School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.
Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Aug 15;24(1):2222. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19391-z.
Addressing Indigenous food security and food sovereignty calls for community-driven strategies to improve access to and availability of traditional and local food. Participatory approaches that integrate Indigenous leadership have supported successful program implementation. Learning Circles: Local Healthy Food to School is a participatory program that convenes a range of stakeholders including food producers, educators and Knowledge Keepers to plan, implement and monitor local food system action. Pilot work (2014-2015) in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia (BC), showed promising results of the Learning Circles (LC) approach in enhancing local and traditional food access, knowledge and skills among youth and adolescents. The objective of the current evaluation was therefore to examine the process of scaling-up the LC vertically within the Haida Nation; and horizontally across three diverse First Nations contexts: Gitxsan Nation, Hazelton /Upper Skeena, BC; Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan; and Black River First Nation, Manitoba between 2016 and 2019.
An implementation science framework, Foster-Fishman and Watson's (2012) ABLe Change Framework, was used to understand the LC as a participatory approach to facilitate community capacity building to strengthen local food systems. Interviews (n = 52), meeting summaries (n = 44) and tracking sheets (n = 39) were thematically analyzed.
The LC facilitated a collaborative process to: (1) build on strengths and explore ways to increase readiness and capacity to reclaim traditional and local food systems; (2) strengthen connections to land, traditional knowledge and ways of life; (3) foster community-level action and multi-sector partnerships; (4) drive actions towards decolonization through revitalization of traditional foods; (5) improve availability of and appreciation for local healthy and traditional foods in school communities; and (6) promote holistic wellness through steps towards food sovereignty and food security. Scale-up within Haida Gwaii supported a growing, robust local and traditional food system and enhanced Haida leadership. The approach worked well in other First Nations contexts, though baseline capacity and the presence of champions were enabling factors.
Findings highlight LC as a participatory approach to build capacity and support iterative planning-to-action in community food systems. Identified strengths and challenges support opportunities to expand, adopt and modify the LC approach in other Indigenous communities with diverse food systems.
解决原住民的食品安全和粮食主权问题需要采取以社区为导向的策略，以改善传统和本地食品的获取和供应。整合原住民领导力的参与式方法支持了项目的成功实施。学习圈：本地健康食品进校园是一项参与式计划，召集了各种利益相关者，包括食品生产者、教育工作者和知识守护者，以规划、实施和监测地方粮食系统的行动。在不列颠哥伦比亚省（BC）的海达瓜依（Haida Gwaii）进行的试点工作（2014-2015 年）显示，学习圈（LC）方法在增强青年和青少年对本地和传统食品的获取、知识和技能方面具有良好的效果。因此，本次评估的目的是研究在海达族内部垂直扩展 LC 以及在 2016 年至 2019 年期间在三个不同的第一民族（First Nations）背景下水平扩展 LC 的过程：Gitxsan 民族、不列颠哥伦比亚省的 Hazelton/Upper Skeena；萨斯喀彻温省的米斯蒂克万湖克里民族；以及马尼托巴省的黑河第一民族。
采用实施科学框架，即福斯特-菲什曼和沃森（Foster-Fishman and Watson）（2012 年）的 ABLe 变革框架，来理解 LC 作为一种参与式方法，以促进社区能力建设，加强地方粮食系统。对 52 次访谈、44 次会议摘要和 39 次跟踪表进行了主题分析。
LC 促进了一个协作过程：（1）利用优势，探索提高传统和地方粮食系统恢复力和能力的方法；（2）加强与土地、传统知识和生活方式的联系；（3）促进社区层面的行动和多部门伙伴关系；（4）通过振兴传统食品实现去殖民化；（5）提高学校社区对当地健康和传统食品的可及性和欣赏度；（6）通过迈向粮食主权和粮食安全的步骤促进整体健康。在海达瓜依的扩展支持了一个不断发展的、强大的本地和传统粮食系统，并增强了海达族的领导力。该方法在其他第一民族背景下效果良好，尽管基线能力和冠军的存在是促进因素。
研究结果强调了 LC 作为一种参与式方法，可以在社区粮食系统中建立能力，并支持从规划到行动的迭代。确定的优势和挑战为在具有不同粮食系统的其他土著社区扩大、采用和修改 LC 方法提供了机会。
