Indigenous peoples’ fisheries and food security: a case from northern Canada

Abstract

Indigenous peoples in northern Canada (at least the off-reserve part of the population) experience food insecurity at a rate which is more than double that of all Canadian households. The Cree community of Norway House in northern Manitoba, which harvests and consumes a great deal of fish, may be an exception and may offer some lessons. The objective of the paper is to address food security through the lens of local fisheries, both commercial and subsistence, of a northern indigenous community, and to develop an integrated approach to analyze food security. The approach uses Sen’s entitlement theory and the concept of food sovereignty. This mixed-methods research study employed questionnaire surveys among on–reserve commercial and subsistence fishing households, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and follow-up interviews for verification. During commercial fishing seasons (spring/summer and fall), fishers and their helpers share their fish harvest extensively through their families and communal networks, reaching almost half of the total population of the community. Such extensive sharing and the continuing community-based fishery have contributed to Norway House having more than 90 % food secure households, comparable to the Canadian average. Norway House may provide an example for other northern indigenous communities regarding food insecurity through use of fish and other traditional foods. The proposed integrated approach may be useful for analyzing food security in general.