Slow violence and the coloniality of carceral foodways in Canadian federal prisons

Abstract

The disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous peoples continues to be a disturbing trend in Canada, prompting calls to problematize prison as a modern manifestation of settler-colonialism. To address this call, we explore the disconcerting similarities between historical accounts of food insecurity endured by Indigenous children in residential schools and our participants’ shocking food experiences in Canadian federal prisons. Using qualitative data from 57 semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated people, we compare participants’ experiences of poor-quality food, chronic hunger, and malnutrition to those of students in residential schools, problematizing the inadequate food provision in Canadian prisons in the present despite government assurances that prison food meets national nutritional guidelines. Ultimately, we contend that settler-colonialism continues to be weaponized against Indigenous people in prison – and incarcerated people, generally – through the slow violence of carceral food provision, perpetuating inequitable health outcomes for communities historically pushed to the margins of Canadian society.