An interdisciplinary research project co-led by the University of Toronto's Élyse Caron-Beaudoin is working to assess potential contamination in traditional Indigenous food sources in northeastern British Columbia - an effort that could help communities make informed decisions about their health, food security and land stewardship.
Traditional foods are central to Indigenous culture, nutrition and food security - but communities in northeastern B.C. have harboured concerns that industrial expansion and energy industry activity may be threatening their food sources and the health of people living in the area.
To address these concerns, Caron-Beaudoin, an assistant professor in U of T Scarborough's department of health and society, is collaborating with Marc-André Verner, a professor at Université de Montréal, and Julian Napoleon, a biologist, agrologist and member of Saulteau First Nation, to test for contaminants in food sources near First Nations communities in the Peace River Valley, including Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations.
The project was initiated at the request of local First Nations leadership, with Napoleon - who owns Amisk Farm , a small-scale vegetable market farm on Saulteau First Nation reserve - bringing both scientific expertise and lived experience to the project.
"We are a land-based people and our country foods are a defining component of our culture," Napoleon said. "The safety of these foods - especially for our mothers, babies and children - is essential to our cultural survival."
The project involves the creation of a biobank of traditional food samples, including wild berries, mushrooms, medicinal plants, fish and game. The samples are sent to Montreal, where levels of 22 different trace materials are measured. Isotopic tracing is then used to determine whether the metals are naturally occurring or the result of industrial activity.
In addition to food sampling, the team will recruit a cohort of 100 to 150 Indigenous adults living both on and off reserve and will assess their exposure to metals using blood, urine and hair samples. They will also collect and test tap water samples.
Caron-Beaudoin says it's important to promote the consumption of traditional foods, particularly in populations that are burdened by food insecurity, as such foods are nutritious, affordable and foster deep connections to culture and community.
"But the problem that we have in northeastern British Columbia is that because of the expanding industrial activity - whether it be oil and gas, mining, hydroelectricity - a lot of people are more and more hesitant to consume traditional foods because they're worried that it might have been contaminated by all this industrial activity," she says. "And that's really a fair and a valid concern."
The project is supported by $876,000 in funding over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research . Indigenous leadership is central to its design and implementation, in keeping with the principles of ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP) , which prioritize Indigenous data sovereignty and respect for First Nations' world views, knowledge and protocols.
"Everything that we do has to be approved by those partners, including all the questionnaires, the consent forms, the way we collect the data, who owns the data, who uses the data and in what way," Caron-Beaudoin says.
The researchers hope the project will provide First Nations in the Peace River Valley the information they need to safeguard traditional food sources if contamination is detected - or peace of mind in the event that it is not.
They note the region is part of Treaty 8 territory, with First Nations' traditional way of life - including consumption of traditional foods - protected under the treaty.
"If there are samples that are concerning, the Nations with whom we're partnering will be able to use that as a leverage with the province to have better regulation and protection of traditional foods," says Caron-Beaudoin.
