Doctoral Dissertation Research: New Agriculture Frontiers: Land, Labor and Sovereignty in the North

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project takes a comparative case study approach to the development of agriculture in Arctic and Subarctic communities. Through research partnerships with First Nations and non-Indigenous, first-generation farmers, the student PI will conduct an ethnographic study of the Northwest Territories as an emerging agricultural frontier and as a strategy for adapting to climate change, ameliorating supply-chain disruptions, and improving food security. This research also explores how northern food systems have changed since the nineteenth century, and what those changes mean for subsistence growers, commercial farmers, backyard gardeners, and Indigenous communities. This ethnographic research involves focus groups, participant observation, and life history interviews with members of three northern communities, which differ in terms of demography, market access, land tenure, and modes of production. This work will be contextualized using historical sources, agricultural reports, and territorial documents. Field notes and interview transcripts will be evaluated using qualitative software analysis. Project findings will be validated collaboratively and will be the basis for a dissertation and peer-reviewed journal articles. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.