Maitjara Wangkanyi: Insights from an Ethnographic Study of Food Practices of Households in Remote Australian Aboriginal Communities

Suzanne Bryce, Inawantji Scales, Lisa-Maree Herron, Britta Wigginton, Meron Lewis, Amanda Lee and Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council
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Suzanne Bryce: Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council, Alice Springs NT 0871, Australia
Inawantji Scales: Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council, Alice Springs NT 0871, Australia
Lisa-Maree Herron: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston QLD 4029, Australia
Britta Wigginton: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston QLD 4029, Australia
Meron Lewis: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston QLD 4029, Australia
Amanda Lee: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston QLD 4029, Australia
Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council: Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council, Alice Springs NT 0871, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: Many historical, environmental, socioeconomic, political, commercial, and geographic factors underscore the food insecurity and poor diet-related health experienced by Aboriginal people in Australia. Yet, there has been little exploration of Aboriginal food practices or perspectives on food choice recently. This study, with 13 households in remote communities on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, fills this gap using ethnographic and Indigenist methods. Results highlight Anangu resourcefulness, securing food despite poverty and adversity, and provide unique insights into factors influencing the three major types and range of dietary patterns identified. These factors include household economic cycles and budgeting challenges; overcrowding and family structures, mobility and ‘organization’; available food storage, preparation and cooking infrastructure; and familiarity and convenience. Structural and systemic reform, respecting Aboriginal leadership, is required to improve food security.

Keywords: Aboriginal; diet; food insecurity; food choice; ethnographic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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