Episode 4.9: Living Relations
Part 1
Part 1
Tuna / tyawerón:ko / eel artwork elements by Kasey King (née Skipper) from Wairoa, Aotearoa. Kasey affiliates to Wairewa Rūnanga.
In this episode, Peter Andrée and guest host Tehya Quachegan (Lakehead University) introduce listeners to the Living Relations Project, a collaboration between Indigenous and settler partners in Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada. The project brings together researchers, community activists, and Indigenous leaders to strengthen food sovereignty, address colonial legacies, and build resilience in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Through stories and reflections from members of its Indigenous Advisory Circle and Research Circle, the episode delves into relationship-based research, intergenerational knowledge sharing, and the exchange of solutions across two similar yet distinct settler-colonial contexts.
Host
Peter Andrée
Professor, Department of Political Science, Carleton University
Guest
Tehya Quachegan
Master’s Student, Environmental Studies at Lakehead University
Additional Pedagogical Resources
Guest Bios
Tehya Quachegan is from Moose Cree First Nation and Thunder Bay, Ontario. She is a student researcher and advocate, committed to supporting the involvement of northern First Nations youth in Indigenous food initiatives. She is currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Studies at Lakehead University, building on an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Indigenous Studies from Western University. As a Research Assistant with the Living Relations Project, Tehya helps to share stories gathered through conversations among participants from Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Participant Bios
Te Aue Addison-Valaau is a principal advisor at Plant & Food Research, a Crown research institute in Aotearoa New Zealand, where she works to advance Māori economic development across horticulture, floriculture, and seafood sectors. Of Tuwharetoa, Kai Tahu, and Te Ātiawa descent, Addison-Valaau specializes in supporting iwi (tribal) and Indigenous businesses to transition toward sustainable food practices.
Patricia Ballamingie is a Professor at Carleton University, cross-appointed in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and the Institute of Political Economy. Her research interests have included: environmental conflict and democracy; community-campus engagement; and, for over a decade, food policy and food systems governance. As an engaged scholar and action researcher, Dr. Ballamingie served as a founding Board Member of Just Food in Ottawa, Ontario, putting into practice her commitment to building just and sustainable food systems.
Jan Hania is an environmental engineer and innovator of Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Raukawa-ki-te-Tonga descent. He is the former Environmental Director of the Next Foundation philanthropic fund and governor of New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. Hania sits on a number of Boards involved in philanthropic investment, research, and large landscape restoration/reconnection projects, and Chairs a large collective indigenous-owned farm operation of over 12,000ha.
Nikki Hutton is a member of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation in Mayo, Yukon. Motivated by the need to address gaps in access to healthy, culturally relevant food, Hutton’s work focuses on revitalizing traditional and sustainable food practices.
Mary Laronde is a member of the Temagami First Nation (TFN) and past Director of Land Stewardshi. Temagami First Nation represents the Indigenous People of N’Dakimenan (Our Land), comprising 4000 square miles of land in what is now called Northeastern Ontario.
Charles Levkoe is the Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems, a Member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Lakehead University. His community engaged research uses a food systems lens to better understand the importance of, and connections between social justice, ecological regeneration, regional economies and active democratic engagement.
Eden Skipper Nō Te Pātaka o Rakaihautū engari ke te noho au ki Rārana (London). Ko Kāti Makō, Kāti Irakehu hapū. He is of Ngāi Tahu descent, primarily affiliated to the Kāti Irakehu and Kāti Makō. He is a member of the environmental pou of Wairewa Rūnanga. We look after mahika kai (traditional food gathering), environmental management, and environmental research.