Derek R. Wendel¹, Cole Goode¹, Michael A. Robidoux^1,

Indigenous populations throughout northern Canada continue to face higher rates of food insecurity compared to the rest of the country. As a result of colonization, Indigenous people have endured historical and political discrimination, being forcibly displaced from their traditional territories, impacting the accessibility, availability, and use of traditional foods. There have been longstanding calls for greater federal support for traditional food harvesting—not only to reduce food insecurity and diet-related illnesses, but also to help restore local food systems. The Government of Canada has responded by developing federal programs to support traditional food harvesting to help address northern food security challenges, yet there remains little information about local harvesting capacity and how regional differences influence how much traditional food can be sourced to improve household food security. Considering the known health and cultural benefits of Indigenous food systems, and the barriers Indigenous communities face accessing them, it is important to understand the quantity of traditional food harvesting needed to meet daily energy requirements for communities based on current population demographics in different regions in Canada. In a first step in addressing this gap, Robidoux et al. conducted ethnographic research with hunters in the Wapekeka First Nation in northwestern Ontario, Canada to estimate the potential contribution traditional food harvesting could have on improving household food security in this sub-Arctic region. The study emphasized the need for further research exploring how food harvesting in different geographic regions, with unique ecology, culture and demographics may impact the contribution traditional food can have on local food security. The research presented here builds on Robidoux et al.’s study by calculating total caloric needs for two First Nations and one Inuit community from different geographical regions estimating the energy required from animal food sources to sustain each community. The primary aim of this paper is to assess if increased traditional food harvesting can be a legitimate strategy for combatting food insecurity for Arctic and sub-Arctic Indigenous communities.

Food security, North, Traditional food, Nutrition, Energy requirements, Food systems