Indigenous food soverenty in Quesnel
Wensdej Guilbeault-Roballo – Program Assistant, ECHEN Healing Society, Quesnel
With rising food prices, and the growing numbers of families facing food insecurity in the North, Echen Healing Society in Quesnel is taking steps to identify, educate and revitalize Indigenous food systems within local Indigenous populations and peers.
ECHEN is an Indigenous led non-profit with a focus on support for the Urban Indigenous population. The organization touches on numerous areas from childcare, education and now food systems with the SUSTAIN – Supporting Unique Systems of Traditional and Indigenous Nutrition – initiative. Having started out as small meetings held with community elders and knowledge keepers (knows as I-Nurture), SUSTAIN now expands on the ideas brought to the table through community centered events designed to engage youth with food related traditions, pass knowledge from one generation to the next, explore how to Indigenize modern methods of food production, and facilitate the revitalization of Indigenous food systems in the region.
The original I-Nurture project started as an ideas lab project with Public Health Association of BC and bridged into a 12-month initiative kicked off in August of 2025 with NRT funding. The first of five community meetings helped shape the five Knowledge Sharing Gatherings where knowledge keepers and experts in the community were invited to sit on a panel to share their thoughts on the chosen subject for the event. The topics up for discussion included Traditional Camps, Gathering practices, Hunting and Ranching practices, Fishing Practices and Sustainability. Workshops with experts in the field at the events provided attendees the opportunity to expand on their skills and knowledge. Overall, the Knowledge Sharing Gatherings in August and November saw excellent community engagement with expectations for the gatherings in the New Year to share the same level of excitement.
SUSTAIN continued with the cooking demonstrations which invited guest chefs to come and share recipes that used traditional ingredients with community members. Foods like Salmon, Game Meat, Bannock opened discussions on our relationship with the foods we eat while creating the knowledge base to encourage healthier meal choices through what is seasonally available in the region. Through the cooking engagements, alongside our plant walks and deer processing demonstration, the community can expand their pallets, learn to identify and cook with foods native to the region while bringing the community together in strength. As more of these events are to be hosted in the new year, SUSTAIN facilitates the development of skills that participants can take home with them and continue to use in their everyday lives. The Snack and Shop days continue this goal as a combined cooking class and artisanal market where folks are welcome to join in on the learning, and shop from local Indigenous artisans and vendors.
As 2026 quickly approaches, Echen is exited to continue to share the message of SUSTAIN, through more knowledge sharing sessions, the addition of the Snack & Shop, and two Ice fishing Derby’s! For more information about the SUSTAIN project visit www.echenhealing.ca.