Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Compared to urban populations, northern and Indigenous communities experience the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada. Prior to colonization, which violently disrupted Indigenous food systems, Indigenous food sovereignty was a living reality. Directly related to coloniality, food insecurity is central to the disproportionately high burdens of poor health that Indigenous peoples face. Barriers to Indigenous food sovereignty is a pressing issue in Canada today as illustrated by the recent attacks on the Mi'kmaq fishery. Scholars identify food sovereignty as a valuable focus of health-related research and practice. Little research to date, however, has focused on food sovereignty in northern BC. My research addresses a gap in academic health literature by focusing on health-related experiences of Indigenous and settler food sovereignty leaders in northern BC. My research asks specifically: How does practicing food sovereignty affect peoples' health and what are the sociopolitical, environmental and cultural factors that foster (or limit) peoples' food sovereignty practices? This 2-year long, qualitative, social justice informed, health master's project (1-year CIHR funding sought) is driven by anti-colonial theory: it is sensitive to present and ongoing (neo)colonial and paternalistic research histories and approaches. The research enacts a community-based participatory process where research is conducted with and for those involved. My research is timely and significant: highlighting the experiences of those practicing food sovereignty can inform policy that supports the resilience and self-determination of those doing this work, and can translate to better physical, emotional, social, environmental and spiritual health for Indigenous and northern communities.