Oct. 24: Dual Talk Event on Indigenous Food Sovereignty with Mariaelena Huambachano and American Youth Food Justice with Morten Nielsen

Oct. 24: Dual Talk Event on Indigenous Food Sovereignty with Mariaelena Huambachano and American Youth Food Justice with Morten Nielsen

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Room 254, Henry Angus Building (ANGU), UBC

Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand and Peru: ‘He kai kei aku ringa’—“the food is in my hand”

Dr. Mariaelena Huambachano

In this talk, Dr. Huambachano explains how Indigenous peoples across New Zealand and Peru have maintained their food sovereignty post-colonization. She will introduce the “Khipu Model” and explain how Indigenous peoples use it as a knowledge and research framework for understanding and controlling their food under current food systems. The talk will also feature her recent research and interviews with the Māori people of Aotearoa and Quechua peoples of Peru as she explains how this new framework can aid in Indigenous resurgence, advocacy, and policy change.

About Dr. Mariaelena Huambachano

Mariaelena Huambachano, (PhD) is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies and Sustainability at California State University, Northridge. Her work focuses on transformational alternatives to tackle global issues. Her interdisciplinary research combines Indigenous and decolonial studies, environmental studies, sustainable development, and public policy to foster the advancement of food sovereignty, social and environmental justice. She is currently working on a book project entitled “Indigenous Food Sovereignty, Sustainability, and Justice” and an international community-based project entitle “Our Rights to Food.”

Pedagogy, Learning and Identity Construction in the American Youth Food Justice Movement

Dr. Morten Kromann Nielsen

In this talk, Dr. Nielsen will be hosting a discussion of central findings from his doctoral research of a specific Californian job training and youth food justice program. The topic will explain how a critical approach to the food system is operationalized pedagogically, how paradoxes and power dynamics inform professional role management, and feature the narrative constructions of youth agency and identity.

About Dr. Morten Kromann Nielsen

Morten Kromann Nielsen, (PhD), is an Associate Professor at University College Lillebaelt (UCL) University College in Odense, Denmark. With a background in social anthropology, his research ranges from garden-based taste education, to pedagogy, and to learning and identity construction in the American Youth Food Justice movement.