This narrative illustrates my evolving ontological and epistemological relations with food systems on Algonquin territory as an Algonquin woman and a registered dietitian. As dietitians, we study the function of food within our human bodies, but do not think about the who behind our more-than-human food sources. Who are the living, diverse beings whom we consume (plants and animals included)? How do we take care of one another? Colonial and capitalist ways of relating to food have led us to objectify and devalue the beings we consume; can we embody relational and reciprocal ways of being to heal our damaged food systems? This narratives explores these questions using two stories and reflective work based on my own experiences on a medicine walk and spending time by the water.     

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Patterson, S. K., (2025), "Who are the cattails? Stories of Algonquin Anishinaabe Food Systems", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v8i1.474)

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1. Algonquin
2. epistemology
3. FOOD SYSTEMS
4. indigenous
5. ontology

Original publication: Patterson, Samantha Kaitlyn. "Who are the cattails? Stories of Algonquin Anishinaabe Food Systems." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 8, no. 1, 2021. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v8i1.474. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation. Copyright © the author(s). Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/.