Alyssia R. GetschowFollow

Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Science, Technology and Society Program

Advisor(s)

Ashton Wesner

Second Advisor

Leeann Sullivan

Abstract

Inuit living in Nunangat, a northern territory in Canada, are facing unprecedented rates of food insecurity. The increasing impacts of anthropogenic climate change are rapidly changing the Arctic landscape in Nunangat, posing challenges to Inuit hunters who hunt and live completely self-sufficient off of the land. This lack of access to country foods and the impacts these conditions are having on Inuit communities are forcing Inuit to consider aid propositions from the Canadian government. Due to a long history of conflict with white settlers during the colonization of Canada, there is a feeling of distrust and cultural distaste between Canada and Inuit today. Furthermore, these relations and the processes associated with colonialism have created circumstances over time such as increased grocery prices, decreased hunting capabilities and food storage challenges, which are both damaging to Inuit food security as well as directly linked to colonist actions. Without intervention, food insecurity poses a direct and imminent threat to the survival of Inuit culture in the Nunangat region. Outside aid has proven unsuccessful and insulting to Inuit cultural values. Given this, Inuit are relying on self-representation technologies such as community freezer programs and an increasingly strong presence on social media platforms in order to both educate the world on their culture and current struggles as well as directly address food insecurity within Inuit communities across Nunangat.

Keywords

Inuit, food security, colonialism, colonization, Canada, food justice, indigenous

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