Northern Contaminants Program: Supporting research into country foods
Walrus, ringed seals, beluga whales, Arctic char, salmon, geese and other birds remain critically important to the traditional diets of northern Indigenous Peoples. But a changing climate is leading to increased concerns about how to monitor and protect traditional country food sources.
Canada's Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) was established in 1991 in response to concerns about elevated concentrations of mercury, industrial chemicals and pesticides in arctic wildlife and Indigenous Peoples. The program has broadened its scope over the years and now includes the research and monitoring of plastics and other emerging contaminants of concern in the North.
Browse the photos below to learn how the NCP works together with academic and community researchers, traditional knowledge holders and Indigenous Peoples of all ages to study country foods.
Photo gallery
The NCP funds 5 key areas of research: human health; environmental monitoring and research; community-based monitoring research; communications, capacity and outreach; and program coordination and Indigenous partnerships.
At the 2024 NCP Results Workshop held in Ottawa, Indigenous, academic and community researchers gathered to highlight recent findings from monitoring and research projects. Their findings underscored the importance of traditional and country foods to food security, as well as their role in safe-guarding culture, nutrition and community health.
Workshop participants highlighted the need to keep northern Indigenous community members involved in and informed of ongoing research related to the health of fish and wildlife that they depend on.
Scientists and Indigenous knowledge holders suggest that climate change across the North and Arctic regions is happening 3 times faster than in other parts of Canada. Climate-related changes can affect the concentration and movement of contaminants in the environment and through Arctic food webs. Despite these challenges, there exists strong, determined efforts among Inuit and other knowledge holders across the North to adapt to the changes.
Researchers and northern community members have worked together and hosted talking circles with dozens of hunters, traditional knowledge holders, Elders and youth from Tuktoyaktuk to Arviat, Hudson Bay to Qikiqtaaluk, and beyond, exploring any risks to country foods from animals with contaminants coming from long-range sources.
"Despite being a potential source of environmental contaminants, country foods are crucially important to food security, nutrition, and mental, spiritual, and physical health. Research and communication efforts must balance the risks and benefits of country food consumption."
- Professor Matthew Little, University of Victoria
"We worked with community research leads in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region to collect samples of country foods and interview Elders and youth to learn about their experiences and perspectives. Hundreds of samples were analyzed for essential and non-essential nutrients. Results reinforced traditional knowledge that country foods are nutritious and safe to eat."
- Professor Sonja Ostertag, University of Waterloo
There remain ongoing questions about food safety related to contaminants. Blubber, liver and muscle tissue are tested in many animals, including caribou, walrus, beluga whales, seals, birds and polar bears. Researchers are working with communities to understand and communicate the risks, but also, the benefits, of consuming country foods.
"85% of Inuit 15 years and older in Inuit Nunangat hunt, fish, or trap, and 47% gather wild plants. Country food makes up a significant proportion (23 to 52%) of the protein and 18 to 82% of various micronutrients such as iron, niacin, and vitamins D, B6, and B12."
- Dr. Farzaneh Barak ITK, Senior Policy Advisor and Food Security Lead
While ongoing research is required with the support of the NCP, scientists, northern community members, and Indigenous knowledge holders all agree that community involvement and good communication remains critical to improving and protecting the health and well-being of people, animals and ecosystems and addressing Indigenous concerns about eating country foods.