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dc.contributor.authorPhillipps, Breanna
dc.date.accessioned2021-04-28 14:21:12 (GMT)
dc.date.available2021-04-28 14:21:12 (GMT)
dc.date.issued2021-04-28
dc.date.submitted2021-03-29
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10012/16911
dc.description.abstractIndigenous populations living in urban northern Ontario have been repeatedly ignored in research regarding Indigenous Peoples food insecurity and food systems, despite the large proportion of Indigenous Peoples living in the region and the unique challenges of the urban northern food environment. The purpose of this thesis is to explore and better understand how Indigenous Peoples in the urban northwestern Ontario service hubs of Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay access Indigenous foods and the relationship of Indigenous food to their food security and Indigenous food sovereignty. The methodology of this project is based upon on the principles of community-based participatory research, intersectional feminist theory, and the USAI Framework (utility, self-voicing, access, and inter-relationality). Data were collected in open-ended interviews with stakeholders from three groups across the two cities (1) Indigenous female community members (n=6), (2) non-Indigenous staff of Indigenous-serving organizations (n=6), and (3) policymakers (i.e. those related to wild food policy or its implementation)(n=6). Two analyses were conducted. First, a thematic analysis of interview data from Indigenous community members and non-Indigenous staff of Indigenous-serving organizations characterized the impact of place and urbanicity on accessing Indigenous foods in both urban northwestern Ontario cities. Second, an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis framework was applied to analyze interview data from the entire sample which illuminated how the provincial and federal policy contexts have historically and continue to impact Indigenous women and their communities’ experiences of accessing wild foods in urban northwestern Ontario. Both place and urbanicity are central to how Indigenous populations in these towns harvest, share, and consume their Indigenous foods. On the community and individual levels, Indigenous Peoples in these towns are often in situations of food insecurity due to financial, geography, and policy barriers. Participants highlighted the abundance of ways that Indigenous food sovereignty is being expressed. Building food networks and sharing practices amongst friends, family, and broader communities (both inside and outside the city) was central to promoting access to Indigenous food for Indigenous Peoples in this study. Indigenous women pointed to colonial policies which make it impossible for most people to harvest in a self-determined way; thus, resistance is necessary. We found that stakeholder groups defined the policy problem differently and brought different values to their place in the systems which impede or facilitate access to wild foods. There was an acknowledgment of the conflict of Western food safety and natural resource management principles with Indigenous rights and Indigenous food sovereignty in theory and application. Implementation of food and natural resource policy is often unclear due to the tensions of government jurisdiction and the erasure of Indigenous Peoples’ experiences within Canadian cities. This thesis reiterates that Indigenous-led and culturally safe collaborations between the Indigenous community and other organizations are critical to improving Indigenous food sovereignty in these urban settings. Illuminating the non-Indigenous actors’ understandings of Indigenous Peoples' food security and sovereignty in urban settings is key as they hold power in colonial institutions. There is a continued need for Indigenous distinctions-based and intersectional approaches in all policy at all levels – from the federal to the institutional.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity of Waterlooen
dc.subjectfood insecurityen
dc.subjectIndigenous food sovereigntyen
dc.subjectfood policyen
dc.subjectIndigenous food systemsen
dc.subjecthealth equityen
dc.subjectintersectionality-based policy analysisen
dc.subjectpolicy analysisen
dc.subjectcommunity-based participatory researchen
dc.subjecthealth geographyen
dc.subjecturban studiesen
dc.subjectfood securityen
dc.subjectfeminist food studiesen
dc.subjectpolicy implementationen
dc.titleAccessing Indigenous Foods in Urban Northwestern Ontario: Women’s Stories of Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Resistance to Policyen
dc.typeMaster Thesisen
dc.pendingfalse
uws-etd.degree.departmentSchool of Public Health and Health Systemsen
uws-etd.degree.disciplinePublic Health and Health Systemsen
uws-etd.degree.grantorUniversity of Waterlooen
uws-etd.degreeMaster of Scienceen
uws-etd.embargo.terms0en
uws.contributor.advisorSkinner, Kelly
uws.contributor.affiliation1Faculty of Applied Health Sciencesen
uws.published.cityWaterlooen
uws.published.countryCanadaen
uws.published.provinceOntarioen
uws.typeOfResourceTexten
uws.peerReviewStatusUnrevieweden
uws.scholarLevelGraduateen


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