Re-Constituting Indigenous Food Economies: The Promise of Plant-Based Regeneration

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Across Canada, climate change is reshaping what can grow and where it can grow. For Indigenous communities, especially the Haudenosaunee, whose ancestors thrived on biodiverse diets, the disruption of traditional food systems is more than an environmental crisis. It is also a cultural and spiritual rupture. Yet, within this challenge lies hope: reviving a food economy rooted in Indigenous plant foods can heal the land, strengthen communities, and build resilient local economies.

A Rich Legacy: The Haudenosaunee Foodscape

Arthur C. Parker’s classic book, Iroquois Uses of Maize and Other Food Plants, documents the astonishing diversity of Haudenosaunee agriculture. Based on early 20th-century fieldwork in New York, Ontario, and Quebec, Parker recorded not only the range of foods but also the recipes, terminology, and cultural contexts that guided their use. 

Maize was at the heart of this foodscape, with numerous varieties used for flour, hominy, and whole kernels. Thirteen types of beans and five varieties of squash were intercropped with corn in the renowned “Three Sisters” system. Melons, cucumbers, and husk tomatoes (also known as ground cherries) were cultivated alongside sunflowers grown for their seeds and oil. 

Foraged foods were equally important, supplementing the diet with wild peas, asparagus, mushrooms, puffballs, blueberries, grapes, plums, hickory nuts, and acorns. Arrowhead roots, cattails, and the sap of maple and birch added further diversity, both for sustenance and ceremony.  

This mix of cultivated and wild foods represented far more than calories; it was a system of resilience, reciprocity, and respect for the land. By diversifying their food sources, the Haudenosaunee developed economies that could withstand ecological changes while upholding cultural values of responsibility and abundance. 

Soil Regeneration

One of the greatest challenges of modern farming is soil degradation. Industrial agriculture often strips soil of nutrients, leaving it fragile and dependent on chemical inputs. The Haudenosaunee “Three Sisters” method offers an alternative. Corn provides a natural trellis for beans, beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and squash shades the ground to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Together they create a self-sustaining, regenerative system. 

Restoring such practices could play a key role in regenerating soils that have been depleted by centuries of extractive farming. It serves as a reminder that Indigenous agricultural knowledge has always been about working in harmony with nature rather than against it. 

Climate Mitigation

Indigenous agriculture is also a climate solution. Practices such as polycultures, perennial planting, and traditional land stewardship help store carbon, protect biodiversity, and stabilize water systems. 

  • Deep-rooted plants like wild rice, sunchokes, berry bushes, and sunflowers enrich soil, stabilize riverbanks, and filter toxins from water.
  • Polycultures, such as the Three Sisters system, reduce pest infestations, conserve moisture, and thrive in extreme climates. Learn more here.
  • Traditional stewardship practices, including controlled burning, wetland restoration, and responsible harvesting, help regulate local climates while protecting wildlife corridors.

Research indicates that Indigenous-managed lands are among Canada’s most effective carbon sinks. As Michael Twigg (2024) explains in his article on Indigenous agriculture, scaling these practices could transform agriculture into a climate-positive force. 

Economic Revival

Reintroducing Indigenous plant foods carries enormous economic promise. Crops like heritage beans, heirloom corns, and wild rice already perform well in niche markets, but the potential is far greater. Regional processing facilities, community-owned food businesses, and strengthened distribution networks could create livelihoods while retaining wealth within Indigenous nations.  

Across Canada, promising initiatives are already underway: 

  • Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative – A federal program funding infrastructure, training, and food-business development anchored in Indigenous crops. 
  • Prairie Research Kitchen & Métis Food Security Consortium – A Manitoba partnership developing Indigenous recipes, training students, and supporting community food businesses. 
  • Farm Credit Canada (FCC) – FCC projects that equitable Indigenous participation in agriculture could add $1.5 billion to Canada’s GDP, quadrupling the current value of Indigenous farm operations. Read more here. 
  • Untapped Potential – Studies suggest Indigenous-led agriculture could grow Canada’s economy by as much as $27 billion while advancing biodiversity and food sovereignty goals. 
  • Grassroots projects – Initiatives like Understanding Our Food Systems in Northwestern Ontario support First Nations to design food sovereignty plans rooted in community values. 

These examples demonstrate how Indigenous food economies can enhance food security, preserve cultural knowledge, and foster sustainable prosperity for both Indigenous nations and Canada as a whole. 

Health Reinvigoration

Literature, such as “Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples: Nutrition, Botany and Use ” (Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991), underscores how traditional diets supported strong health long before colonization. Foods like corn, beans, squash, berries, wild rice, and medicinal plants provided fibre, micronutrients, antioxidants, and lean proteins fueling immune strength and metabolic balance.  

The replacement of these foods with heavily processed, calorie-dense alternatives has fueled an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in Indigenous communities. Restoring traditional foods to modern diets could reduce these disparities while revitalizing cultural connections. 

Stewardship Over Exploitation

Reviving Indigenous food systems requires Indigenous leadership. Without it, there is a risk of commodification and appropriation cycles that repeat historical harms. Indigenous stewardship ensures cultural protocols, ecological respect, and intergenerational responsibility guide food economies. As BCA Global’s Food as Medicine highlights, Elders, knowledge keepers, and land-based educators are central to passing on stewardship values, ensuring food sovereignty endures. 

More Than Farming—Healing

At its heart, revitalizing Indigenous food economies is not only about growing food; it is also about preserving and promoting traditional knowledge and practices. It is about healing.

  • Healing the land through biodiversity, soil restoration, and water stewardship. 
  • Healing people through nutrient-rich ancestral foods that improve health and nourish the spirit. 
  • Healing relationships by renewing responsibilities between people, plants, and place. 
  • Healing economies through meaningful work that strengthens sovereignty and stewardship. 

This is responsible farming at its best: an economy that not only grows crops but also fosters hope. When we restore the food systems that once sustained us, we also regain balance with the land, with each other, and with future generations. 

 

Blog by Rye Karonhiowanen Barberstock

(Image Credit: Diego Marin, Unsplash)

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Food Sovereignty Indicators for the Health of Indigenous Communities

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Food security means that a community has stable and sufficient access to nutritious food. Climate change further threatens Indigenous communities from maintaining secure access to country foods. Indigenous food sovereignty is a means by which food security for Indigenous communities is achievable. Having measurable indicators for food sovereignty in Indigenous communities can go a long way in securing the long-term health of Indigenous peoples.

While food security focuses on protecting and distributing food and produce from existing food systems, food sovereignty emphasises having a democratic approach that engages all community members and food producers in building and sustaining local food systems. Food Secure Canada highlights seven pillars for food sovereignty:

  1. Focusing on food for people
  2. Building knowledge and skills
  3. Working with nature
  4. Valuing food providers
  5. Supporting local food systems
  6. Putting control into local initiatives
  7. Food as sacred/gift of life

Indigenous food sovereignty is action-oriented and connected to a broader social movement that considers the needs of future generations. However, determining how to gauge where progress is being made in securing the overall health of Indigenous communities through Indigenous food sovereignty is difficult to achieve. Every effort should also consider the capacity of Indigenous communities to be engaged for long-term engagement.

Indigenous food sovereignty indicators can be used to build both community food systems and improve overall community health. Through a literature review, content analysis, and Indigenous community engagement, a collective of Indigenous and non-Indigenous university researchers has identified seven Indigenous food sovereignty indicators:

  1. Access to resources
  2. Production
  3. Trade
  4. Food consumption
  5. Policy
  6. Community involvement
  7. Culture

An additional twenty-five sub-indicators are identified  and are intended to be transferable to diverse Indigenous communities across differences of “cultural values, history, traditions, geography governance, beliefs, resources, capacity, and goals.”

One of the limitations of this research is that current public policy does not typically connect food sovereignty with public health priorities and so the implementation of these Indigenous food sovereignty indicators will require leadership to meet community expectations that link food security with sustainable health and wellness in Indigenous communities. Indigenous food sovereignty indicators can also be used to frame health promotion initiatives at the local community level by supporting Indigenous approaches to farming, harvesting, cooking, and language revitalization in conjunction with enhancing scientific work.

Indigenous food sovereignty projects worth considering in terms of their efforts to build food security and to heal from centuries of colonization include: Ginawaydaganuc Food Sovereignty Project; a project of the Pauquachin and T’Sou-ke First Nations of South Vancouver Island called Feasting for Change; and projects led by 28 different organizational efforts worldwide. Many of the projects combine seed saving, financing, guidance and mentoring by Elders, food preparation, and feeding programs.

Indigenous-led food sovereignty projects, combined with an application of indicators to gauge for impact, could offer a powerful means to manage and overcome Indigenous food insecurity, while promoting long-term Indigenous community health in the context of climate change.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Johnny McClung, Unsplash)

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How Indigenous Sustainable Farming Practices Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change

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Biodiversity loss exacerbated by climate change puts Indigenous food systems at risk of slow erosion, if not sudden collapse. Sustainable farming practices, such as regenerative agriculture, intercropping, and polycultures are several ways that Indigenous peoples sustain the gifts of Mother Earth, such as soil and water, while growing crops to feed people. These farming practices are also being put into place by non-Indigenous farmers for sustainable development.

Regenerative agriculture is about revitalizing, rather than, degrading soil through farming. Regenerative practices promote energy sequestration in the soil and offsets greenhouse gas emissions. Planting the Three Sisters (i.e., beans, corn, and squash) is a form of intercropping, a practice where certain plants are sown and grown next to each other to build symbiotic relationships rather than competitive relationships with each other for water, oxygen, and soil. Polyculture contrasts with monoculture and industrial, commercialized farming practices whereby different crop species are planted next to each other at the same time to increase soil nutrients and reduce the risk of pests and rampant disease. Intercropping is a form of polyculture too. Together, these practices also combat food insecurity among Indigenous peoples, which is historically the result of land dispossession due to colonization.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has pointed to the importance of including Indigenous voices and agricultural practices in policy and planning. As noted in the FAO’s recent report, “the world cannot feed itself sustainably without listening to Indigenous Peoples.”

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Doan Tuan, Unsplash)

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Saving Seeds: Protecting the Planet and Seed Sovereignty

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Seed saving is about more than food; it is also about protecting future food crops on Mother Earth and facilitating Indigenous food sovereignty around the world. Saving seeds from one harvest to the next is necessary for Indigenous communities to meet their need for certain food crops, traditional medicines, as well as other cultural and social needs.

As a highly evolved process involving different stages, seed saving can include “optimal season times for seed saving, seed-saving rotations, containers, and storage units that lasted for hundreds of years, processes that considered pollination patterns and systems, and associated cultural meaning to different stages of the seed-saving process.” The importance of seed sovereignty has increased with the commercialization of seed markets. Seed sovereignty is “[t]he farmer’s right to breed and exchange diverse open-source seeds which can be saved and which are not patented, genetically modified, owned or controlled by emerging seed giants.” Seed sovereignty also aligns with “seven pillars of food sovereignty” that:

  • Focuses on food for people
  • Builds knowledge and skills
  • Works with nature
  • Values food providers
  • Localizes food systems
  • Puts control locally
  • Food is sacred.

Seed saving enables Indigenous communities to get back to their roots and to reconnect with Mother Earth. Saving seeds holds spiritual significance for Indigenous peoples. Seeds are understood as living beings from which humans are descended and with whom humans hold a reciprocal, if not symbiotic, relationship. Therefore, with seeds as their relatives, “members of an extended family,” Indigenous peoples must take care of them by preserving them for future generations.  Returning seeds to Mother Earth, their original home, is sometimes referred to as “seed rematriation.”

Seed banks and seed sanctuaries are vital repositories to protect the genetic diversity of food crops on the planet. They are intended to protect seeds for the future. There are seed sanctuaries operated by collaboratives, such as the Native American Seed Sanctuary, which involves Akwesasne, the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network, and until the end of May 2021, Seedshed.  Indigenous nations have also developed their own seed banks, such as the Cherokee Nation Seed Bank and the Kenhte:ke Seed Sanctuary and Learning Centre; the latter is managed by Ratinenhayén:thos in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The most significant seed bank on the planet is the Svalgard Global Seed Vault, located in Norway, which securely stores the world’s food crop diversity. The Cherokee Nation was the first Indigenous nation to contribute seeds to the vault.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, often referred to as “The Seed Treaty,” is “a global agreement on sharing and caring for seeds.” The Seed Treaty serves to ensure that there is genetic diversity in seeds for the world’s food; however, the treaty does little to protect Indigenous knowledge about the seeds, nor does it protect against commercial exploitation. Clear documentation and agreements are needed when seeds are first collected and deposited in seed banks in order to reinforce Indigenous peoples’ seed rights.

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Melanie Hughes, Unsplash)

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