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Harvesting and Country Food: Fact Sheet
By Heather Tait
Harvesting and Country Food
Did you know?
About 71% of Inuit adults in the Canadian Arctic were involved in harvesting country food during 2000. Country food includes such things as caribou, whales, seals, ducks, arctic char, shellfish and berries among others.
- 80% of men harvested country food compared to 63% of women.
- Inuit men aged 45 to 54 had the highest level of participation in harvesting country food (90%).
- Inuit aged 15 to 24 had the lowest level of participation at 65% (74% for men and 55% for women).
- About 8 in 10 Inuit adults in both Labrador and Nunavik had harvested while just fewer than 6 in 10 of those in the Inuvialuit region had done so. The figure for Nunavut was 7 in 10.
Chart 1
Inuit adults harvesting country food by region, 2001
Country food an important food source
Country food remains an important food source for many Inuit. In 71% of Inuit households in the Arctic, at least half of the meat or fish eaten was country food.
- Country food made up about half or more than half of the meat or fish eaten in 78% of Inuit households in Nunavik; 73% in Nunavut; 70% in the Inuvialuit region and 56% of Inuit households in Labrador.
- Nearly half of all Inuit children in Nunavut, Nunavik and the Inuvialuit region ate wild meat five to seven days a week. In Labrador, 22% of Inuit children ate wild meat this often.
- Inuit children in Nunavik were the most likely to eat fish and seafood on a regular basis.
About half think that harvesting activities won't change in the next 5 years
- In 2001, 49% of adults in the Arctic thought that harvesting activities would not change for themselves or others in their households over the next five years.
- 21% thought activities would increase, 13% predicted a decrease and 17% stated they didn't know.
- The main reason given by those predicting an increase was growth in the number of hunters, fishers, trappers and gatherers. The main reason for a decrease was fewer resources to harvest and a greater scarcity of local fish and game.
Walrus
Freshness of food in local stores
While much food eaten in the north is harvested from the land or sea, many types of food such as fruit, vegetables, and milk, need to be transported long distances from the South. The result is often higher costs and food that is not fresh.
- 33% of Inuit adults in the Arctic said they were dissatisfied with the freshness of food in their local stores.
- Inuit in the Inuvialuit region and Labrador were more likely to be dissatisfied with the freshness of food in their local stores than those living in Nunavut and Nunavik.
- 45% of Inuit adults in the Inuvialuit region and Labrador were dissatisfied with the freshness of food in their local stores compared to 32% in Nunavut and 23% in Nunavik.
Although many Inuit were dissatisfied with the freshness of food in their local stores, the majority were satisfied with the availability of country food through harvesting and sharing.
- 85% of adults in the Arctic said they were satisfied with the availability of country food.
Sharing Food
Sharing food is an important Inuit tradition in all Inuit regions which reinforces family and community ties.
- 96% of Inuit households shared harvested food with others.
Inuit hunting a bear
About this report
This Inuit fact sheet is one in a series based on data from the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS). This report is a joint publication between The Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division at Statistics Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
For more information on harvesting from the 2001 APS, see the report entitled “Harvesting and community well-being among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic: Preliminary findings from the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey – Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic” /pub/89-619-x/89-619-x2006001-eng.htm
For this report, Inuit adults are those that identified as Inuk on the APS, either alone or in combination with a North American Indian or Métis identity.
The Canadian Arctic refers to the four Inuit Land Claim Settlement Regions where the majority of Inuit live 1) the northern coastal region of Labrador; 2) Nunavik in northern Quebec; 3) the territory of Nunavut, and: 4) the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories.
For this fact sheet, “Labrador” consists of Rigolet, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Makkovik, Nain and Postville. (This makes it different from the Nunatsiavut region, which excludes Happy Valley-Goose Bay and includes Hopedale). The Inuvialuit region consists of the following communities: Inuvik, Aklavik, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok (Holman) and Tuktoyaktuk.
Artist information
Alootook Ipellie was born in a hunting camp on the north coast of Frobisher Bay in the Northwest Territories. He grew up in Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay), and had a multifaceted career in the fine arts. As a graphic artist, cartoonist, photographer and writer, he contributed to many Inuit publications in the Canadian Arctic until his passing in September 2007.
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