How offering traditional Indigenous food could help improve health care in Sask.

A physician's stethoscope is shown in this file photo.

Saskatoon -

Researchers at the U of S along with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and CHEP Good Foods Inc. are teaming up to better understand the historical roots of food insecurity and food sovereignty in the province meanwhile recommending change in the healthcare system to include more traditional Indigenous foods.

The study will focus on various locations around Saskatchewan with an emphasis on urban and remote areas among Indigenous communities.

Wanda Martin, Associate Professor with the university’s College of Nursing said that by bringing awareness to and including traditional foods in the health care system, it will allow Indigenous people to feel more comfortable when receiving care.

“The idea of how can we actually get more traditional food into the health authority so that when Indigenous people particularly come into the system, they recognize the food, that they feel valued and seen and that also it’s food from the land,” said Martin.

The project, which is part of the Nourish Anchor Collaborative Cohort, consists of a team of diverse health care practitioners and community members who are collaborating across the country.

Jordan Morton, an Indigenous Food Sovereignty Facilitator with CHEP Good Foods said that food can play an important role in recovery.

“Realizing that food is medicine and that those having good food and Indigenous food is pretty integral to the health and recovery of any and every individual,” said Morton.

While the research is just in the beginning stages, Morton believes their collaborative work will bring awareness and change to Indigenous health disparities.

“Very recently, there's been a lot of movement in regards to reconciliation and Indigenous sovereignty and a big component of that is Indigenous food sovereignty,” he said.

“Where people are seeing a lot of the disparities in health outcomes is in the health sector and health industry so it makes perfect sense to bring the Indigenous foods there.”