Guide
Inuit communities living in the harsh polar climate of Nunatsiavut, Canada, face many challenges – notably the food crisis. On the one hand, the five Inuit communities that are not connected to the road face high food transportation costs and the risk of delays; on the other hand, climate change and ecological destruction make it more difficult to hunt animals.
To this end, the local Inuit, driven by the spirit of "qanuqtuurniq", that is, "innovation" or "resourcefulness", embarked on a path of food innovation that runs through ancient and modern times. An important step they took was the introduction of cold storage for their own use by communities, an innovative development of the Inuit ancient prey storage tradition in modern times. The local government has also partnered with Canada's national parks to find new reindeer hunting spots in the south, ensuring ecological balance while increasing residents' access to quality food.
In addition to the above-mentioned innovations on food security, other innovative programmes on the psychological, spiritual and community well-being of local populations are having a greater impact. These programs combine Inuit values and lifestyles with practical problem solving, sowing the seeds of Inuit culture in the hearts of the next generation, strengthening the bonds that hold the Inuit community stronger, and inspiring and inspiring social innovation practices throughout Canada.
In the Inuit community in Labrador, Canada, children are playing in the twilight. Photography / Darren Calabrezer (image from the Internet)
Topic Editors: Fu Chenchen, Yao Sen
Topic Advisor: Jiang Jidong
Author: Anne Animick, Tracy Sarazin
Translation: Ou Jierui, Mei Xiaomeng, Yu Kun
Nunatsiavut – A beautiful and special place in Canada, it is an Autonomous Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador province, with around 2,300 Inuit residents along its coast.
The community they make up is small in size and remote, but closely connected, dotted between glacial rivers and picturesque mountains. For thousands of years, people who have lived in NunaziaFort have lived and worked in peace and contentment, with close family, community and cultural ties on this land. But to live in the harshest climates in the world, they also need a magic weapon – the "qanuqtuurniq" spirit, which means "innovation" or "resourcefulness" in Inuktitut; guided by this spirit, they work together to overcome the difficulties of living in this Arctic region.
The food crisis is one of the challenges. There are no direct roads in The five communities of Ford in Nunazia, making them highly dependent on shops that must be transported by air or ship to buy food. Complex logistics and high costs have greatly increased food prices, and there is no guarantee that food will be delivered at all times. Earlier this year, transport delays exacerbated the local food crisis.
As sea ice thins and their migration patterns shift, these communities in the north are also deeply aware of the effects of climate change. Even the most skilled hunters face tougher food challenges. Coupled with the sharp decline in the reindeer herd on the George River (which led to the recent ban on reindeer killing (a staple of the Labrador Inuit diet), a crisis began. In May, the Government of Nunazia Fort released statistics from the Household Food Security Survey, which showed that 61 per cent of households in the region were not food-safe. In a community, more than 80 per cent of households are affected by the food crisis.
01, # Learn from the innovation of ancient and modern times
Today, community after community is responding to these problems with social innovations (methods) that borrow from ancient and modern times, and strive to make more people access healthy and nutritious food. The Nunazia Ford community began to leverage the inuit tradition of sharing and supply, as well as the values of "qanuqtuurniq" to address high food prices, the food crisis and the effects of climate change.
One example is the introduction of modern community cold storage, which was set up by the Government of Nunazia Ford and served and operated by the communities themselves. The use of these cold stores marks a revival of the idea that dates back to the semi-nomadic days of the Inuit – hunters would collect food and bring it back to be stored in permafrost underground that everyone in the community could enjoy; people would simply take the food they needed and leave the rest to others.
Today's cold storage is innovative on the basis of the past. Each community decides independently how to use its cold storage, including what food to buy or donate, and what supplies (gasoline, bullets, etc.) are provided to the hunters who supply food to the cold storage. This practice creates opportunities for trade between communities, contributes to increased food diversity and creates conditions for food sovereignty.
While conserving biodiversity and animal populations, the region has taken creative initiatives to increase residents' access to quality food. As mentioned earlier, the local government recently imposed a hunting ban to curb the decline in reindeer populations, which has had a significant impact on communities that rely on reindeer as a food source.
In response, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources of the Government of Nunazia, in partnership with Parks Canada, allowed Labrador Inuit to hunt moose in Gros Morne National Park on the island of Newfoundland, a three-hour flight south from Nain, one of the affected communities. This initiative provides an alternative to a major food source for locals and alleviates the excess reindeer that wreaks havoc on the park's vegetation.
A woman fishes in the Nairn community in the Autonomous Community of Nunazia, Newfoundland and Labrador. Photo by Kristen McTavish
02. # Psychological, spiritual and community well-being
While solutions to these food crisis problems are critical to the dynamism of NunaziaFort, those that focus more broadly on physical, mental, spiritual and community well-being are having an equal or even greater impact. These projects, designed "around the whole", "community-based", and "rooted in local culture", are producing seed practices that sustain community development while bringing Inuit knowledge and values to new generations.
One example is a project called "Get Out and Thrive," which connects Inuit youth with skilled hunters. Each participant will be paired with a mentor who teaches them skills such as hunting, fishing, trapping, and more to help keep the community safe. Inuit youth will also learn important cultural traditions such as building kamutik (an Inuit sleigh) and smoking chambers to process the food they catch. The project not only passes on skills from generation to generation to provide additional food for communities, but also helps build resilience among young people facing widespread social, environmental and cultural change.
Nunazia Ford is currently developing a food security strategy for the region based on these innovations. But what is most exciting about Canada's future is the larger shift that is taking place: combining Inuit values and lifestyles with local solutions. By rightly supporting and investing in holistic, community-driven and effective initiatives, the rest of Canada has ample potential to build on the vast array of innovations already in place in the Nunazia Ford region.
This article is supported by Loblaw Companies Limited.
Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review official website, first published in the winter of 2018
原标题：《A Path to Community Driven Food Innovation》
Author: Annie Aningmiuq is an Inuitk woman from Nunavut's Pangnirtung and is the Participatory Coordinator of the Canadian Community Foundation;
Tracy Sarazin is a local policy and research consultant from Nunavot.