The Indigenous Food Sovereignty Association (IFSA) supports Indigenous peoples through education, poverty alleviation, affordable housing and mental health and cultural supports. IFSA’s purpose is to support healthy, resilient Indigenous communities based around an abundance of culturally appropriate foods. The Indigenous Food Sovereignty Association (IFSA) aims to establish and grow an Indigenous-led network of Indigenous food sovereignty leaders, organizations and food producers across BC and Canada.
External link for Indigenous Food Sovereignty Association
Indigenous Food Sovereignty Association reposted this
'Tea Creek' is a feature documentary exploring the healing power of food, community and culture. Join us for a free community screening of 'Tea Creek' film in Terrace BC at Tillicum Twin Theatres before its debut on CBC Gem Fall 2024! This event is free but please reserve your spot with a ticket through Event Brite here: https://lnkd.in/gQqBFUvJ
Indigenous Food Sovereignty Association reposted this
Tea Creek Film starts streaming on CBC Gem October 2024. Plans are in the works for screenings in Hazelton and Terrace. Be sure to LIKE and follow Tea Creek Film on Facebook for screening and release updates here: https://lnkd.in/ggH8tpjh
Funding for this project has generously come from the Regional Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), First People's Cultural Council Braided Infrastructure Grant, Swift Foundation, All One Fund, Endswell Foundation, and New Relationship Trust, thank you so much. We also thank the Real Estate Foundation of BC and Vancouver Foundation for supporting the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Association, which in turn supported this project. We gratefully acknowledge lumber contributions from huwilp Gaxsgabaxws (Lawrence Watson) as part of an agreement with Northpac (Andrew Burk). Northpac agreed to donate a load of saw logs to Tea Creek with an approximated value of $5700.00. Local lumber and local people, this is what it's all about! #SupportLocal #indigenousfoodsovereignty #foodsecurity #rootcellar #foodstorage
From the camas prairies of Coast Salish territory to the estuarine root gardens of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw Peoples, to the orchard gardens of Pacific crabapples in the Skeena region and the hazelnut trees after which the town Hazelton is named, Indigenous-designed agricultural landscapes can be found. Charred food remains found in cooking pits in the village of Gitsaex, for instance, show that the Gitselasu People regularly harvested food from their forest gardens. Also, research shows that the Gitsaex forest garden is the result of generations of clearing around the village and encouraging edible plant species by, among other things, transplanting, fertilizing, and burning in a controlled way. Agricultural practices are also contained within languages themselves. For instance, the estuarine garden sites in Kwakwaka’wakw territory were called təkkillakw, which roughly translates as “place of manufactured soil.” #TheMoreYouKnow #IndigenousFoodSovereignty
The trusses, which have all been built on-site at Tea Creek , are up and the root cellar is looking fantastic! The posts and beams have been milled directly on-site and we are excited to utilize local lumber and labour on this build. This work is funded by the First Peoples' Cultural Council Braided Infrastructure Grant as part of our planning and development for a Food Hub. Lumber for the root cellar was also generously donated by Simogyet Gaxsgabaxws (Lawrence Watson), logged and delivered through an agreement with Northpac. Geo-tech was onsite yesterday to evaluate the site where we plan to build the Food Hub that will provide an indoor training and gathering space and everything looks good to go! We appreciate the ongoing support from various funders who contribute to our work for Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Reconcili-ACTION.
When Indigenous people combined their cultural and agricultural practices with tools and ideas from Europe and elsewhere, they produced a surplus of food, often preserving and trading these surpluses with surrounding Nations. The practice of harvesting, distribution and trade continues today and is an important aspect of #IndigenousFoodSovereignty #TheMoreYouKnow #Agriculture #FoodSecurity #FoodSystems
Other top crops in the world supplied by thousands of years of Indigenous agriculture include tomatoes, potatoes, squash, beans, and sunflowers! #TheMoreYouKnow #IndigenousFoodSovereignty
Many Indigenous cultures and languages do not differentiate between land and people. Removing Indigenous people from their lands was a profound act of violence. Returning valuable food-producing lands to Indigenous ownership and management is a powerful act of repair and reconciliation. Actively supporting Indigenous Food Sovereignty is a reconciliatory act that can advance a number of possible repairs such as those listed here. #indigenousfoodsovereignty #foodsrcurity #landback #reconciliation
Another milestone reached as we continue work on the root cellar. We have some trusses in place! You can't see it in the photo but there has been a lot of work done recently to hook up water and other infrastructure and this project is sure coming along. Thanks again to our supporters First Peoples' Cultural Council through the Braided Infrastructure Grant.
By supporting Indigenous Food Sovereignty initiatives, we can create a more inclusive and sustainable agriculture and food sector for everyone that values and supports Indigenous communities. Food sovereignty was developed and brought to the public’s attention during the World Food Summit in 1996. It was put forth by La Via Campesina, a group of land-based peasants, farmers, and Indigenous peoples, to protest the corporate control of global food systems. They define food sovereignty as: “The right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” Food sovereignty has also been defined as a “very broad concept that includes the right to access seeds, the right to produce, trade, and consume one’s own foods... It is a concept that is linked to peoples’ autonomy and sovereignty.” Food sovereignty includes the true right to food and the right to produce food. Indigenous food sovereignty can be said to incorporate Indigenous peoples’ ongoing relationships with the land, woods, oceans, and rivers, as well as the cultural, political, and environmental components of food systems. What other reasons can you think of for supporting Indigenous Food Sovereignty ?