Country Foods focuses on food sovereignty in northern Manitoba

Country Foods is a place that always runs out of pickerel cheeks.

The shop hums with five large deep-freezes that line the walls in a section of the wooden building in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

The freezers are typically full of pickerel, whitefish, bison, moose, elk and geese harvested locally, then redistributed to elders and families in need for no cost.

"To feed the people we serve, like elders, single parents and the disabled people that can't go out in the land to enjoy moose meat, fresh fish, berries, medicine — it's vital for the community to have," Country Foods manager Malcolm Hunter told CBC.

The Country Foods program was launched in the early 1990s, after discussions in the northern Manitoba First Nation highlighted the need for food sovereignty. The program's mandate is to gather and distribute traditional foods for people in Nisichawayasihk.

Elder Johnnie Hunter, who is among the locals who help supply the traditional food, has been harvesting from the land since he was a youth.

"It's very helpful. The way I look at it, a lot of people don't have the means to go out and hunt and fish. Back in the day it was easy, you know — before the flood. But now it's next to impossible to go out," he said.

The flood is the aftermath of the Churchill River Diversion, which diverts water from the Churchill River to the Nelson River basin, in order to increase the water flow to larger generating stations on the lower Nelson River, according to Manitoba Hydro.

The diversion system, which has been in operation since 1976, is among the Hydro projects that have been criticized by northern Manitoba First Nation communities for their environmental and social impacts.

A report released in 2018 by the Clean Environment Commission, an arm's-length provincial agency, detailed environmental and social harms from hydro projects in the region, including declining fish and wildlife population. 

Before the flooding, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation was a great place to harvest, Johnnie said, but now the water is murky and its levels vary constantly, making it hard for hunters and harvesters to navigate the lakes and rivers. Some commercial fishers have even died on the waters, he said.

With environmental and safety concerns, people now have to travel farther to fish, hunt, pick berries and collect medicine, the elder said, leading to extra costs that add a barrier for harvesters.

"It's very detrimental to the livelihood of the people, and I don't think it's going to change — not for a long time."

Partnering with local organizations

The cost barrier is something the Country Foods program is trying to address, with funding allocated to compensate harvesters for their travel and time. The program also lends out gear, and offers equipment in the shop, such as a meat grinder, that people from Nisichawayasihk can use free of charge.

The budget for Country Foods is modest, Malcolm Hunter said, when taking into consideration overhead, staffing and costs to contract harvesters.

The program is funded by the Nisichawayasihk Taskinigahp Trust Office, which has two trusts as part of an agreement with Manitoba Hydro and the federal and provincial governments. The Taskinigahp Trust was created in conjunction with the Wuskwatim hydro generating station project, while the Nisichawayasihk Trust was created in 1996 as part of an agreement to compensate the First Nation for damages caused by the Churchill River Diversion. 

Malcolm said he keeps his eye out for other funding opportunities, and the program also accepts donations.

It also collaborates with local organizations. Earlier this year, Country Foods partnered with Nisichawayasihk Neyo Ohtinwak Collegiate for a bison harvest, giving the local high school's students a chance to learn about skinning and butchering, while also filling Country Foods' freezers with bison meat.

Sharing traditional knowledge with the youth is part of Country Foods' mandate.

So is helping neighbours in need, said Malcolm.

Normally bustling with activity, the shop was quiet this week as local harvesters were in Misipawistik Cree Nation to help with a search for missing boaters.

Country Foods allowed the searchers to take equipment such as a satellite phone, blankets and a waterproof bag — just another way to utilize the program to help the community, Malcolm said.

'We have to go back to the land'

Ed Primrose, one of the original co-managers of Country Foods, says the program wasn't one he thought he'd see still running more than 30 years later.

When it was first introduced in 1992, life was more traditional, with more people in the community taking part in hunting and fishing, he told CBC.

But with the rising food costs and discussions around food sovereignty, he's grateful to see the program continue. 

Rising grocery prices in the North have been a concern in recent years, even forcing some northern Manitobans to choose between shelter or food.

"When you look at food prices, things are changing, and I think people know that we have to go back to the land," Primrose said.

"The land is what sustains us. It always has — you breathe the air and you harvest the land and you drink the water, and it's just a life-giver."

Country Foods now serves an average of 200 Nisichawayasihk members a month, said Malcolm Hunter, who took over the role of manager in 2018.

Born and raised in Nisichawayasihk, Malcolm has been harvesting from the land since he was a child, raised by his grandparents on the trap line.

Now a father of four, he uses his manager role to explore other self-sustainability options for the reserve, such as raising 150 chickens last year.

He also started backyard beekeeping for honey, but that was ended earlier this year when the bees were killed in a late snowstorm.

Currently, he is researching how to add hydroponics to the program.

"It feels like we should be doing more," he said. "It always feels like you need to do more all the time."

But he's always keeping an eye out for other ways to grow, including a recent application for funding that he hopes he'll be able to announce soon. He's also trying to find a donor for an industrial feather plucker that would help during goose season.

In addition, he's talking with other First Nation and Inuit groups across Canada about how to start similar programs elsewhere.

"It's a great program, and it would be awesome if a lot of communities can do the same thing."