Abstract

This thesis is an examination of how First Nations chefs and restauranteurs are using the culinary arts, similar to other art forms, as a means of asserting contemporary identities as well as responding to the legacy of colonialism in Canada. Colonialism has forever altered traditional Aboriginal ways of life, including artistic expressions. However, a post-colonial analysis of a broad range of work by contemporary Aboriginal artists will reveal that the arts have been used by Native people as a means of responding to colonialism as well as a way of asserting their contemporary identities. This analysis will be done using a set of theoretical principles drawn from post-colonial studies, including self-representation, authenticity, hybridity, appropriation, and cultural continuity and survival, which will later be applied to my analysis of Aboriginal haute cuisine. An in-depth ethnographical survey of historical culinary traditions among Native people in Canada will reveal that food has always been an integral part of Aboriginal lifeways, and consequently the negative impact that colonization has had on the traditional eating habits of Native people. However, by looking at the development of recent trends in Aboriginal haute cuisine using the principles developed from postcolonial studies, it is clear that cooking is also a means, like other forms of artistic expression, of affirming and celebrating contemporary Indigenous identities. This thesis also seeks to contribute to the emerging field of Food Studies, as well as to suggest a new means of social analysis for Canadian Studies scholars.