Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Abstract: Urban Indigenous people face food insecurity from limited quantities of healthy and affordable food, to limited access to traditional food. Food sovereignty, while a separate concept from food security, is certainly aligned. In an Indigenous setting, Indigenous food sovereignty (IFS) is often contextualized in remote, rural communities. However, elements of food sovereignty also exist for urban Indigenous communities. Food and culture are inextricably linked. Cultural food, from growing and harvesting to preparing requires a connection to traditional culture. For inner city youth, it can be challenging to access cultural food, but also to access the skills and knowledge around the practice of acquiring and processing it. This paper will explore how prolonged participation in a variety of land based and urban activities centered around traditional food skills and grounded in principles of Indigenous food sovereignty impacts the self-esteem and cultural identity of Indigenous youth living in Winnipeg's inner city. Specifically, we will be exploring: the relationship that Indigenous youth in Winnipeg's inner city have with their cultural food; how participation in cultural activities centered around cultural food impacts their identity and how they value themselves as Indigenous youth in the city; and the ways organizations and schools can use principles of Indigenous food sovereignty as a basis for cultural identity development and subsequently positive personal development for youth.