121(Table 1).
Indigenous Group Energy % No. of
species/
varieties
Awajún (Peru) 93 223
Bhil (India) 59 95
Dalit (India) 43 329
Gwich’in (Canada) 33 50
Igbo (Nigeria) 96 220
Ingano (Colombia) 47 160
Inuit (Canada) 41 79
Karen (Thailand) 85* 387
Maasai (Kenya) 6 35
Nuxalk (Canada) 30* 67
Pohnpei (Micronesia) 27 381
* Estimated for adults.Table 1.Adult dietary energy as local traditional food and num-
ber of species/varieties in the food system.
(Reproduced with permission from: Kuhnlein HV, in: Kuhnlein,
Erasmus, Spigelski, 2009, pg 5 )
Ways of cultivating, harvesting, processing and preparing
the foods for families were shown to be fascinating.
However, many species/varieties documented did
not have scientific identifications and nutrition com-
position analyses completed (Kuhnleinet al., 2009).
As shown in Table 1 the locally used food species
numbers varied considerably depending on the
ecosystem. Team members reported a low of 35
food species used in the arid, drought-prone zones
of Kenya where Maasai reside, and up to more than
380 unique food species/varieties documented for
tropical rain forests. The Karen in Thailand ( 387
species) and Pohnpei culture of the Federated
States of Micronesia (381 species/varieties), Dalit in
Zaheerabad region of India (329 species), Awajún in
Peru (223 species) and Igbo of Nigeria (220 species)
all had extensive, complex food systems and rich
cultural traditions using them. However, the extent
of use of species for providing daily energy con-
sumption also varied (Table 1), with up to 100 per-
cent of adult energy from local food resources for
the Awajún and Igbo. Research with the Karen, Bhil,
Maasai, Pohnpei and Dalit showed that commercial
(or donated) refined staples replaced traditional
foods in the diet; the Canadian Gwich’in, Inuit and
Nuxalk peoples were using less than 45 percent of
energy as traditional species with the commercial
foods derived primarily from refined wheat flour, fats
and sugar. The Ainu in Japan used very little tradi-
tional food in their daily diet, and could not recog-
nize all the available species or record the extent of
energy consumed from them (Kuhnlein et al., 2009).3.2 Indigenous Peoples’ food and nutrition inter-
ventions for health promotion and policy
Eight interventions were developed with diverse
resources from within the communities as well as
from external sources. Funding and logistic
constraints necessitated work with unique small
populations where meaningful control groups were not
available. This led to before- and after-intervention
research designs using both qualitative and quanti-
tative measures. Special considerations were needed
to build local cultural pride, develop cross-sectoral
planning and action, and create energetic and en-
thusiastic advocates for community goodwill. All in-
terventions required several years to completion with
evaluation documentation, even while the interven-
tions were sustained and continued to build healthy
diets in communities (Kuhnlein et al., in press).3.3 Cross-cutting themes of interventions
Leadership within the nine interventions agreed that
activities targeting children and youth were crucial to
build long-term change into community wellness.
Not only were activities built to improve nutrition and
health of young people, but to create the cultural
morale and knowledge based in culture and nature
for their learning in formal and informal settings.
Traditional wildlife animal and plant harvest and
agricultural activities based in local traditional crops
were important in youth learning in case studies con-
ducted with the Baffin Inuit, Gwich’in, Nuxalk, Inga,
Pohnpei, Karen and Dalit. Ainu youth experienced