This panel presentation will describe the evolution and ongoing work of the Wisahkotewinowak Collective, an urban Indigenous garden collective building Land-based relationships across the Waterloo-Wellington Regions. Wisahkotewinowak is a Saulteaux/Michif word meaning 'the growth of new green shoots after a fire has come through the land'. This presentation will share how the Wisahkotewinowak Collective engages in Indigenous food sovereignty work as a group of Indigenous people and settler allies through food-based practices, activities, and events guided by relational principles and Territorial Covenants. It will also share some of the challenges and important successes the Collective has experienced in its pursuit of planting a local Indigenous food system.
Laura is a doctoral candidate in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo and a settler member of the Wisahkotewinowak Collective. As an urban Indigenous garden collective comprised of Indigenous people and settler allies, Wisahkotewinowak works to build land-based relationships across the Waterloo-Wellington Regions through growing and sharing Indigenous foods. Since 2020, she has served as both a volunteer member and board member of Wisahkotewinowak after its recent incorporation as a not-for-profit. Her community-based research interests around health literacy, child and youth food education, and Indigenous land-based programs has been strengthened by her participation in the Collective's growing work.