Collaborative and creative land planning in Canada’s north : supporting wild plant harvest through participatory action research in Whitehorse, Yukon ...

• Main Author: Panchyshyn, Kelly
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2021
• Subjects: Whitehorse; Yukon
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0401786; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0401786

A 2017 survey of the residents of Whitehorse, Yukon, indicated that over 60% secure at least a portion of their food from foraged sources (City of Whitehorse, 6). Yet, strategies for the protection of wild harvest spaces and practices are seldom addressed within local food and land planning. Working in partnership with the Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN), I examine the impact of omitting harvest from planning and what it would mean to chart a new course. This research reveals that the decision to exclude harvest not only harms northern and Indigenous foodways but perpetuates colonial, capitalist, and patriarchal power dynamics. Ultimately, neglect for harvest cannot be separated from historical and ongoing attempts to undermine the knowledge and authority of Indigenous Peoples and, more specifically, Indigenous women. When activities like plant foraging are deemed feminine, they are left out of land planning on the assumption that they cannot or do not contribute adequately to the financial and physical ...