Food security in Canada’s North is complex, and there is no singular solution. We argue that land-based wild food programs are useful and effective in contributing to long-term food security, health and well-being for Indigenous communities in the context of changing environmental conditions. Such bottom-up programs support cultural continuity and the persistence of skills and knowledge that, over time, increase local food security and food sovereignty. This paper (a) highlights the link between observed environmental changes and wild food procurement in two Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories, (b) compares and discusses the impacts of two collaboratively developed, community-based programs to improve foodways transmission and capacity for wild food procurement, and (c) identifies lessons learned and productive ways forward for those leading similar efforts in other Indigenous communities.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Wesche, S. D., O'Hare-Gordon, M. A., Robidoux, M. A., Mason, C. W., (2025), "Land-Based programs in the Northwest Territories: Building Indigenous food security and well-being from the ground up", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v3i2.161)

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1. community-based research
2. community food security
3. environmental change
4. Indigenous health and well-being
5. Northern Canada
6. wild food

Original publication: Wesche, Sonia D.; O'Hare-Gordon, Meagan Ann F.; Robidoux, Michael A.; Mason, Courtney W. "Land-Based programs in the Northwest Territories: Building Indigenous food security and well-being from the ground up." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 3, no. 2, 2016, pp. 23-48. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v3i2.161. 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/.