Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment Macdonald Campus of McGill University 21111 Lakeshore Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9 514.398.7544 www.cine.mcgill.ca McGill Thank you to our sponsors. Merci à nos commanditaires. Assembly of First Nations Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment Council of Yukon First Nations Dene Nation Health Canada Indian and Northern Affairs Canada International Development Research Centre International Plant Genetics Resources Institute Inuit Circumpolar Conference Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami McGill University Mohawk Council of Kahnawake National Aboriginal Health Organization New Sun Fund United Nations Economic and Social Council, Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT CHANGE Program 8:15 Registration 9:00 Welcome Chief Billy Two Rivers Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, Quebec 9:20 Associate Dean Diane Mather Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University Introduction to the Symposium 9:30 Professor Harriet Kuhnlein CINE 9:40 Chief Bill Erasmus Chair, CINE Governing Board Assembly of First Nations, Yellowknife Indigenous Peoples’ Perspectives on Global Environmental Change 9:50 Chief Bill Erasmus Chair, CINE Governing Board Assembly of First Nations, Yellowknife 10:05 Violet Ford Canadian Vice-President, Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Ottawa Stephanie Meakin Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Ottawa 10:20 Refreshment Break 10:30 Climate Change as an Influence on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Resources Professor Laurie Chan NSERC Northern Chair, CINE Scott Nichels Director, Environment Department, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Ottawa Valerie Assinewe Postdoctoral Fellow, CINE Working with Indigenous Peoples to Document Environmental Change 11:00 Professor Nancy Turner School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, British Columbia Not one single berry: Indigenous knowledge of environmental change in British Columbia 11:30 Professor Milton M.R. Freeman Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton Food for thought (and other important purposes) Lunch and Cultural Program 12:00 Eastern Door Dancers 1:20 Nukariit Throat Singers Moderators for the Afternoon 1:30 Professor Timothy Johns CINE Chief Bill Erasmus Chair, CINE Governing Board, Assembly of First Nations, Yellowknife Perspectives of Government on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues with Global Environmental Change: Canadian Initiatives 1:45 Sharon Lee Smith, Regional Director, Northern Secretariat, Health Canada representing Hon. Ethel Blondin-Andrew Government of Canada, Ottawa 2:00 Doris Cook CIHR - Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health, Ottawa 2:15 Richard Jock Executive Director, National Aboriginal Health Organization, Ottawa 2:30 Scott Nickels representing Russel Shearer Manager, Northern Contaminants Program, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa Understanding Global Issues in Food Biodiversity and Health of Indigenous Peoples 2:45 Pablo B. Ezyaguirre International Plant Genetics Resources Institute, Rome Role of Indigenous Peoples linking food culture to plant diversity 3:15 Professor T. Kue Young Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto Diabetes, nutrition, and the environment - Is there a connection? 3:45 Refreshment Break Perspectives and Initiatives of International Agencies on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues 4:00 Olivier Jalbert Secretariat, Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal 4:15 Mililani Trask Pacific Representative to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Hilo 4:30 Daniel Buckles Senior Development Officer, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa 4:45 Back to the Future: Traditional Knowledge and Scientific Discovery Professor Grace Egeland Canada Research Chair in Environment, Nutrition and Health, CINE Closing Ceremony Chief Billy Two Rivers Chief Bill Erasmus Refreshments SPEAKER ABSTRACTS CLIMATE CHANGE AS AN INFLUENCE ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ FOOD RESOURCES. L. Chan, C. Paci and S. Nichels. Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE) and the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University; Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK); Dene Nation, Yellowknife. CINE developed partnerships with ITK and Dene Nation to understand the implications of traditional food use resulting from climate change patterns. Speakers will address changes in migratory patterns, food availability and implications for food resources of Arctic communities. BACK TO THE FUTURE: TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. G. Egeland. Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE) and the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University. Culture guides scientific pursuit and influences the nature of the research questions being addressed and funded. Indigenous Peoples’ traditional cultures, knowledge and perspectives have typically been ignored in setting research agendas and in conducting research. Canada is now in the forefront of participatory research and efforts to find and develop synergy between the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples and health science can provide fertile ground for innovative advancements. ROLE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LINKING FOOD CULTURE TO PLANT DIVERSITY. P.B. Ezyaguirre. International Plant Genetics Resources Institute, Rome. The diversity of cultures has ben an important element in the domestication and use of diverse plant foods. The food uses of a crop can change as it moves from one environment and culture to another. Similarly, some plant varieties and species survive in unique environments because of their value in local food culture. Using examples from Africa, Asia and America the presenter shows how the recording and survival of distinctive food cultures is important for human health and the conservation of agricultural biodiversity. FOOD FOR THOUGHT (AND OTHER IMPORTANT PURPOSES). M.M.R. Freeman. Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton. Food, as well as providing the foundation of physical health, is also very important to our wellbeing as social and cultural beings. Indeed, it is these non-nutritional attributes of food that distinguish us, as humans, from all other life forms. This paper discusses the traditional knowledge and wisdom concerning the importance of food that is held by two quite distinct cultural groups. NOT ONE SINGLE BERRY: INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. N. Turner. School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, British Columbia. Indigenous elders throughout British Columbia have observed many changes in the productivity of their traditional food and other resources over the course of their own lifetimes. These changes are seen both in small details, such as the appearance of a single unusual bird in a community during a particular week, and at larger scales of time and space, such as in the widely observed lower productivity of berries and other plant food resources over the past several decades, and the extensive wildfires that have occurred recently. In order to understand and respond to environmental change, it is important for planners and policy- makers to recognize and respect Indigenous knowledge, and to collaborate with Indigenous experts in planning and decision-making at all levels. DIABETES, NUTRITION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT - IS THERE A CONNECTION? T. Kue Young. Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto. Diabetes is an emerging disease among many Indigenous Peoples are the world; in some populations it is regarded as an epidemic. This presentation will focus on Indigenous Peoples of North America, particularly Canada, and look at the environmental and nutritional factors which promote it’s development in individuals and in populations. The approach is its prevention and control will ultimately also depend on individual efforts and collective actions, targetting modifiable factors in nutrition and the environment. POSTERS PRESENTATIONS DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROCHEMICAL BIOMARKERS OF MERCURY TOXICITY IN WILDLIFE. N. Basu, M. Gamberg, K. Klenavic, D. Evans, A.M. Scheuhammer and H.M. Chan. Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE) and the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University. ESTIMATION OF USUAL CONTAMINANT INTAKE IN INUIT COMMUNITIES IN CANADA USING BOTH 24-HOUR RECALL AND FOOD FREQUENCY DATA. P. Berti, H.M. Chan and H.V. Kuhnlein. Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE) and the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University. WEB-BASED NUTRITION COURSES FOR FIRST NATIONS AND INUIT COMMUNITIES. H.M. Chan. Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE), McGill University. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ INGENUITY IN PRESERVING DIVERSITY IN FOOD CROPS AND PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT THROUGH TRADITIONAL PRACTICES - A CASE STUDY IN KARNATAKA, INDIA. D.M. Chandargi, K.C. Shashidhar and V. Sosle. University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580005, Karnataka, India and Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University. NUTRITIONAL VULNERABILITY OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN OF THE AMERICAS - A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE. S. Damman. University of Oslo and Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE), McGill University. SOCIAL CONTEXT, PSYCHOSOCIAL STATUS AND OBESITY IN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF CANADA AND AUSTRALASIA: MAPPING AND TESTING MULTI-LEVEL PATHWAYS FOR INTERVENTION. M. Daniel,