Title

15 Year Follow-up Assessment of Traditional Food Quality in the Traditional Territory of the Chipewyan Prairie Déné First Nation

Fiscal Year

2021-2022

Community/Region

Chipewyan Prairie Déné First Nation, Alberta

Principal Investigator

Claire McAuley (Intrinsik Corp) and Dr. Ave Dersch (Moccasin Flower Consulting)

Community Project Lead

Stacey Mouille-Malbeuf and Stuart Janvier

Project Members

CPDFN land users, Elders and youth project committees

Project Summary

The traditional territory of the Chipewayn Prairie Déné First Nation (CPDFN) is located in the middle of Alberta’s oil sands, which have seen increased development since the early 1990s. The members of the CPDFN were concerned with emissions from construction and impacts on their traditional foods. They were also concerned with the changing quality and taste of traditional foods. The purpose of this study was to determine metal concentrations in game meats, fish, and vegetation in traditional harvesting areas for the CPDFN and compare the results to previous studies and regional data. This was the fourth assessment of traditional food quality in twenty years.

Following training sessions on sampling techniques, community members collected 152 samples of 11 food types (e.g., mammals, birds, plants, fish) for the study. They collected fish from four lakes, a greater number of lakes than in earlier studies. Adult members of the community completed 101 food consumption questionnaires. The project team analyzed samples for metals and also analyzed duck for PAHs.

The measured metal concentrations in the traditional food samples were low. They were consistent between study years for all food types and similar to other regional studies. The project team found increases in mercury concentrations in whitefish and jackfish compared to previous studies. Mercury concentrations varied across the lakes included in the study and the study team recommended fish be consumed from a variety of the lakes to keep risk within acceptable levels. There were no PAHs in duck samples. The study found fish from Garson Lake had higher arsenic concentrations than fish from the other lakes sampled but all lakes were within acceptable guidelines. The study recommended members consume fish from a variety of lakes to keep arsenic levels within acceptable levels. The study also recommended consuming moose organs from younger animals to keep cadmium levels lower, and using unleaded ammunition for hunting birds.