Zimmermann Silja, Dermody Brian J, Carothers Courtney, Di Fant Valeria, Divine Lauren M, Lestenkof-Zacharof Kadyn, Padula Veronica M, Theunissen Bert, Wassen Martin J, Dorresteijn Ine
Centre for Complex Systems Studies, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sustain Sci. 2025;20(5):1883-1901. doi: 10.1007/s11625-025-01665-z. Epub 2025 Mar 21.
Arctic Indigenous food systems are essential to the survival of local communities, but face significant challenges due to environmental, economic, and social pressures. The objective of this study is to elicit values of the mixed Indigenous food system on St. Paul Island, Alaska, and understand their potential as deep leverage points for transformative change in the context of their historical co-evolution with the local food system. To achieve this objective, we engage three generational groups within the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island to obtain local food system stories. From these stories, we (i) elicit historical events that are thought to have shaped the local food system, (ii) identify factors that influence the food system in its present and future states, and (iii) delineate intrinsic, instrumental, and relational food system values. Our findings show that most identified historical events are perceived to have undermined the Indigenous food system and that most factors identified to shape present and future food system states present barriers for community members to engage in traditional practices. Yet, despite this, values that relate to traditional Indigenous livelihoods remain central in the local value system. These results suggest a value change debt, i.e., a time lag between changes in peoples' held values following changes in the system around them. We propose that this lag provides a window of opportunity to leverage transformative change. We argue that as long as traditional food system values persist, there is potential to reconfigure the food system in a way that embraces these values, enhancing the system's relevance to the community's way of life.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-025-01665-z.
北极地区原住民的食物系统对当地社区的生存至关重要，但由于环境、经济和社会压力而面临重大挑战。本研究的目的是揭示阿拉斯加圣保罗岛上混合原住民食物系统的价值，并了解其在与当地食物系统历史共同演化的背景下作为变革性变化深度杠杆点的潜力。为实现这一目标，我们与圣保罗岛阿留申社区的三代人进行交流，以获取当地食物系统的故事。从这些故事中，我们（i）找出被认为塑造了当地食物系统的历史事件，（ii）确定影响食物系统当前和未来状态的因素，以及（iii）描绘食物系统的内在、工具性和关系性价值。我们的研究结果表明，大多数已确定的历史事件被认为破坏了原住民食物系统，并且大多数被确定塑造当前和未来食物系统状态的因素对社区成员参与传统做法构成了障碍。然而，尽管如此，与传统原住民生计相关的价值在当地价值体系中仍然至关重要。这些结果表明存在价值变化债务，即人们所持价值观的变化与其周围系统变化之间的时间滞后。我们认为这种滞后提供了一个利用变革性变化的机会窗口。我们认为，只要传统食物系统价值持续存在，就有可能以一种接纳这些价值的方式重新配置食物系统，增强该系统与社区生活方式的相关性。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s11625-025-01665-z获取的补充材料。
