Bohne 1 Jonas Bohne Professor Ireland Anthropology 2316.

1 December 3, 2011 Native Peoples of Canada's Diet Pre- and Post European Contact This paper will compare and contrast the diet of Aboriginal Canadians before and after European contact. After providing a brief general overview, special attention will be given to the modern day Euro-Canadian premise that native peoples, especially hunter-gatherer groups, always lived at the brink of starvation. It shall be shown that native groups in different geographical locations rather had an abundance of food resources or had established systems of food-security. Further, it will be argued that Indigenous peoples had a more healthy and nutritious diet than at present day where a disproportionate amount of native Canadians suffer from health-related diseases. Most foragers in Canada were either sedentary or semi-sedentary and settled or moved to regions with reliable food resources that would allow either hunting, fishing or gathering. They would usually rely on storage and live, if sedentary such as in the arctic, in high population densities (Friesen 195-196). Selin and Selin also point out that indigenous peoples have a close relationship with their environment both spiritually and by depending on it and aquiring food sustainably (74). As will be further outlined later, in case of the North West Coast peoples, they also actively managed resources rather than passively collecting them (Thrush 2). Subsequently traditional subsistence food patterns will be outlined on hand of three different geographic locations, starting with the arctic- and sub-arctic regions of the north, followed by

Bohne 2 North West Coast (NWC) peoples and the native inhabitants of the Maritimes, the Mi'kmaq at last. Arctic foragers had the fortune of having a large variety of food available, the majority of them aquatic resources. The area of the now extinct Dorset people whose area comprised the north-eastern Canadian arctic found aquatic mammals such as walruses, different kinds of seals and land mammals such as caribou, muskoxen, arctic hare, foxes, several bird species including ducks and geese among other, smaller birds (Friesen 200). For Baffin Island foragers this made out an important contribution to nutrient intake. Seals for instance provided the majority of vitamin A (Kuhnlein 161) along with high levels of other vitamins and mineral and fatty acids (for example in sea mammal foods [Kuhnlein 156]), were vital parts of most traditional foods resulting in a healthy diet (Selin 74). Since some traditional food was available only seasonally, arctic foragers heavily relied on food storage (Friesen 204). After initial contact with Europeans, overfishing and hunting and due to the impacts of British colonization with harsh regulations for Indigenous populations of these regions, a decrease in the use of locally harvested, traditional, cultural food such as wild animals was documented (Kunlein 155). Therefore, native peoples in this region nowadays use less of their traditional local food since this has been often forgotten or unlearned due to discouragement. Now they rely on market food which may be limited, less fresh and unhealthier. According to Joan Morris, a Chatham Island resident, especially the younger generations rely on packed, instant super-market food that will be heated up in microwaves or other fast foods (Peoples' Experiences 2). The direct health effects of this radical change in diet shall be explored further towards the end of this paper.

Bohne 3 NWC peoples, too, enjoyed an abundance of food in the time before colonization which is probably why the K'moks of Vancouver Island called their territory land of plenty, for it provided a large diversity of different food resources such as salmon, seals, octopuses, herrings, cods, deer, ducks, shellfish, greens, root vegetables and many different berry families as, as well as root crops, greens, mushrooms and foods harvested from trees (Davis and Twidale 5, 16). The mix of fishing, gathering and hunting of many different resources enabled trading and thus a diversification of the diet (Davis and Twidale 7). The Kwakwaka'wakw from northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland called their areas place of manufactured soil which indicates that they actively and sustainably managed their environment to create abundance through their own labour (Thrush 2-3). Sustainable resource management was also ensured by giving gifts, especially during potlatch ceremonies but also by sharing, bartering or trading gifts. Trade networks at the NWC can be traced at least 2000 to 3000 years back and they extended over distances up to 1,000 kilometres with over 200 different types of foods being traded (Davis and Twidale 16). Additionally, families owned food trees or harvesting sites which were passed down in family lines (Davis and Twidale 6-8). All this enabled a very healthy and nutritious diet, including proteins, vitamin A, vitamin D, iron, zinc among many more. Nonetheless, also raids by enemy groups as well rare scarcities were common which was attempted to obviate by trade visits for peace-making purposes (Davis and Twidale 7, 9). After first contacts with Europeans, not many things changed and native inhabitants remained in control over their food systems until an amendment to the Indian Act banned potlatches for Vancouver Island First Nations in 1884. In the course of the next 100 years

Bohne 4 more restrictions were added, native land taken over by white settlers, the oceans over-fished and new food products introduced which lead to a decline in the use of and access to traditional food and trading which resulted in a total loss of food sovereignty for NWC aboriginal peoples (Davis and Twidale 12-14). The transition to a more market-food based diet in British Columbia (B.C.) (Kuhnleid 155) had many negative health effects for native groups. The consumption of the unusually high amount of fats resulted in high obesity rates in British Colombia with 36 per cent for First Nations people living on reserves, whereas the provincial average lies at just 11 per cent. Diabetes rates of B.C. indigenous peoples is triple the rate of the general population. The intake of their natural foods such as fruits, vegetables and grain are below the Canadian recommended levels and the low intakes from three out of the four food groups may lead to low intakes of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium and fibre (Davis and Twidale 16-17). A similar story could be observed on the example of the Mi'kmaq First Nation Peoples of the Canadian maritimes. As chief Francis Paul stated in 1846 they, too enjoyed an abundance of food prior to European arrival with many fishes and land animals that also provided them with blankets and clothing (Paul sct 2). Through dams built by the colonialists salmon resources were reduced, resource-rich areas taken by Europeans and the fur animal population reduced due to white hunting practices (Gesner). The Mi'kmaq were forced to farm for subsistence and agriculture reduced the dependence on gathered plant resources (Arnason, Hebda and HNS' 2194). They were also victims of diseases and European-introduced alcohol (Paul sct 3). Previously the native populations of eastern Canada had known at least 175 food plants and 52 beverage plants and cultivated corn, beans squash, tobacco, sunflowers, fruits, nuts,

Bohne 5 greens and underground plants. Again, the diet was rather healthy for it contained Vitamin A and C, calcium, iron and fibre which were well-represented in many plant foods that were also used as traditional medicines (Arnason, Hebda and HNS' 2189). In general, it can be summarized that all over North America native peoples settled in resource-rich environments which provided them with abundant, healthy food and a variety of resources. Native peoples thus had an intimate knowledge and connection with their local environments and were strong and healthy prior to European arrival. Thus, for some aboriginal people, the ability to access sufficient and safe traditional/country food, or food security, is integral to cultural health and survival (Peoples' Experiences, Power 2). Today traditional food provisioning is threatened by a number of factors, including lack of access to traditional lands; the extinction and decreased density of plant and animal species; changes in animal migratory patterns; decreased transfer of cultural knowledge from elders to young people; a decrease in time and energy available for harvesting due to paid employment; loss of taste for traditional foods due to the uptake of market food; lack of money for expenses related to hunting and fishing; not having someone in the family to harvest; and disincentives to harvesting built into social assistance programs. This is all due to racist and colonialist policies and the establishment of native reserves and residential schools and resulted in a number of cultural and health consequences, largely because of fats, sugars, refined salts, alcohol, caffeine and especially carbohydrates that are contained in grains which Europeans were used to since hundreds of years. Native Canadians, however, were not. These changes also brought about the loss of knowledge about medicinal

Bohne 6 plants and social problems such as family violence, physical and mental health problems as a result of alcohol abuse (Peoples Experiences, Power 2, Selin and Selin 74). According to Health Canada for example, diabetes is a health concern for aboriginal Canadians (probably due to the high carbohydrate contents) with a diabetes rate three to five times higher than of other Canadians and are expected to rise further because of obesity, lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating patterns (Health Canada). This is particularly unfortunate because the International Labor Organization (ILO), a UN body stated that indigenous people's land rights are related to food security and the organization further recognizes native people's important role in sharing knowledge of traditional foods and the sustainable management of natural resources. The government of Canada does not seem to recognize these rights and it is shameful that in a country that was conquered by white people, modern-day Euro-Canadian culture still does not acknowledge indigenous rights and does not appear to be willing to learn from their history or make up for it by learning about aboriginal food techniques which we could all profit from by consuming local, healthy and sustainable food. In this paper it was argued that despite white Canadian assumptions native peoples had, as a matter of fact an abundance of food and enjoyed a healthy diet. By the use of various examples it has been shown that after the arrival of Europeans, First Nation Peoples and Inuit have lost the connection to their environment and with it the knowledge of and access to traditional food resources. We saw that the forced change in diet has many health, cultural and social consequences for native peoples and that future prognoses are not too positive. It has been suggested that in honor to Aboriginal peoples and the colonial history, Canadians should make an

Bohne 7 approach to learn about traditional food-security from them.