IN THE FIELD – Day Two: Importance of country food to Northern communities

And while many Southerners living in the North continue to be vegetarian, depending on vegetables being shipped all the way from the South was not appealing to me from a health, cost, or environmental perspective.
In Canada, “country foods” refers to the traditional diets of Aboriginal people (the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit)- especially in remote northern regions where “southern food” is an expensive import, and traditional foods are still relied upon. Across the Western Arctic, the community of Paulatuk has one of the lowest family household incomes. With the cost of food double that of what can be found on the shelves in Yellowknife (often triple what it is in the South), there is a great reliance on country food for complementing their groceries.  In three-quarters of Paulatuk households, over half of the meat and fish consumed is country food, and 69% of residents are involved in fishing and hunting activities throughout the year to harvest country food.
Different country foods are harvested at different times of the year depending on availability and household needs. In Paulatuk, people will fish for Arctic Char, Lake Trout, Herring and Whitefish. During the spring and fall, hunters will travel inland to harvest Barren-ground Caribou, while Geese, Ducks and other waterfowl will be harvested in the spring.  In late-Summer, women will get great enjoyment from picking blueberries, cranberries, and akpiks (gooseberries).  As a coastal community, they also harvest marine mammals, and over the last 30 years have been travelling to whaling camps where they will collectively harvest beluga whales.

Cloudberries or Akpiks. © Dan Slavik, WWF-Canada

Community of Tuktoyaktuk enjoying pieces of boiled maktaq for Aboriginal Day feast. © Dan Slavik, WWF- Canada

For these reasons, the health and abundance of wildlife are important to the well-being and food security of this community.  As I have read and heard from first-hand accounts from elders and hunters, the communities are concerned with changes in the ecosystem that affect the quality and quantity of country food harvested, as well as the accessibility to access these country foods. Communities have adapted to fluctuations in wildlife in the past and will need resilience to adapt to changes that are fourthcoming. One example of an adaptation to changes in country food availability is through inter-community trade.  If one community has an ample supply of meat, fish, or berries, they will share or trade this with communities who did not have a successful harvest.
This picture, drawn by a grade 3 student, says “The Ocean is important to me and my family because we need our animals in the ocean to eat”. While some people and wildlife lovers in Canada may not understand the subsistence hunting of wildlife, WWF looks to support a shared interest with Northerners in working to make sure that wildlife is abundant, ecosystems are healthy, and communities are empowered to protect their environmental values and adapt to environmental changes.

“The Ocean is important to me and my family because…”. © Dan Slavik, WWF-Canada