Fostering Food Security through Local Cultures: Living Heritage Insights from Rural Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Communities

Current challenges, like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, have brought new awareness to how we consume, produce, and distribute food. In Saskatchewan, climate change is already impacting the quality and quantity of southern water supplies and strategies used for hunting, gathering, and fishing in northern areas. Amidst these challenges, this project examines whether local tradition and heritage can help revitalize food systems in the post-pandemic period. This project involves a provincial survey, interviews and focus groups in five Saskatchewan communities, and an innovative pollinator “Bioblitz” to understand Saskatchewan residents’ engagement with food and culture. The project examines the potential (and possible pitfalls) of local heritage to help preserve and sustain food systems in times of crisis and change. This project includes a Mitacs intern as a key project team member who will lead an important component of the project—conducting and analyzing interviews with community members.

Faculty Supervisor:

Glenn Sutter;Amber Fletcher

Student:

Partner:

Heritage Saskatchewan;Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Sustainability & the Environment; Agriculture and Food; Education

University:

University of Regina

Program: