Panel: Importance of Indigenous food sovereignty for school food programs everywhere
June 3
9:40-10:30
Room 520
Strong school food programs support deep relationships with food, centre health and wellbeing, and connect children and youth to their communities. As we grow school food programs across Turtle Island, it is important to look to and gratefully acknowledge Indigenous ways of knowing, which have relationships at their heart and can inform how we do this work in a good way.
During this opening panel, our facilitator Dr. Gladys Rowe will guide speakers through personal reflections on their own food stories and what Indigenous food sovereignty looks, feels, and sounds like in their specific communities. The discussion will explore the vital concepts of reciprocal relationships (extending beyond human entities to animals and plants), natural law, and the critical importance of supporting diverse Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives across urban, rural, and remote communities. This conversation is intended to open space for all participants, inviting them to consider their own food stories and the relationships and responsibilities they can prioritize moving forward, leaving them with more questions than answers.
Presenters will speak to a vision in support of a future where school food is not only about feeding children, but about restoring relationships, strengthening culture, supporting food sovereignty, and ensuring that all children and youth can see themselves, their communities, and their futures reflected in the school food system.
Bio:
GLADYS ROWE (Swampy Cree, Fox Lake Cree Nation), is the Founder and Director of Indigenous Insights Collective. Gladys is an expert in Indigenous evaluation and research, specializing in approaches rooted in storytelling, relationship, and community pride. Her work focuses on moving beyond numbers to honor the voices and teachings of the community.
RAYMOND JORDAN JOHNSON-BROWN (they/he) is a Two-Spirit, Ethnic Anomaly, and multi-hyphenate creative whose work spans social work, systems change, and cultural practice. Over 15 years, they have moved across frontline care, research, and efforts to shift how systems actually function across health, education, child welfare, and food systems, bringing both relational depth and structural analysis to every context. Raymond has led and supported transformational work with organizations such as Right to Food Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada, among others. Currently, Raymond is a Research Coordinator at McGill University, where they focus on community-based research for marginalized groups in care settings. They also work as an Equity Integration Specialist at CAMH and are completing a joint Master’s degree in Social Work and Law at McGill University.
Katsi’tsarónkwas BROOKE RICE is a Kanien’kehá:ka Snipe Clan woman from Kahnawà:ke and founder of Tkà:nios – It Grows, a grassroots initiative dedicated to land-based learning, ancestral seeds, and traditional foodways. Her work strides towards food sovereignty and community wellness through intergenerational knowledge transference guided by13 lunar cycles of Grandmother Moon. As cultural wellness weaver she collaborates with youth, Elders, Indigenous knowledge-sharers, and cultivators to restore relationships between people, food, and land. Brooke’s vision is to build a Haudenosaunee Agri-Food Center, advancing sovereignty, reciprocity, and regeneration across food systems.
HADISHRAYEN DIEGO GROS-LOUIS is pursuing a Honours Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Ottawa. His work lies at the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination, environmental governance, and food sovereignty. He participated in COP30 with AQOCI and led a Three Sisters garden project in his community, connecting Indigenous agricultural knowledge, cultural transmission, and food autonomy. He also contributes to the program development committee of the Maison des savoirs, a project for a future Indigenous university. Trained at the CIERA 2024 summer school, he now serves as a trainer and facilitator there. A storyteller of myths and legends, he also participates in media initiatives with Radio-Canada/CBC.
CLAIRE SAINSBURY is a proud Inuk woman from Cartwright, Labrador, where she was raised deeply connected to the land and water and surrounded by traditional foodways. Growing up, harvesting, sharing food, and learning from the people around her shaped who she is and how she moves through the world. Today, Claire works in Indigenous education with a focus on foodways, climate, and community connection, creating spaces for learning that honour both tradition and lived experience. She still calls Labrador home, and her goal is to continue building meaningful programming that gives back to her people and supports future generations.