Restoring traditional foods systems not only feeds the body but also the mind and spirit. – FNHA
May 09, 2023
Restoring traditional foods systems not only feeds the body but also the mind and spirit.
First Nations people in British Columbia (BC) have long known that food is more than just nourishment. Since time immemorial, traditional foods have provided First Nations with not just sustenance for the body but a pathway to wholistic wellness. Colonialism, however, disrupted this pathway, leading to lower health outcomes for First Nations peoples in BC.
That was the message by Dr. Charlotte Coté, professor in the department of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington, during her keynote address at the First Nations Health & Wellness Summit, April 4-6 in Vancouver. During her presentation, Dr. Coté urged the audience to “decolonize and re-Indigenize” their diet and food systems.
Dr. Coté, a member of the Tseshaht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, cites her own community’s efforts to meet these goals by planting a community garden on the grounds of a former residential school. Highlighting the spiritual connection between the land and the people, she talked about how the parcel of land was once barren, reflecting the pain and trauma that took place there. Once the community garden was planted, the harvest was bountiful, as if the land knew the community was healing itself and going back to its proverbial roots.
Read More: https://www.fnha.ca/about/news-and-events/news/finding-wholistic-wellness-through-traditional-foods
