Territory, Body, and Spirit: Indigenous Women, Food Sovereignty and the Production of Health
1
Instituto Insikiran de Formação Superior Indígena, Universidade Federal de Roraima, Boa Vista, Brasil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1925
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
This dissertation analyzes the production of knowledge on food sovereignty and food and nutrition security (FNS) from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, emphasizing the central role of Indigenous women as political and epistemological subjects and as key agents in food systems. Conceptualizes food sovereignty as a structural determinant and a core process in the production of health, in which food is inseparable from body, territory, and spirit.
METHODS:
A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, based on a critical literature review prioritizing Indigenous-authored works and studies on FNS and Indigenous peoples published between 2000 and 2020. The analytical framework is grounded in the concept of “territory–body–spirit” as an epistemological lens aligned with critical public health perspectives. Results The findings demonstrate that Indigenous women occupy a central position in sustaining food sovereignty and, consequently, in the production and protection of health, particularly during public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Autonomous food-related practices—including production, circulation, preparation, and sharing—emerged as collective care strategies that shape living conditions, strengthen social reproduction, and promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Food insecurity among urban Indigenous peoples is revealed as an expression of social and health inequities rooted in territorial dispossession, the coloniality and the weakening of public policies, directly affecting health outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS:
From an Indigenous perspective, food sovereignty redefines FNS by integrating symbolic, spiritual, territorial, and political dimensions as central to the social determination of health. Affirms food sovereignty as an integral and collective right and as a foundational axis in the production of Indigenous health, offering theoretical and political contributions to collective health, food and nutrition security, and public policy debates concerning Indigenous peoples, including those living in urban settings.
This dissertation analyzes the production of knowledge on food sovereignty and food and nutrition security (FNS) from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, emphasizing the central role of Indigenous women as political and epistemological subjects and as key agents in food systems. Conceptualizes food sovereignty as a structural determinant and a core process in the production of health, in which food is inseparable from body, territory, and spirit.
METHODS:
A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, based on a critical literature review prioritizing Indigenous-authored works and studies on FNS and Indigenous peoples published between 2000 and 2020. The analytical framework is grounded in the concept of “territory–body–spirit” as an epistemological lens aligned with critical public health perspectives. Results The findings demonstrate that Indigenous women occupy a central position in sustaining food sovereignty and, consequently, in the production and protection of health, particularly during public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Autonomous food-related practices—including production, circulation, preparation, and sharing—emerged as collective care strategies that shape living conditions, strengthen social reproduction, and promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Food insecurity among urban Indigenous peoples is revealed as an expression of social and health inequities rooted in territorial dispossession, the coloniality and the weakening of public policies, directly affecting health outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS:
From an Indigenous perspective, food sovereignty redefines FNS by integrating symbolic, spiritual, territorial, and political dimensions as central to the social determination of health. Affirms food sovereignty as an integral and collective right and as a foundational axis in the production of Indigenous health, offering theoretical and political contributions to collective health, food and nutrition security, and public policy debates concerning Indigenous peoples, including those living in urban settings.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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