Wildlife, Environmental Change, and Local Indigenous Food Systems in Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik
Speaker(s)
Description
Cette présentation définit les caractéristiques socio-écologiques des systèmes alimentaires locaux dans le nord du Québec, notamment parmi les communautés cries d’Eeyou Istchee et les communautés inuites du Nunavik.
Summary
Local Indigenous food systems, involving the harvest of local wildlife for human health, are fundamental to the food security, well-being, livelihoods, and worldviews of Indigenous communities.
The presentation will provide a social-ecological characterization of northern Quebec local food systems, including Cree communities of Eeyou Istchee and Inuit communities in Nunavik. We will start by describing the biocultural diversity of wildlife harvest and local food use across northern Canada and in northern Quebec, while outlining a local food value chain model, four pillars of local food security, and approaches to communicate the value of local food.
We will then consider Cree and Inuit food systems under climate change and their varied points of vulnerability and resilience, followed by specific examples of knowledge co-production in wildlife, environmental change, and local Indigenous food systems research involving Indigenous organizations, land users, and government collaborators.
We will conclude by offering a synthesis of local food systems in Northern Quebec under climate change and the community-led, knowledge co-production approaches required to maintain local food security in the face of rapid social-ecological change.
