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Abstract
Food sovereignty scholars are increasingly re-conceptualizing sovereignty by accounting for its diverse expressions across space according to specific histories, identities, and local socio-ecological realities and dynamics. In grappling with the multiple bases of sovereignty, attention has been directed toward Indigenous food sovereignty in North America. Specifically, food scholars are examining how the regeneration of Indigenous food harvesting and sharing practices shapes movements for decolonization and self-determination. While this is a crucial and much-welcomed intervention, much more is needed to understand the diverse Indigenous political and legal orders and authorities that shape how multiple Indigenous food sovereignties are lived every day across diverse landscapes. In this contribution, I examine how Anishinaabe people in and beyond the Treaty 3 territory in Ontario, Canada, protect and renew their food harvesting grounds, waters and foodways through everyday acts of resurgence that are rooted in their law of mino bimaadiziwin.
Acknowledgements
Meegwetch (thank you) to Anishinaabe people of the Treaty 3 for welcoming me into their territory, and specifically to the Elders and Knowledge Holders who generously shared their knowledge and time. Meegwetch to the Geyshick, Horton, Hunter, Jones, Jourdain and Kabatay families, and to Gary Smith. A very special meegwetch to Sherri Kabatay for your ongoing mentorship and friendship, to Jason Jones for your guidance and support, and to Ruth Mackie for your hospitality. Meegwetch to my doctoral committee, Matthew Sparke, Lucy Jarosz and Vicky Lawson, who provided constructive comments to my dissertation, from which this paper is drawn from. Meegwetch to the reviewers and editor for your time, and constructive and generous feedback.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 I use the term ‘Indigenous’ to identify descendants of nations that occupied the land of what is now known as Canada before the arrival of European colonizers, settlers, and state powers, and to refer to peoples united internationally under this political identity.
2 Interviews were conducted from fall 2013 to spring 2014. Participants ranged in age from Elders to young adults and included an equal representation of males and females. Interviewees requested to be identified by their Anishinaabe name, by their Anglo name or by a pseudonym, which I honor in this contribution. Throughout the paper, I identify the First Nation communities that each interviewee is from.
3 I use the term Knowledge Holders interchangeably with political and legal authorities throughout this paper to denote Indigenous peoples who are knowledgeable and authorities in their community and nation's land/water-based philosophies and practices. These individuals may not yet be of the age of an Elder; however, they are important leaders and intellectuals within their communities and nations.
4 I use the term grounded knowledge to denote the epistemological basis of acquiring and learning Indigenous knowledge through direct experience, and through an intimate relationship with land, water and the non-human world.
5 This research started through familial connections. While I followed ethical guidelines and consent procedures as defined by the University of Washington, as part of my doctoral research, I simultaneously engaged in Anishinaabe community protocols to request consent from each Knowledge Holder.
6 Sherri and Mike Kabatay, Linda Oshawee and Sara Geyshick, personal interview, March 2014.
7 Gary Smith, personal interview, March 2014.
8 Ogimaagwanebiik, personal interview, February 2014.
9 Jason and Gail Jones, personal interview, December 2013.
10 Anishinaabe kinship ties in the Treaty 3 extend into the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, including familial relationships, political relationships cultivated through the clanship system, economic relationships reproduced through the sharing and trading of food, and legal relationships such as those that govern the protection and use of food harvesting grounds and waters.
11 Sherri Kabatay, personal interview, December 2013.
12 In November 2015, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada became Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.
13 At the time of the interviews, the conservative party had a majority leadership in the Canadian parliament.
14 David Lindsey, personal interview, March 2014.
15 Ogimaagwanebiik, personal interview, February 2014.
16 Sherri Kabatay, personal interview, December 2013.
17 Steve and Iris Jourdain, personal interview, December 2013.
18 Steve and Iris Jourdain, personal interview, December 2013.
19 Sherri Kabatay, personal interview, December 2013.
20 Albert Hunter, personal interview, February 2014.
21 Sherri Kabatay, personal interview, December 2013.
22 Gary Smith, personal interview, March 2014.
23 Sherri Kabatay, personal interview, December 2013.
24 Jason Jones, personal interview, February 2014.
25 Ogimaagwanebiik, personal interview, February 2014.
26 Sherri Kabatay, personal interview, December 2013.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Michelle Daigle
Michelle Daigle is Mushkegowuk (Cree) and a member of Constance Lake First Nation, located in the Treaty 9 territory in Canada. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Geography, The University of British Columbia, which is located on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Musqueam nation. Her current research examines the impacts of extractive development in Indigenous territories, with a particular focus on water and gender. Simultaneously, her work focusses on how Indigenous forms of governance and self-determination are embodied through the resurgence of land/water-based practices.