MakeWay (formerly Tides Canada) is a national charity and public foundation with a goal to enable nature and communities to thrive together. MakeWay’s Northern Program has partnered with Indigenous governments and organizations across the north that are developing and implementing full-time harvester programs, including Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Aqqiumavvik, Dechinta and Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation.

The Centre is supporting the Traditional Harvester Initiative to evaluate the contribution of full-time harvesters to advance northern food security and deliver other benefits (e.g. mental health, ecological knowledge, food sovereignty, etc.). Harvesters provide access to country foods for their families and communities. They hold the knowledge, skills and values that facilitate the acquisition, processing and sharing of this food, and the keys to training and instilling knowledge and values in the next generations who will continue to harvest and provide for communities. With critically high rates of food insecurity among Indigenous peoples in Canada’s North, there is a need to better demonstrate the important food security role that Indigenous harvesters play in northern communities and the need to support them consistently and effectively.

The initiative will qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the benefits of full-time harvester roles from the perspective of tangible food security, physical and mental health, as well as economic outcomes.