Prior literature on Indigenous Food Sovereignty has delved into issues such as seed sovereignty, impacts of climate change, and the revival and protection of cultural lifeways worldwide. However, there is very little research on the impact of laws on food sovereignty. Join UO student Elyse Decker for a discussion of the impacts of laws at the international, national, and state level on subsistence food practices of Alaska Native communities.

Decker hypothesized that international laws and Alaska state laws would have only a slight impact on food sovereignty, and that United States federal law would exert the most control because of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The multi-methods research strongly supported half of this hypothesis. Through a literature review and semi-structured interviews with Food Sovereignty experts followed by qualitative analysis, Decker found that international laws, including the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, have very little influence on Alaska Native food sovereignty. United States federal law and Alaska state law greatly control subsistence living, commonly conflicting with each other, creating a complex and unwieldly system for Indigenous peoples. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for strengthening Indigenous food sovereignty.