Reconciling Traditional Knowledge, Food Security, and Climate Change: Experience From Old Crow, YT, Canada

Abstract

Reconciling Traditional Knowledge, Food Security, and Climate Change:Experience From Old Crow, YT, Canada Vasiliki Douglas, Hing Man Chan, Sonia Wesche, Cindy Dickson, Norma Kassi, Lorraine Netro, and Megan Williams What Is the Purpose of This Study? • To determine community food security concerns in Old Crow, Yukon, Canada and to develop a community consensus on viable adaptation planning to address food security concerns. What Is the Problem? • Old Crow is a remote, aboriginal community in Arctic Canada that is highly dependent on both traditionally harvested foods and expensive market foods for sustenance, leading to experience a high degree of food insecurity. • Environmental, cultural, and economic change is altering the relationship between residents of Old Crow and their food supply. What Are the Findings? • The population of Old Crow is deeply concerned about its youth and their ability to participate in traditional culture. • A secure food supply is closely dependent on the ability to responsibly manage and harvest traditional food species, and alter the balance between them, if necessary. • Loss of traditional knowledge and culture is widely viewed as a serious threat to traditional resource management. • Market foods are a possible substitution, as is agriculture, but must be managed in conjunction with the traditional food supply. Who Should Care Most? • Members of remote communities facing a high degree of food insecurity face similar issues. • Traditional communities with strong food traditions are facing increasing social pressure to adopt mainstream diets based on market foods. They face issues of cultural food security (if not physical food security) similar to those facing Old Crow. Recommendations for Action • Communities’ options for addressing their food security and cultural security issues may be explored with the assistance of researchers, leading to recommendations for adaptation planning in close collaboration with the community • Actual adaptations must be driven from the community level, and require a high degree of community consensus for success. [End Page 3] Vasiliki Douglas University of Northern British Columbia, School of Health Sciences; Hing Man Chan University of Ottawa, Department of Biology; Sonia Wesche University of Ottawa, Department of Geography; Cindy Dickson Council of Yukon First Nations; Norma Kassi Arctic Institute of Community Based Research Lorraine Netro Vuntut Gwitchin Government Old Crow Megan Williams Vuntut Gwitchin Government Old Crow Copyright © 2014 The Johns Hopkins University Press