Food is about more than what people eat.

For Indigenous Peoples on Vancouver Island, food affects physical, emotional and mental health, as well as Indigenous identity. However, decisions about food systems are often out of their hands. In an era of truth and reconciliation, fixes for these broken links can have a deep effect on peoplessa国际传媒� lives.

Island Health Indigenous Health Dietitian Jessie Newman says that food sovereignty is sa国际传媒渁bout Nations reclaiming decision making power within the food system.sa国际传媒�

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sa国际传媒淚 make sure that Isa国际传媒檓 having conversations with people in leadership, with knowledge keepers, with Elders. Any time decisions are made we need to have Indigenous Peoples at the table,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淓very Nation has different obstacles and challenges and finding those out is important.sa国际传媒�

Newman is Haida, Heiltsuk, and Kwakwakasa国际传媒檞akw. She knows how traditional foods can link to ancestors, heal, and help rekindle the sense of identity that many Indigenous people struggle with.

sa国际传媒淭he greatest benefit is that they really connect us to our ancestors and loved ones who have passed,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 quite emotional, especially for me. Seafoods really give me that feeling of a connection to my father who has passed, and my uncles and my grandfather. All of those memories that I have around those foods are really special.sa国际传媒�

However, thanks to the residential school system, many of those links are broken.

sa国际传媒淚f you go back to residential school and that disconnect from culture, a lot of people donsa国际传媒檛 have the knowledge of how to harvest our foods,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭he lack of knowledge around cultural practices is one of the biggest issues within our communities.

sa国际传媒淭hat really speaks to identity as well. A lot of Indigenous people really struggle with a loss of identity or a lack of identity due to that disconnect from culture brought about through residential schoolsa国际传媒� When yousa国际传媒檙e eating these kinds of foods, it gives me the sense of sa国际传媒榯his is who I am and this is what Isa国际传媒檓 meant to be eatingsa国际传媒�sa国际传媒� Our foods are so powerful.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淎 lot of Indigenous people, theysa国际传媒檝e been through so much trauma. Their mental health might not be the best,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚f I can create situations where our People have greater access to their foods, then I am doing something positive that is going to have an impact.

Food sovereignty has increased throughout the region, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Every community has a different situation and different needs. The Kwakwakasa国际传媒檞akw communities are displaced from their traditional territories, making access to traditional foods difficult.

sa国际传媒淭he fact that none of these nations are actually located on their traditional territories where they would be harvesting these foods is probably the biggest barrier,sa国际传媒� Newman said.

sa国际传媒淎nother big barrier is that a lot of Nations might not have the money to focus on this. The way that funds are dispersed into communities are like sa国际传媒榶ou need to spend this money on this, you need to spend this money on that.sa国际传媒� Some Nations find or redistribute funding to hire knowledge keepers to do work around food sovereignty and food security,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淣ot every Nation does this or has the capacity to do it, but there are some Nations in the northern area like in Tsasa国际传媒橷ana where theysa国际传媒檝e actually taken the initiative through funding from our Indigenous Health program and hired somebody. They really honoured the knowledge of the local food champions to do the work. If every community has somebody doing that, then we would be much better off.

When it comes down to it, Newman says her goal is for Indigenous Peoples to have access and control over their food systems.

sa国际传媒淭here are so many reasons itsa国际传媒檚 not happening. Some of it is climate change, some of it is environmental. What would really work is if our government gave us access to our land back and gave us control over our land, how itsa国际传媒檚 managed and how the resources are managed,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檇 have access to our traditional territories and be able to harvest our foods whenever we want, and manage it in a way that will be sustainablesa国际传媒� thatsa国际传媒檚 the ultimate goal.sa国际传媒�

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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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