Recap: Indigenous Food Sovereignty Workshop
In November, Land to Table co-hosted an Indigenous Food Sovereignty workshop on the “From the Ground Up: Toolkit for Indigenous Food Sovereignty Planning” in Revelstoke with the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS), the Indigenous Friendship Society of Revelstoke (IFSR) and the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative. The toolkit is a comprehensive guide developed by WGIFS, who brought three staff to facilitate the three-day workshop. The event gathered Indigenous food champions for facilitated discussions and activities and built shared understanding within a network of organizations and people leading Indigenous food projects. Participants included staff from Interior Health, School District 22, The Lower Samilkameen’s Ntamtqen Community Garden & Food Hub, Xeni Gwet’in Climate Readiness Initiative, Colville Tribes Language Program, Indigenous Rise Up Wellness, the Cwelcwelt Kuc Garden, Okanagan Indian Band’s Sun Valley Ranch and Food Security Initiative, as well as staff and board members from Land to Table, IFSR, and the Local Food Initiative.
Along with three days of intense learning, the hosting organizations engaged the group in an on-the-land visioning exercise to inform the development of the Food Commons in Revelstoke, a co-managed educational and community farm that honors Indigenous foodways and supports food security for present and future generations. The group also shared beautiful dinners catered by Land to Table Catering, an Indigenous-owned catering business (not affiliated with us – Land to Table Network Society – though we like each other a lot). Chantelle Eustache, chef and owner, both participated in the workshop and shared her gift of cooking with the group.
The “From the Ground Up: Toolkit for Indigenous Food Sovereignty Planning” is developed to support Indigenous communities in reclaiming and strengthening their food systems. It integrates ancestral knowledge and practices with modern strategies for decolonization, addressing systemic issues such as land dispossession, institutional racism, and climate justice. The toolkit, structured into four Bundles, offers resources on terminology, community engagement, addressing systemic challenges, and assessing and creating conditions for food sovereignty. It is designed for Indigenous leaders, planners, and allies committed to fostering regenerative, culturally grounded food systems. Access to the toolkit includes training workshops to ensure responsible use and alignment with Indigenous values and contexts.
If you are interested in engaging with the toolkit and participating in a workshop with WGIFS, please contact Dawn Morrison at dawn.morrison@wgifs.org.
Land to Table Catering can be reached by emailing Chantelle at landtotablecatering@gmail.com.
