Indigenous-led projects support food sovereignty, food security in B.C.

Press Release

May 16, 2023

VICTORIA – Indigenous governments, communities and businesses are increasing their food sovereignty and food security through projects that strengthen their food systems and success within the agriculture and food sector.

“Our government is supporting Indigenous communities with their food security, food sovereignty and economic development goals and it is important we work together to build strong, self-sustaining food systems that respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and cultures,” said Pam Alexis, Minister of Agriculture and Food. “This program is creating more food and agriculture opportunities for Indigenous communities, and taking an important step toward the equitable participation of Indigenous Peoples in the B.C. agriculture sector.”

The Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture Partnership Program (IFSAP) is supporting Indigenous governments, communities and businesses with agriculture, food processing and food-systems planning, as well as training and skills development, technological adoption, scaling up productivity and profitability, and climate change adaptation.

The Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family is bringing renewed energy to traditional seafood gardens along the west coast of Vancouver Island, in four Nuu-chah-nulth territories. Youth Warriors from eight Nations, aged 12 to 25, are supported by their Elders, community mentors and external experts to restore, manage and celebrate clam gardens. This traditional practice used by Indigenous communities along the coast will help enhance the habitat of intertidal species and support the food sovereignty and security goals of many communities.

“Restoring the Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Gardens project provides food security so we can take care of ourselves and is reinvigorating a tradition we used to do,” said Hayden Seitcher, 22, Tla-o-qui-aht community co-ordinator, Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family. “Having the community come together creates opportunity to connect and create new roots for the youth.”

The Ucwalmicw Centre Society is an Indigenous-led non-profit group that has been working with St’at’imc territory members on the Ucwalmicw Community Farm for 10 years. Their Indigenous food-security project includes planting, growing, harvesting and processing organic fruit, vegetables and seeds to distribute to the community. The society has a greenhouse, cultivated fields and a diverse apple and stone-fruit orchard. Funding is supporting the completion of a building space for food processing, storage and distribution, and to host food-security training.

“The IFSAP program funding is helping us to finish our construction phase of the new Food Security Building in T’it’q’et, which will complement the large Ucwalmicw community farm and serve as a beautiful location for local food processing, distribution and educational opportunities,” said Chelsea Tims, community farm manager, Ucwalmicw Centre Society. “The construction of the building has also offered us opportunities to employ local contractors in the community.”

Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government is using the funding from the program to support the expansion of the community garden, host traditional foods and harvesting workshops, develop Tŝilhqot’in training and educational materials, and to pilot a community farmers’ market. The project is helping increase access to affordable and fresh food while reducing travel to the closest grocery store, approximately 200 kilometres away.

“We are working toward building a food system that will improve food security in our community for generations to come,” said Dalton Baptiste, administrator, XGFNG First Nations. “The funding from this program will enable us to grow our own food in our community and will support the passing along of our traditional teachings.”

The program was developed with guidance from the B.C. Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food. The program is funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Government of British Columbia, and delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

The New Relationship Trust is also developing a new $30-million program in consultation with B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food to help First Nations achieve their agriculture goals and strengthen self-sustaining Indigenous food systems. The program is expected to open in July 2023.

Quotes:

Chief Byron Louis, Okanagan Indian Band, and chair of the BC Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food –

“The Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture Partnership Program represents a meaningful step in increasing investments toward the success of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and supporting their priorities and approaches. The B.C. Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food provided input on the design and scope of the program to better align with Indigenous-identified funding needs and priorities. We see this program as a reflection of Province’s deepening awareness and commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and agriculture.”

Shelley Leech, co-chair, BC Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food –

“Indigenous Peoples have always had a unique relationship with the land, the water, the air, the fire and every living thing that lives on this Earth. This relationship is reciprocal. We look after the land and the land provides for us. We have evolved for centuries as the world around us has changed. Indigenous Peoples have had to adapt and learn new ways of doing to maintain this unique relationship. In this critical time of climate change, we are again needing to find new ways to adapt in order for our families, our communities and Indigenous Peoples to survive and ensure survival for the next seven generations. This means creating new economies right here in our communities in the area of food security, while safeguarding and nurturing the plants, trees, animals and water to ensure the next generations will hold this knowledge of the sacred relationship we have with the land. We can do this.”

Jack DeWit, chair, IAF board of directors –

“The IAF team was honoured to be a part of the development and delivery of this innovative program. Preliminary results show that the projects are demonstrating success toward increased food security.”

Learn More:

Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture Partnership Program: https://iafbc.ca/ifsap/

B.C. Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/business-market-development/agricultural-trusts-and-councils/bc-indigenous-advisory-council-on-agriculture-and-food

Indigenous communities, businesses get support to increase food security:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/27488

A backgrounder follows.

Contact:

Dave Townsend
Media Relations
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
250 356-7098
250 889-5945 (mobile)

BACKGROUNDER

Support for Indigenous-led food-systems projects

More than $1.1 million was committed to the following 15 projects through the Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture Partnership Program to grow farming and food-processing operations in communities throughout the province.

Adams Lake Indian Band, Chase:

$71,250 to offer knowledge-transfer activities in which community members will learn valuable processing, canning and dehydrating skills for a variety of foods, and to partner with the Chief Atahm school to engage youth and their families to maximize community involvement and help instill skills and knowledge at a young age.

Chawathil First Nation, Hope:

$80,000 to revitalize customary production methods and knowledge for traditional salmon harvesting, and increase Indigenous participation in food processing, food preservation and peer-to-peer skills development.

Gitxaala Nation, Kitkatla:

$78,100 to formulate a comprehensive community food-security plan using a food-systems approach, expand the community gardens and install an irrigation system, establish a backyard garden by individual families and a community kitchen at the community centre.

Haida Wild, Haida Gwaii:

$80,000 to get expert assistance installing two smokehouses that have not been functional and increase employment and training opportunities, as well as product offerings.

Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tles7et’h’ First Nations, Kyuquot (project led by Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family):

$80,000 to bring renewed energy to traditional seafood gardens along the west coast of Vancouver Island, in four Nuu-chah-nulth territories where youth Warriors from eight Nations (12 to 25 years old) will be supported by their Elders, community mentors and external experts to restore, manage and celebrate clam gardens.

Kanaka Bar Indian Band, Lytton:

$80,000 to create a food self-sufficiency (FSS) plan that will strategize how to meet the FSS goals and to purchase irrigation and agricultural equipment that will increase production capacity. The plan will help build solutions to feed the increasing population and ensure the band can remain resilient to the effects of climate change.

Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council, Mill Bay:

$79,040 to move the council’s Community Food Network, that hosts online conversations around food and food security, virtual workshops and film screenings, to in-person, hands-on learning and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, to give the network’s participants the opportunity to work together as one.

Okanagan Indian Band, Vernon:

$80,000 to provide culturally safe and affordable foods through band-owned land, which was recently designated to grow fruits and vegetables, traditional foods, livestock and process meat; and to provide a kitchen and pantry, cooking pit and root cellars, as well as space for cultural activities, to create job opportunities.

Pacheedaht First Nation, Port Renfrew:

$68,790 to expand the community garden, plant an orchard, cultivate medicine plants from the original village site and install a safe, secure, easily accessible community pantry for locally harvested in-season foods, as well as shelf-stable foods and medicines.

Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society, Bella Bella:

$75,000 to implement and scale up 25 community recommendations to address food insecurity collected through a community food-security assessment conducted by the organization in fall 2020. This Indigenous charitable non-profit organization has been offering programming in the community and on the land for 25 years, including programs to connect people with ancestral foods and ancestral food production, harvesting and processing methods.

Stoney Creek 1 Indian Reserve, Vanderhoof:

$79,950 to expand the reserve’s modest existing food-production and distribution system through the acquisition of a commercial-size 279-square-metre (3,000 square feet) year-round greenhouse to be situated at a suitable location on the Saik’uz Reserve.

Ucwalmicw Centre Society, Lillooet:

$80,000 to complete a partially complete indoor building and turn it into a space for food processing, storage and distribution, and use as a space to host food-security training. This builds on the work of the Ucwalmicw Community Farm and will provide further work opportunities for members.

Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Victoria:

$80,000 to expand Marion’s Garden to a residential property in Oak Bay that was given to the centre by the late Marion Cumming and remove invasive plants, add native plants, beehives, pollinator plants and grow vegetables/food year round to increase food security and feed the community.

Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, Vancouver:

$80,000 to develop a sustainable and secure irrigation infrastructure plan for the Cwelcwelt Kuc “We are Well” Garden through community consultation and implement short- and medium-term infrastructure improvements, such as an improved garden irrigation, a water-storage system and wash-and-pack facilities.

Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government, Nemaiah Valley:

$79,500 to offer various workshops to community members to learn about traditional foods and harvesting, develop training and education materials in Tŝilhqot’in for various demographics in the community, hire a local Indigenous food lead and create opportunities for economic development by starting a local farmers’ market.

Contact:

Dave Townsend
Media Relations
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
250 356-7098
250 889-5945 (mobile)

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