鈥淚n a single drop of water, there are universes, microworlds animated by tiny animals,鈥� says Manning, an assistant professor in philosophy and cultural studies at Queen鈥檚 and a member of Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation. 鈥淥ur project鈥檚 philosophy stems from my theory of Mnidoo-worlding, a way of being from Ojibwe Anishinaabe knowledge, that sees human relations to niibii (water) as interrelated with spirit, potency, potential, process and energy, not human-centric, and more than a mere resource to extract.鈥�

Titled Emerging from the Water, the project has been exhibited in multiple mediums at various venues, including at the United Nations 2023 Water Conference (in front of dignitaries from across the globe) and more recently at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, as part of a 2024 World Water Day event co-hosted by the UNITAR Global Water Academy and 91亚色.

Bunch and Manning hope the project will spark critical conversations about the power of Indigenous thought and knowledge, environmental stewardship, and our collective responsibility to water. They are particularly interested in presenting the work to youth in the future.

鈥淎s a non-Indigenous scholar, the project has made me think about the emergence of modern technology and how the microscope gave the West and the world another view of reality invisible to the naked eye. But Indigenous cultures already accounted for that,鈥� says Bunch, an associate professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts in the School of Art, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) and Canada Research Chair in Vision, Disability and the Arts. Bunch is also a member of Connected Minds, a major 91亚色-led research initiative on socially responsible technologies.

Bunch continues: 鈥淲hat if that conversation between Western cultures and Indigenous cultures, instead of it being dominating and subjugating, had been a real conversation 500 years ago. Our sciences could have come together then, rather than more recently. More equitable relations have the potential to positively alter how we think and live. It could help to protect the environment and help improve the global water crisis.鈥�

Emerging from the Water marks Bunch and Manning鈥檚 first research collaboration together. Funding for the project was provided by MITACS, the Native Women in the Arts, VISTA 鈥� Vision: Science to Applications (91亚色鈥檚 first Canada First Research Excellence Fund program), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Media Arts program at 91亚色.

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Bathory鈥檚 beadwork is part of a much larger collaborative research project facilitated by Anna Hudson, an art historian and curator at 91亚色, and funded by the Canada Inuit Nunangat United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme, or CINUK, an international collaboration between Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR) and the UK.  

Titled Inuksiutit: Food Sovereignty in Nunavut and the Co-production of Country Food Knowledge (IFSNu), the project explores the interconnectedness of traditional Arctic food to knowledge, language and cultural practices of Inuit Nunangat communities in Nunavut, particularly in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) and Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet).

In the Inuktut language, inuksiutit is a term for country food, translated as 鈥渢hat which makes us human.鈥� 

鈥淭he tradition of living off the land was made difficult for Inuit because of colonization, particularly with aggressive government-imposed settlement after World War II that disrupted communities and forced children to attend Western models of schools, including residential schools,鈥� says Hudson, who is also a professor in the Department of Visual Art and Art History in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD).

鈥淥ur project is about advancing Inuit self-determination in environmental health policy and re-understanding the nutritional value of country food, whether that鈥檚 walrus, whale, seal or caribou, and remembering ways to eat them.鈥�

The interdisciplinary project team, led by Hudson and Dr. Nancy Wachowich at the University of Aberdeen, is made up of Inuit and non-Inuit academics, Elders and youth, whose collective expertise spans various fields including Inuit nutrition, public health and epidemiology, social anthropology, and more.

The team hopes to translate Inuit country food knowledge through social media, visual and performing arts and Indigenous curatorial practice, and to digitally document food preparation and preservation to support food sovereignty and climate change adaptation.

Climate change has dramatically altered the Arctic鈥檚 temperature, with the region warming three times faster than the global average. These changing conditions affect the meat fermentation process, increasing the risk of foodborne botulism if not preserved properly. 

鈥淪anctions, bans and wildlife management of country food are disconnected from Inuit ways of being and circumpolar cultural sovereignty,鈥� says Hudson, who specializes in socially conscious and community-facing art practices. 鈥淥ur project hopes to remind community members and non-Indigenous people of how beautiful country food is and how nourishing it can be, strengthening climate resiliency and advocating for Inuit food sovereignty, which the community has identified as a key step towards decolonization.鈥�

One method to help remind people about the beauty and value of country food is through Williamson Bathory鈥檚 beadwork, which Hudson commissioned for IFSNu. The series of five beaded works, which Williamson Bathory describes as a labour-intensive and meditative project, is all about food, including the scene of her mother鈥檚 birthplace.

For that work, Williamson Bathory tanned the caribou hair herself, and caribou represents inuksiutit - or country food - a mainstay of her family鈥檚 diet.

鈥淚 am incredibly fortunate that my husband and I have been able to raise our family in Inuit Nunangat, to be on the land, to have a cabin and to fill our children鈥檚 bodies and minds with Inuit food and food thinking,鈥� she says.

鈥淲atching them figure out who hunted the food they eat and where they got it from is great satisfaction. My kids have formed a visceral connection to nuna (Inuit for land) and all it provides, and they are Inuit in the way that my family has always chosen to be.鈥�

IFSNu is a three-year project, concluding in 2025, and will culminate in a book composed of recipes, written works, drawings, and art 鈥� including Williamson Bathory鈥檚 beaded works with accompanying prose.  

Itis one of 13 projects that are part of CINUK, which involves Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR),  the National Research Council of Canada, Parks Canada Agency and Fonds de Recherche due Quebec (FRQ).

Much of the aims of IFSNu will advance with Hudson鈥檚 next collaborative research project, called Curating Indigenous Circumpolar Cultural Sovereignty: advancing Inuit and S谩mi homelands, food, art, archives and worldviews.

In 2022, the project received a nearly $2.5 million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) over the next six years. Hudson says it will leverage curation to address the importance of cultural sovereignty for Inuit, S谩mi and Alaska Native decolonization.

To learn more about CINUK, visit

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