The documentary, Harvesting Hope: In Northern Manitoba Communities provides a detailed look at northern communities and the difficulties they face. In her documentary, the film maker explores the struggles of food security that seem to plague many First Nations communities throughout Northern Manitoba. With issues including diabetes, high food prices, regulations on traditional food gathering, geographic isolation and policy issues, it is no wonder that 75% of the communities that were surveyed were found to be food insecure (Thompson et al, 2011).
Harvesting Hope: In Northern Manitoba Communities documents the epidemic that northern aboriginal communities face due to food insecurity. Food insecurity in North America is classified as not having the means to access healthy foods that will sustain a healthy person (Dietitians of Canada, 2016). Over many years, the changes to food production systems that colonialism and the Canadian government have imposed, have altered the traditional food systems being practiced by the indigenous people. Indigenous culture is built upon cherishing the land one is given; they are centered around a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and have been for centuries. Construction of hydro dams have changed how rivers flow and have put stress on the environment, affecting the way aboriginal people collect traditional food sources, making them more dependent on food from markets. Due to the physical isolation of the northern communities, transporting food with long travel times means much of the food that is brought in, is expensive: many people cannot afford to buy the food, especially perishable fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables. The cost of food is so high that up to 50-80% of the wages of the people in the north go toward food, most of which is of lower quality and unhealthy to meet limited budgets (Thompson et al, 2011). To combat the issue of geographic isolation and prolonged travel for perishable items, Northern Stores operated a grocer to serve the northern communities. However, the grocer has capitalized on the isolation of communities and has raised prices of food much beyond that of their southern counterparts. No other grocery chain has ventured to serve the indigenous communities, and because of this monopoly by Northern Stores, they have the ability to overprice food commodities.
To cope with the high price of healthy food, the northern communities then resorted to unhealthy food alternatives such as processed meats and drinks high in sugar, which in turn led to a drastic increase in food-related illnesses such as diabetes, malnourishment and obesity in Manitoba. As stated in the documentary “In June 1992 the Minister of Health declared diabetes to be both a major health issue and an epidemic among Aboriginal peopl e” (Thompson et al, 2011). This issue has stemmed directly from the lack of availability of healthy foods, the high prices of (healthy) food, and the strict policies surrounding growing and selling locally caught or farmed foods. It is evident that a rise in diabetes has taken place on First Nation Reserves as picture in Figure 1 (Health Canada, 2009).
Figure 1 Prevalence of Diabetes among First Nations
One of the most promising solutions to food issues in the north is the implementation of local garden programs in rural communities. Many communities are turning to gardening as a source of food. By growing their own food, the people in indigenous communities are able to access healthy and nutritious food at affordable prices. Many different programs and community led initiatives have sprung up and are encouraging young and old to take part in growing food (Figure. 2).
Figure 2
Some local schools have begun to incorporate gardening into their curriculum. Services like the Northern Healthy Food Initiative (PDF) have been supplying communities with the resources they need to start their own gardens. Programs such as the Country Foods Program is helping northern communities who do not have the resources to farm their own food by sharing locally grown food.
The ongoing food issues and subsequent health issues in First Nations communities in Northern Manitoba have sparked debates on whether the practice of instilling new food diets and habits unto aboriginal communities can be considered a new form of cultural marginalization. The idea of having prepackaged foods purchased in a single location is a western view; however, some cultures do not adhere to this view. Aboriginal communities have thrived as a communal farming society for hundreds of years. The panel and audience during class commented that the government has imposed its western views by creating policies that limit the sale of fresh produce or livestock due to health and safety concerns. It is evident that these strict food policies coupled with the monopolistic grocer has caused the epidemic of diabetes in the communities. Many First nations’ people believe the government is not taking as strict of an action towards this problem because of the small, minority population of the First Nations peoples. Some of the First nation’s people believe that the government has felt they have dealt with the problem of food insecurity in the north by providing the grocer Northern, but in fact, the panel during class discussion believes that they have done more harm than good in many communities.
Indigenous peoples have been marginalized greatly throughout history. In order to be granted Indigenous status, ones culture must be that of a native minority, thus again, bringing to light the marginalization faced by these groups. The lecture given during the week highlighted the plight Indigenous peoples have gone through, from legislative acts stripping them of their heritage to land being wrongfully taken away. We perceive the marginalization of First Nations groups as history, but as evident through the film, it is still taking place to this very day.
References
Adair, J. (2016, January 22). Plea for Help: Food Insecurity and Rural Development in Northern
Canada. Retrieved January 27, 2018, from https://uwaterloo.ca/school-environment-ent
erprise-development/blog/post/plea-help-food-insecurity-and-rural-development-northern
Adair, J. (2016, February 08). The Politics of Water and Resource Governance: Case Study of
Salmon in British Columbia. Retrieved January 27, 2018, from https://uwaterloo.ca/sch
ool-environment-enterprise-development/blog/post/politics-water-and-resource-governan
ce-case-study-salmon
Dietitians of Canada. (2016). Food Insecurity. Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://www.dietitians.ca/dietitians-views/food-security/overview.aspx
Dr. Shirley Thompson. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2018, from http://umanitoba.ca/institutes/
natural_resources/Faculty%20Members/nri_aboutST.htm
Harvesting Hope: In Northern Manitoba Communities. Directed by Shirley Thompson, Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2011. http://home.cc.umanitoba. ca/~thompso4/harvestinghope_doc.html
Northern Healthy Food Initiative. (2009). Retrieved January 27, 2018, from
http://www.manitoba.ca/northernhealthyfood
Figures
- Health Canada. (2009). Prevalence of Diabetes among First Nations On-reserve (2002-2003) and General Canadian Population1 (2003), Aged 25 Years and Over [Chart]. In ARCHIVED - A Statistical Profile on the Health of First Nations in Canada: Self-rated Health and Selected Conditions, 2002 to 2005. Government of Canada: Health Canada.
- Tides Canada. (2016, October 28). Stories of communities leading change in Northern Manitoba. Retrieved March 01, 2018, from http://tidescanada.org/food/stories- communities-leading-change-northern-manitoba