HUNU 525 Indigenous Health in Dietetics
Tabitha Robin, MCM 221
Email: Tabitha.Robin@ubc.ca
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10-11am or email for other times
Concepts and experiences of Indigenous health and wellbeing are complex, and are based in and within a robust relational web of connections between land, culture, and spirit. Through processes of colonization, Indigenous peoples, communities, and their relationships to land, culture, and spirit were targeted, with the goal of eliminating Indigenous foods, lands, and bodies, and later assimilating Indigenous peoples into the “body politic”. Indeed, the story of the colonization of Canada is the story of the colonization of Indigenous food systems. Consequently, Indigenous diets have been and continue to be deeply affected by colonial history and policy. Recently, the concept of Indigenous food sovereignty has provided a lens for examining the complexity of Indigenous food systems and is grounded in the idea that Indigenous people should self-determine their food systems and cultural traditions.
This course will cover the history of the colonial food system, and explore the intersection of Indigenous diets and health including determinants of health, racism in health care, accessing traditional foods, Indigenous food sovereignty, and land-based practice.
Classes will be held once a week for 3-hours with occasional visits to xʷc̓ic̓əsəm, the Indigenous Health and Research Garden, based on weather conditions. Classes are considered to be a living, breathing space that we all contribute to: your engagement is key to learning, unlearning, and re-learning together. Prior to class time, students are expected to complete readings and access multimedia materials. Please set aside at least 4 hours for reading the resources on the weekly reading list. This course emphasizes engagement over participation via sharing and learning circles.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
| Assessment Activities | Description | Contribution to Final Grade (%) |
| Reflection Papers | Based on a theme presented in class, students are required to provide a written critical reflection during weeks 1-5. These reflections should be 500 words. Importantly, I am not looking for article or discussion summaries, but your insight, ideas, and thoughts about the articles, discussions, and activities. Please include the total word count at the bottom of your reflection. Assignment should be double spaced, 12-point font. |
There are five required reflections, each worth 5 marks for a total of 25 marks for all reflections. 25% Due: January 13, January 20, January 27, February 3, February 10 |
| Teaching and Learning: Student Facilitation |
On the first day of class, you will sign up to lead one of the class discussions. You will develop questions that will stimulate discussion about the readings and lead a discussion in class. You will have one hour total for your presentation. You can bring in a video, news article, food, or activity that relates to the topic for each week. Please relate the course material to dietetics study and/or practice.
Each presentation should include key terms, discussion facilitation, and an activity.
You will also hand in a maximum one-page summary of 3 key concepts you presented in paragraph form. |
30% (for presentation) 5% (key terms summary) Due: Various times throughout the semester |
| Moving Forwards Final Paper | Students will develop an implementation plan for one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action or one of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls 231 Calls to Justice. In the implementation plan, you will present an idea for how dietetics study and/or practice can operationalize one of the calls to action or calls to justice. The paper must include an introduction to the issue, a description of the call you are responding to, and a conclusion. The body of the text should focus on your response to the call, with an emphasis on health, wellness, and/or healing. The paper must be 15-20 pages in length, double spaced, 12-point font. |
40%
Due: April 18, 2025 |
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS/READINGS:
Week One: Worldviews Colliding
Learning Objective: Be able to describe an Indigenous knowledge system and relate this to your own learning.
Read: Little Bear, L. (2000). Jagged worldviews colliding. In M. Battiste (Ed.). Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision, 77–85.
Explore: https://native-land.ca/Links to an external site.
Listen: Sterritt, A. (2022). A Village Burned. Land Back. CBC. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e5-a-village-burned/id1652564447?i=1000588772121Links to an external site.
Read: Assembly of First Nations. (2018). Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery
https://www.afn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/18-01-22-Dismantling-the-Doctrine-of-Discovery-EN.pdf
Week Two: The Colonial Food System
Learning Objective: Be able to understand the history of colonization on Indigenous food systems.
Read: Robin, T., Dennis, M. K., & Hart, M. A. (2022). Feeding Indigenous people in Canada. International Social Work, 65(4), 652–662. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872820916218
Read: Mintz, C. (2019). The history of food in Canada is the history of colonialism. https://thewalrus.ca/the-history-of-food-in-canada-is-the-history-of-colonialism/
Read: Burnett, K. & Hay, T. (2023). Chapter 2: Constructing Dependency. Plundering the North: A history of settler colonialism, corporate welfare, and food insecurity. University of Manitoba Press.
Read: Turner, N. J., & Turner, K. L. (2008). “Where our women used to get the food”: cumulative effects and loss of ethnobotanical knowledge and practice; case study from coastal British Columbia. Botany, 86(2), 103-115.
Week Three: Residential Schools, 60s Scoop, Child Welfare, and Indian Hospitals
Learning Objective: Be able to understand the affects of colonialism on Indigenous diets, bodies, and spirits. Be able to understand intergenerational trauma.
Read: Mosby, I. (2013). Administering colonial science: Nutrition research and human biomedical experimentation in Aboriginal communities and residential schools, 1942–1952. Histoire sociale/Social history, 46(1), 145-172.
Read: Bombay, A., McQuaid, R. J., Young, J., Sinha, V., Currie, V., Anisman, H., & Matheson, K. (2020). Familial attendance at Indian residential school and subsequent involvement in the child welfare system among Indigenous adults born during the sixties scoop era. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 15(1), 62-79
Read: Hackett, F. P., Abonyi, S., & Dyck, R. F. (2016). Anthropometric indices of First Nations children and youth on first entry to Manitoba/Saskatchewan residential schools—1919 to 1953. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 75(1), 30734.
Read: McCallum, M. J. L. (2017). Starvation, experimentation, segregation, and trauma: Words for reading Indigenous health history. Canadian Historical Review, 98(1), 96-113.
Read: Lux, M. K. (2010). Care for the ‘racially careless’: Indian hospitals in the Canadian west, 1920–1950s. Canadian Historical Review, 91(3), 407-434.
Week Four: Indigenous Wellbeing
Learning Objective: Be able to understand Indigenous concepts of health and wellbeing. Be able to describe the relationship between Indigenous food and wellbeing.
Read: Dennis, M. K., & Robin, T. (2020). Healthy on our own terms: Indigenous wellbeing and the colonized food system. Journal of Critical Dietetics, 5(1), 4-11.
Read: Tsuji, S. R., Zuk, A. M., Solomon, A., Edwards-Wheesk, R., Ahmed, F., & Tsuji, L. J. (2023). What Is Wellbeing, and What Is Important for Wellbeing? Indigenous Voices from across Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(17), 6656.
Read: McGuire-Adams, T. (2017). Anishinaabeg women’s stories of wellbeing: Physical activity, restoring wellbeing, and confronting the settler colonial deficit analysis. Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing, 2(3), 90-104.
Read: Parlee, B., Berkes, F., & Gwich’in, T. I. (2005). Health of the land, health of the people: a case study on Gwich’in berry harvesting in northern Canada. EcoHealth, 2, 127-137.
Week Five: Land-Based Practice
Learning Objective: Practice good relations with the land. Be able to describe the role and potential of land-based practices to Indigenous health and wellbeing.
Required Reading and Resources:
Read: Gaudet, J. C. (2021). Project George: An Indigenous Land-Based Approach to Resilience for Youth. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 16(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.32799/ijih.v16i2.31668Links to an external site.
Listen: All My Relations: Healing the land IS Healing Ourselves. Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/healing-the-land-is-healing-ourselves/id1454424563?i=1000475953710Links to an external site.
Read: Stelkia, K., Beck, L., Manshadi, A., Fisk, A. J., Adams, E., Browne, A. J., ... & Reading, J. (2021). Letsemot, “Togetherness”: Exploring how connection to land, water, and territory influences health and wellness with First Nations Knowledge Keepers and youth in the Fraser Salish Region of British Columbia. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 16(2).
Read: Big-Canoe, K., & Richmond, C. A. (2014). Anishinaabe youth perceptions about community health: Toward environmental repossession. Health & place, 26, 127-135.
Week Six: Indigenous Food Sovereignty
Learning Objective: Be able to describe Indigenous food sovereignty. Be able to understand the importance of Indigenous food sovereignty. Be able to consider your own food sovereignty.
Required Readings and Resources:
Read: Davies, N. (2023). This colonization is (not) a death: Grief, love, and regenerative relationality of Indigenous seed keeping through climate change. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 12, 67-73.
Read: Ray, L., Burnett, K., Cameron, A., Joseph, S., LeBlanc, J., Parker, B., ... & Sergerie, C. (2019). Examining Indigenous food sovereignty as a conceptual framework for health in two urban communities in Northern Ontario, Canada. Global health promotion, 26(3_suppl), 54-63.
Read: Cote, C. (2022). Indigenous food sovereignty: Realizing its potential for Indigenous decolonization, self-determination, and community health. In M. Greenwood, S. de Leeuw, R. Stout, R. Larstone & J. Sutherland (Eds.), Introduction to Determinants of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples health in Canada (pp. 225-236). Canadian Scholars.
Read: Morrison, D. (2020). Reflections and realities: Expressions of food sovereignty in the fourth world. In P. Settee, & S. Shukla (Eds.), Indigenous food systems: Concepts, cases and conversations (pp. 17- 38). Canadian Scholars.
Week Seven: Determinants of Health
Learning Objective: Be able to describe the context of Indigenous peoples’ health and wellbeing.
Read: National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health. (2016). Culture and language as social determinants of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis health. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58829365c534a576e10e3a5c/t/60887c3b6cf56b77bbb3fdc7/1619557436161/RL-CultureLanguage-SDOH-FNMI-EN.pdfLinks to an external site.
Read: Oster, R. T., Grier, A., Lightning, R., Mayan, M. J., & Toth, E. L. (2014). Cultural continuity, traditional Indigenous language, and diabetes in Alberta First Nations: A mixed methods study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13(1), 92. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-014-0092-4Links to an external site.
Read: Siouï, M., Montambault, P, Deschêne, M., Paul, M., Messaoud, B., & Gray, R. (2023). Youth protection, social determinants of health, and reappropriation of decision-making power: Quebec First Nations demands. In M. Greenwood, S. de Leeuw, R. Stout, R. Larstone & J. Sutherland (Eds.), Introduction to Determinants of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples health in Canada (pp. 180-194). Canadian Scholars.
Read: Morriseau, T. S. (2022). Determinants of wellness: a perspective on diabetes and indigenous health. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 46(6), 551-552.
Week Eight: Threats to Indigenous Food Systems
Learning Objective: Be able to understand the challenges between government, industry, and Indigenous peoples. Be able to describe current threats to Indigenous food systems.
Read: Robin, T., Burnett, K., Parker, B., & Skinner, K. (2021). Safe Food, Dangerous Lands? Traditional Foods and Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Frontiers in Communication, 6, 749944. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.749944
Read: Whyte, K. (2020). Too late for indigenous climate justice: Ecological and relational tipping points. WIREs Climate Change, 11(1), e603. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.603Links to an external site.
Read: Tobias, J. K., & Richmond, C. A. (2014). “That land means everything to us as Anishinaabe….”: Environmental dispossession and resilience on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Health & Place, 29, 26-33.
Read: McGregor, D., Whitaker, S., & Sritharan, M. (2020). Indigenous environmental justice and sustainability. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 43, 35-40.
Week Nine: “Healthy” Eating
Learning Objective: Be able to understand the history of food interventions for Indigenous peoples. Critically analyze concepts of healthy eating for Indigenous peoples.
Read: Read: Burnett, K. & Hay, T. (2023). Chapter 3: “Making Proper Use”: The Family Allowance Program and Forced Purchasing Lists. Plundering the North: A history of settler colonialism, corporate welfare, and food insecurity. University of Manitoba Press.
Read: Wilson, T., & Shukla, S. (2020). Pathways to Revitalization of Indigenous Food Systems: Decolonizing Diets through Indigenous-focused Food Guides. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 9(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2020.094.003Links to an external site.
Read: Gillon, A. (2020). Fat Indigenous bodies and body sovereignty: An exploration of re-presentations. Journal of Sociology, 56(2), 213-228.
Read: Belcourt, B. R. (2018). Meditations on reserve life, biosociality, and the taste of non-sovereignty. Settler Colonial Studies, 8(1), 1-15.
Listen: Kimmerer, R.W. (2022). The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-serviceberry/Links to an external site.
Week Ten: Racism in Health Systems
Learning Objective: Be able to understand where and how racism is located within health systems.
Required Readings and Resources:
Read: Gouldhawke, M. (2021). The failure of federal Indigenous healthcare policy in Canada. Yellowhead Institute: Edmonton, AB, Canada. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2021/02/04/the-failure-of-federal-indigenous-healthcare-policy-in-canada/
Read: Lavallee, B. & Harding, L. (2022). How Indigenous-specific racism is coached into health systems. In A. Gebhard, S. McLean, & V. St. Denis (Eds.), White benevolence: Racism and colonial violence in the helping professions (p. 51-68). Fernwood.
Read: Smylie, J., Harris, R., Paine, S. J., Velásquez, I. A., & Lovett, R. (2022). Beyond shame, sorrow, and apologies—action to address indigenous health inequities. bmj, 378.
Read: Jongbloed, K., Hendry, J., Behn Smith, D., & Gallagher kʷunuhmen, J. (2023, May). Towards untying colonial knots in Canadian health systems: A net metaphor for settler-colonialism. In Healthcare Management Forum (p. 08404704231168843). SAGE Publications.
Week Eleven: Good Practice: A Conversation with Indigenous Dietitians
Learning Objectives: Learn first-hand experiences and practices from Indigenous dietitians.
Week Twelve: Moving Forward: Responsibilities and Reflections
Learning Objectives: Be able to describe your learning journey in this course. Be able to consider personal responsibilities towards the land and Indigenous peoples. Practice reciprocity for your learning.
Required Readings and Resources:
Read: Jewell, E., & Mosby, I. (2023). Calls to action accountability: A 2023 status update on reconciliation. Yellowhead Institute. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/trc/Links to an external site.
Read: Jewell, E. (2024). “A Decade of Disappointment: Reconciliation & the System of a Crown.” Yellowhead Institute. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2024/09/30/a-decade-of-disappointment-reconciliation-the-system-of-a-crown/
Week Thirteen: Working Class
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values academic honesty and students areexpected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions.
Details of the policies and how to access support are available on the UBC Senate website.
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to follow UBC policies for academic integrity and academic misconduct, which includes practices around plagiarism, referencing and citation, and copyright. For more see, UBC's Learning Commons Academic Integrity resources
Accessibility
If you have any challenges accessing materials that will impact your success in this course, UBC’s Centre for Accessibility can support your needs by providing appropriate accommodations to support you. Please visit the UBC’s Centre for Accessibility and/or email accessibility@ubc.ca.
Learning Resources
The Faculty of Education has a number of resources to support learning.
Equity and Diversity at UBC
UBC embraces equity and diversity as integral to our academic mission. We encourage and support participation of the widest range of perspectives in our exploration and exchange of knowledge and ideas. An essential component of academic excellence is a truly open and diverse community that actively fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or excluded. Thus, UBC is committed to fostering a living, learning, and working environment to which all can contribute and within which all can thrive.
An environment that fosters equity inspires innovation in teaching, research, scholarship, and service. It enhances wide-reaching opportunities for mentoring. Its diverse communities and varied experience and expertise will make it a welcoming destination for the best and brightest faculty, staff, and students.
The Use of Generative Artificial intelligence (AI) Tools in this Course
Students are permitted to use AI tools for formative work, such as gathering information or brainstorming but may not use it for any final submissions. Any final submissions should be written in your own words, based on your own ideas and experiences. Use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools should be properly and clearly cited. A key expectation of academic integrity for students is completing their own work. Any submissions that are suspected of being created using generative AI will be considered academic misconduct.