Reflecting On The Past to Envision The Future: Visions for food security and food sovereignty in Northern Ontario First Nations

In 2024, Northern Ontario First Nations community members came together to share memories of past and present food systems, and to envision the future of food systems. Discussions from participatory focus groups and “wisdom dialogues” emphasized desires to be self-sustaining, to bring back traditions, and to (re)learn to use what already exists from the land. In this presentation, we will outline our approach to community-led research dialogues that foster processes of communication, knowledge exchange, and problem-solving in a non-hierarchical space that supports engagement, mutual respect, community research ownership and collaboration. We will highlight how we (research team, community partners) co-developed and implemented locally adapted methods and tools to understand and reflect on community memories of food systems and climate change - and how we moved towards co-analyzing the current food system challenges, and envisioning futures through an iterative, action-learning process. We will share some of the high level findings and outputs from research, and outline avenues for further research and action.