Voicing indigenous food sovereignty in the global North - a collaborative workshop

The final workshop within the project Reindeer herding: An indigenous food system in transition was held in collaboration between academia and indigenous organisations from four countries; Sweden, Finland, Russia and Canada and with case study 18, Towards Just, Equitable and Sustainable Arctic Indigenous Economy and Society In the Russian and Swedish Arctic within the H2020 project JUSTNORTH.

The workshop focused on issues concerning food sovereignty and how different actors experience opportunities as well as cumulative challenges, from competing uses of natural resources, carnivores, food market forces and institutional practices that undermine indigenous food systems and inhibit producers. On the one hand the workshop provided examples of how we can work to preserve culture, maintain livelihoods, which role civil organisations and the state can take to promote indigenous food systems. On the other hand, it highlighted how indigenous holistic perspectives and food system practices can contribute innovative alternatives to solve the social, economic and ecological challenges that contemporary societies face.

The workshop was held hybrid, with participants attending both in person and online. The two days comprised over 20 presentations from different actors and covered five main topics:

• Indigenous Food Systems and Food Sovereignty
• Value Chain and Technological Challenges
• Culture and Heritage
• Nutrition and Health
• Holistic view on the Animal, Human and Nature Relations

The two key note speakers were Dawn Morrison from the Secwepemc Nation and Director for the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty from Vancouver, Canada and Lena Maria Nilsson Associate professor, Department of Epidemiology and global health, Lávvuo - Research and Education for Sámi health, Umeå University.

The workshop was a collaboration between Slow Food Sápmi and the project group.

Workshop invitation and programme

Recorded presentations

See all recorded presenations from the workshop (YouTube list of 16 films)

• Indigenous food sovereignty struggles in the north
• Exploring a right to traditional food and food systems of Indigenous peoples ...
• Slow Food Sápmi - Traditional Saami food
• Food sovereignty of the Indigenous Peoples in the Russian Arctic: challenges for reindeer herding
• Digitalization in the reindeer value chain as a means of promoting food security
• Reclaiming circular food production requires new technology
• Food strategies in the northern regions of Sweden and Sami food futures
• Pathfinders for the Future? Indigenous Rights and Traditional Knowledge in Sweden
• Our Food is our Relative: From Production to Regeneration (Keynote); Dawn Morrison
• Consumption of traditional Sámi food and health (Keynote); Lena Maria Nilsson
• Golleguolli - Traditional fishing in Sápmi
• To combine reindeer husbandry, meat processing and tourism
• The impact of pasture resources on reindeer meat production;
• From forests via lichen to reindeer products. Industrial, ecological and socio-cultural food web
• Reindeer herding, Dialogue and Encounters in the Arctic
• The impact of competing land uses on reindeer husbandry in Sweden