Towards relationality and resurgence in small-scale fisheries: The case of Indigenous food sovereignty in Batchewana First Nation

Keywords: food sovereignty; small scale fisheries; Great Lakes; sustainable food systems; reconciliation
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 24

Abstract

Indigenous peoples are at the heart of many struggles towards food sovereignty around the globe. In the minority world, much scholarly attention in this area has centered on land and reconciling relationships with White settler farmers. The role of water and fisheries, while equally at the centre of these struggles, has received far less attention. This paper presents insights from an Indigenous-settler action research project to document and support the efforts of Batchewana First Nation (BFN) on Lake Superior to exercise self-determination and jurisdiction over their Traditional fisheries. In 2019, we completed eleven in-depth interviews with fish harvesters, youth, Elders, and community leaders to document their experiences, knowledge, and struggles of fishing and fishing rights in relation to the state. In this paper, we engage with the idea of relationality as a lens for understanding the reciprocal and interdependent relationships surrounding BFN’s fisheries, as expressed through the interviews. Here, we adapt a relational paradigm proposed by Indigenous scholars Starblanket and Stark (2018) to consider the key concepts of knowledge, water, and temporality (including the relationship between tradition and modernity) as generative sites for resurgence in the community’s fisheries. We conclude by discussing the implications for political organizing towards food sovereignty in BFN and small-scale fisheries more broadly, including the roles and responsibilities of both Indigenous and settler peoples.