Abstract
Objectives
Type 2 diabetes has been considered an epidemic among Indigenous Peoples in Canada. They also suffer more from obesity than non-Indigenous people in the country, a condition that is considered an epidemic worldwide. Various public health and social services professionals are working in Indigenous communities across the country to raise awareness about certain lifestyle habits. The main objective of this article is to analyze the food normativity transmitted to an Indigenous population and to examine its reception. More specifically, the aim is to understand the opportunities of transmission (content and format) and the relational dynamics that these encounters between mostly non-Indigenous professionals and Indigenous Peoples imply.
Method
The analysis is based on an ethnographic fieldwork in the Anicinabe community of Lac Simon (Abitibi, Quebec). Conducted with a relational approach, interviews and participant observation were carried out.
Results
It appears that the Anicinabek have a great knowledge of the “good” eating habits as defined by a biomedical food normativity. A reflexive analysis of my presence in the community as a non-Indigenous anthropologist and an analysis of the Anicinabek’s responses to food recommendations lead me to argue that a form of food colonialism, inscribed in welfare (assistance) colonialism, persists while food surveillance seems to be integrated by the Anicinabek. This food normativity is the bearer of a biomedical conception of food and the colonial history of the country colours its transmission to Indigenous Peoples.
Conclusion
Greater autonomy, namely Indigenous food sovereignty, seems necessary to deconstruct this food assistance structure.
Résumé
Objectifs
Depuis plusieurs années déjà, le diabète de type 2 est considéré au stade épidémique chez les Premières Nations au Canada. Ils souffrent aussi davantage d’obésité que les non-Autochtones au pays, une condition qualifiée d’épidémie à l’échelle mondiale. Divers représentants de la santé publique et des services sociaux travaillent dans les communautés autochtones du pays notamment pour les sensibiliser à certaines habitudes de vie. L’objectif principal de cet article est d’analyser la normativité alimentaire transmise à une population autochtone et à en examiner la réception. Plus précisément, il s’agit d’examiner les occasions de transmission (contenu et format) et de comprendre les dynamiques relationnelles que ces occasions de rencontre entre professionnels non-autochtones et Autochtones impliquent.
Méthode
La présente analyse s’appuie sur des données récoltées dans le cadre d’une enquête ethnographique d’un an au sein de la communauté anicinabe de Lac Simon (Abitibi, Québec). Menées avec une approche relationnelle, des entrevues avec des membres de la communauté ainsi que de l’observation participante ont été réalisées permettant ainsi un accès aux quotidiens des Anicinabek autant au sein de la réserve que lors de séjours sur le territoire.
Résultats
À Lac Simon, comme dans d’autres communautés autochtones, les sources de sensibilisation sont nombreuses et accessibles depuis des années : formations, ateliers, activités communautaires et rencontres individualisées sur demande. D’ailleurs, une connaissance des « bonnes habitudes » alimentaires par les Anicinabek est notable. Une analyse réflexive de ma présence au sein de la communauté en tant qu’anthropologue non-autochtone et une analyse des réponses des Anicinabek face aux conseils alimentaires m’amène à soutenir qu’une forme de colonialisme alimentaire, inscrit dans un colonialisme d’assistance, persiste alors qu’une surveillance alimentaire apparait comme intégrée par les Anicinabek. Cette normativité alimentaire est porteuse d’une conception biomédicale de l’alimentation et l’historique colonial du pays teinte sa transmission au sein des populations autochtones.
Conclusion
Une plus grande autonomie, voire une souveraineté alimentaire autochtone, semble nécessaire pour déconstruire cet encadrement alimentaire.
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Notes
The addition of the “k” signifies the plural and addition of the “kwe” signifies the feminine (Anicinabekwe).
Follow-up was done with local authorities during and after the fieldwork. Follow-up was also done during the analysis and writing process of the thesis from which this article is drawn. For a detailed presentation of the research context and paradigmatic considerations that guided the thesis, see Hamel-Charest (2022).
In the context of the research (Quebec, Abitibi), the term non-Indigenous mostly refers to “white” people and the term “Blancs” (whites) is often used by both Indigenous (here Anicinabek) and non-Indigenous people.
These norms refer to an ideal in the sense that many non-Indigenous individuals also do not strictly adhere to them.
Tcikojikwe is the feminine version of Tcikojik, a term by which the Lac Simon Anicinabek refer to Canadians, generally white people.
In Lac Simon, most of them are non-Indigenous, but it should be noted that some nurses are Anicinabek and that several Anicinabek work in various sectors such as front-line services or with families. The picture is much the same in local schools, where the majority of teachers are non-Indigenous while Anicinabek often act as teaching assistants.
In a study conducted with Indigenous Peoples residing in and around Terrace, British Columbia, Luppens and Power (2018) also note that they have good knowledge of the nutritional qualities of foods.
The author used the term “white”; therefore, I use it when referring to his work.
See Tanner (1983) for a more complete picture of these distinctions.
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Acknowledgements
Kitci Migwetc to the Anicinabe community of Lac Simon, to its Band Council who supported this research, and to those Anicinabekwek and Anicinabek who welcomed me in their families and shared their culture and experiences.
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The research was financially supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program—Doctoral Scholarship.
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Hamel-Charest, L. Non-Indigenous and Indigenous food-related interactions: How does the transmission of a normativity perpetuate colonialism?. Can J Public Health 115, 80–88 (2024). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-023-00834-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-023-00834-w