Settler colonial food systems: Molly Stollmeyer, Tensions in fostering ‘local food’ in the Northwest Territories: Contending with Settler Colonialism in Northern Research, MA dissertation, Carleton University, 2021 | settler colonial studies blog

Settler colonial food systems: Molly Stollmeyer, Tensions in fostering ‘local food’ in the Northwest Territories: Contending with Settler Colonialism in Northern Research, MA dissertation, Carleton University, 2021

19Jul21

Abstract: Most food systems challenges in the Northwest Territories(NWT), including extractivism, climate change, and restrictive policies, are bound to processes of settler colonialism. Researchers working in northern contexts typically recognize the disruptive role colonialism had in shaping foodways, but often fail to contend with the ongoing realities of colonial forces and the role research has in upholding them. This thesis is situated in tensions I encountered in two research engagements working to support “local” food systems in the NWT: a community-academic partnership through FLEdGE Research and a traditional research project supported through a Mitacs fellowship. My aspirations to develop these engagements into a community-based participatory research (CBPR) thesis project brought me to the realization that settler colonialism had been insufficiently attended to. This thesis is the result of a reflexive analysis of my engagements as a southern-based settler researcher working in the North. It involves critically revisiting my preliminary fieldwork, interviews and observations, as well asliteraturesread, and writings formulated throughout my journey as a graduate student. It argues that southern-based researchers must attend to the ways our research reinforces harmful colonial narratives about the North and actively work to disrupt colonial continuities.

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