northwest Territories and the observed environmental changes.

Finally, it identifies lessons learned and constructive next steps for those in charge of similar

initiatives in other Indigenous communities.

Basing their research on The Council of Canadian Academies, (2014) reports the authors

indicate a shift from historical reliance on nutrient-rich wild food taken from the land toward

increased consumption of market food purchased from stores, which is frequently highly

processed and of poorer nutritional content. The effects on people's health and wellbeing are

significant. Regarding food security, the nature of the mixed diet creates special difficulties. As a
result, although it is not a brand-new problem, food security in the north is now widely

acknowledged to be complex and in need of immediate attention. In light of shifting

environmental conditions, the authors contend that land-based wild food programs are helpful

and beneficial in promoting long-term food security for aboriginal communities. The author's

goals are to (a) highlight the connections between environmental changes that have been

observed and gathering wild foods in two aboriginal communities in the southern Northwest

Territories, (b) compare and contrast the implications of two community land-based programs

that were jointly developed to increase the capacity for gathering wild foods, and (c) identify

lessons learned and helpful directions for communities moving forward. The two study locations,

Fort Resolution and Fort Providence, are small Dene-Métis settlements situated in the Denendeh

region of the southern Northwest Territories (the land of the people). In both instances, the

surrounding traditional land is being impacted by a mix of climate change and commercial

resource development, among other pressures, and this is reducing the community members'

capacity to forage for wild food. In northern Indigenous groups, access to and production issues

with wild food are highly complex, as was just mentioned. The initiatives outlined below aim to

serve as a building block to promote integration of local land-based food programs into formal

education systems and support broader community health objectives.

The source is important for these research because it offers a wide variety of potential

solutions and interventions that are always available to specific groups. Their partner

communities stressed that for programs to be effective, they must be bottom-up, have local

advocates and resources in place, effectively target certain community sub-groups, and continue

to be culturally relevant and viable in light of current priorities. Another crucial factor is the
longevity of food resources, therefore adaptation techniques must be long-lasting to ensure their

efficacy.