Plundering the North - by Kristin Burnett & Travis Hay (Paperback)

About the Book

Plundering the North provides fresh insight into Canada's colonial project, laying bare the processes behind the chronic food insecurity experienced by northern Indigenous communities by charting the social, economic, and political changes that have taken place in northern Ontario since the 1950s.

Book Synopsis

The manufacturing of a chronic food crisis

Food insecurity in the North is one of Canada's most shameful public health and human rights crises. In Plundering the North, Kristin Burnett and Travis Hay examine the disturbing mechanics behind the origins of this crisis: state and corporate intervention in northern Indigenous foodways.

Despite claims to the contrary by governments, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), and the contemporary North West Company (NWC), the exorbitant cost of food in the North is neither a naturally occurring phenomenon nor the result of free-market forces. Rather, inflated food prices are the direct result of government policies and corporate monopolies. Using food as a lens to track the institutional presence of the Canadian state in the North, Burnett and Hay chart the social, economic, and political changes that have taken place in northern Ontario since the 1950s. They explore the roles of state food policy and the HBC and NWC in setting up, perpetuating, and profiting from food insecurity while undermining Indigenous food sovereignties and self-determination.

Plundering the North provides fresh insight into Canada's settler colonial project by re-evaluating northern food policy and laying bare the governmental and corporate processes behind the chronic food insecurity experienced by northern Indigenous communities.

Review Quotes

"This is an engaging book that documents the history and present-day reality of food insecurity in the North. The authors impressively emphasize continuity in the predatory practices of colonialism [and] successfully demonstrate how persistent colonial and capitalistic practices worked together, both historically and in the present day. Readers with backgrounds in history, Indigenous studies, food studies, and other related disciplines will find this a compelling examination that bridges historical inquiry with contemporary urgency. This book will also appeal to Canadians wanting to know more about food history, food insecurity, and the pervasive power of settler colonialism in the North."--Lianne C. Leddy "Prairie History"

"Well written and accessible for non‐specialists, Plundering the North should be read by scholars interested in Canadian colonialism, food (in)security in Indigenous communities, the history of the HBC, and the geography and political economy of the North. Unlike much academic writing about food insecurity in northern Indigenous communities, the authors pay significant attention to questions of power."

--Warren Bernauer "Canadian Geographies"

"Plundering the North is a powerful and timely examination of a crucial issue. It's a call to action, urging readers to reconsider prevailing narratives and work towards meaningful change in policies and societal attitudes. Burnett and Hay have provided an essential contribution to the discourse on Indigenous rights, corporate responsibility, and food justice in Northern Canada."

--Nada Loughead "Canadian Cookbooks"