Growing Community Sustenance: The Social Economy as a Route to Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Abstract

While the social economy can achieve many positive outcomes, one recent benefit is that it can be a route to Indigenous food sovereignty—a restorative framework for feeding communities and engaging in decolonization. This article examines how some Indigenous groups in Canada use the social economy to build food sovereignty, beginning with an overview of cultural relationships with food, its place in an Indigenous worldview, and the effect of colonization on Indigenous foodways. After introducing food sovereignty, and in particular Indigenous food sovereignty, it focuses on how some Indigenous communities are using the social economy to build food sovereignty, using the example of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of community and food sovereignty, not only for Indigenous Peoples but also for the social economy itself.