NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: North Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, dene culture, traditional food, traditional knowledge, Tlîchô, culture, ethnography

Objective(s): To examine Tlicho relationships with the environment, specifically with food-animals, through the lens of foodways - the beliefs, practices, rituals, and culture around food.

Project Description: To examine Tlicho relationships with the environment, specifically with food-animals, through the lens of foodways - the beliefs, practices, rituals, and culture around food. The hypothesis is that an ethnographic study of foodways will reveal a dynamic social relationship with animals and other beings in the environment. This research will involve the Rae-Edzo Friendship Center and local harvesters. The methodology is predominantly an imbedded ethnography; wherein the Principal Investigator (PI) will live, travel, and share in the foodways of many Tlicho citizens. Central to this study will be the commensality, or to “share in a meal,” with the research participants. The research team intends on engaging a variety of people, predominantly in the community of Behchoko. The majority of the research participants have been identified on a previous, exploratory trip that the Principal Investigator took to Behchoko in the spring of 2011, they consist of bi-lingual harvesters and community members with a knowledge of traditional foodways, and an interest in changing diet patters of the Tlicho today. This study will culminate in a dissertation for the principal researchers’ doctoral degree. The dissertation will be shared with all the Tlicho participants of the study and a copy given to the local government. In addition the PI may also present at conferences and publish articles based on the study. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from April 13, 2013 to October 20, 2013.