The Bachelor of Indigenous Sustainable Food Systems, Honours (BISFS) is grounded in Indigenous worldviews that understand food systems as inseparable from land, culture, governance, language, health, and ceremony. The program affirms Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty by preparing learners to design, implement, and sustain food systems that align with their Nations’ laws, teachings, and responsibilities to future generations. BISFS contributes to community wellness, cultural continuity, economic development, and environmental stewardship through education that is both deeply rooted and forward looking. 

FNTI recognizes that Indigenous food systems are not merely mechanisms for food production, but living systems that reflect Indigenous law, ethics, kinship structures, and intergenerational responsibilities. These systems have sustained Indigenous Nations since time immemorial through sophisticated land stewardship practices, seed saving, polycultures, hunting and harvesting protocols, governance systems, and food sharing economies. Colonization, land displacement, environmental degradation, and imposed economic systems have disrupted these relationships, contributing directly to present day food insecurity, health inequities, and loss of food autonomy. 

The BISFS program responds to these realities by supporting the revitalization and strengthening of Indigenous food systems through education that centres Indigenous values and governance. Community accountability is embedded through the Program Advisory Council (PAC), Elders, Knowledge Keepers, partner organizations, and land-based learning sites. These relationships inform curriculum design, experiential learning, research directions, and program evaluation, ensuring that the program remains responsive to community aspirations and priorities. 

The BISFS program is grounded in Indigenous epistemologies that view learning as relational, experiential, cyclical, and embedded in lived practice. Knowledge is understood as emerging through relationships among people, land, water, plants, animals, ancestors, and future generations. Learning therefore extends beyond the classroom and is cultivated through story, observation, participation, reflection, ceremony, and engagement with community. 

Indigenous knowledges within the BISFS program are honoured as nation specific and are contextualized respectfully within their cultural origins. FNTI actively resists pan-Indigenization by naming teachings where possible, acknowledging Knowledge Keepers, and guiding learners in protocols for receiving and carrying knowledge in a good way. This approach reinforces ethical engagement with Indigenous knowledge and supports learners in understanding their responsibilities as knowledge carriers. 

The Four Rounds Framework 

The program curriculum is structured using the Four Rounds Model of Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Doing, Being, and Relating, which provides a developmental learning journey across the four-year Honours degree: 

• Ways of Knowing (Year One): 
  Learners engage with foundational teachings that establish worldview, context, and purpose. Courses emphasize Indigenous histories, governance, health, food sovereignty, agricultural heritage, and ecological relationships. This year sparks the learning spirit by grounding learners in why Indigenous food systems matter and how they are rooted in culture and law. 

• Ways of Doing (Year Two): 
  Learners move into action-oriented learning, applying foundational knowledge through hands on food production, seed systems, policy analysis, and community engagement. This year emphasizes skill development, critical analysis, and practical application through experiential and land-based activities. 

• Ways of Being (Year Three): 
  Learning shifts inward to examine identity, leadership, ethics, and personal responsibility within food systems work. Learners reflect on their gifts, roles, and relationships while developing leadership, governance, human resources, research, and financial skills. This year strengthens confidence, accountability, and professional identity. 

• Ways of Relating (Year Four): 
  Learners integrate their knowledge, skills, and identity through advanced coursework, community-based research, leadership practice, and culminating projects. The final year prepares learners to relate meaningfully with community, land, organizations, and Nations as they transition into professional and leadership roles. 

Throughout all years, learning is supported through ceremony, land-based education, storytelling, seasonal activities, reflection, and collective responsibility. 

Learner wellbeing is a central responsibility of the BISFS program and is understood as integral to learning success, retention, and ethical practice. FNTI supports learners through a wholistic, trauma-informed approach that recognizes the social, cultural, economic, and familial realities of many Indigenous learners. 

The program employs a team-based teaching and support model, with each course supported by: 

• Faculty/Instructors – responsible for academic facilitation and assessment; 

• Cultural Advisors – who provide ceremony, language, and cultural teachings; and 

• Student Success Facilitators – who support navigation of academic systems, technology, attendance, and access to services. 

Learners have access to academic advising, learner success services, counselling referrals, institutional wellness supports (including the CALM app), and cohort building activities that strengthen connection and belonging. Flexibility is built into delivery and assessment to accommodate caregiving responsibilities, employment, travel, and community obligations. 

FNTI engages in proactive learner monitoring through collaborative case management between academic, enrolment, and student success teams to identify challenges early and ensure timely support. 

The BISFS program is a four-year, 120 credit Honours degree delivered through a hybrid intensive model that combines online learning, in-person intensives, land-based education, and community engagement. This delivery model supports accessibility for learners balancing employment, family, and community responsibilities. 

The curriculum includes Indigenous history and worldviews, food production systems, health and wellness, community development, business, governance, leadership, and Integrated Experiential Learning.  

The BISFS program is an Honours level bachelor’s degree designed to meet advanced academic and professional expectations. Learning outcomes reflect Indigenous knowledge systems, community-based practice, leadership, and applied research competencies. 

Graduates of the BISFS program will demonstrate the ability to: 

1. Integrate environmental, cultural, and health perspectives within food systems practice. 

2. Revitalize Indigenous identities through food sovereignty initiatives. 

3. Analyze Indigenous food systems within historical, contemporary, and future contexts. 

4. Apply Indigenous languages, protocols, and teachings in professional practice. 

5. Design and sustain community-based food systems. 

6. Engage in ecocultural restoration and regenerative practices. 

7. Align food systems planning with seasonal and ecological cycles. 

8. Contribute to Nation building and Indigenous governance. 

9. Situate local food systems within global Indigenous movements. 

10. Apply Indigenous ethics and values in food systems leadership. 

11. Demonstrate practical skills supporting self-determination and food autonomy. 

12. Navigate autonomy within interconnected social and ecological systems. 

These outcomes are assessed across coursework, Integrated Experiential Learning, and reflective practice. 

Integrated Experiential Learning (IEL) is a signature component of BISFS and reflects Indigenous approaches to learning through experience, relationship, and responsibility. IEL strengthens theory to practice integration while supporting community identified goals and learner development. 

IEL experiences include (but are not limited to) land-based learning, community food initiatives, cultural teachings, food production activities, leadership roles, and applied research. All experiences are planned, supervised, and assessed through reflective and portfolio-based evaluation. Learners work closely with the IEL Cohort Supervisor and community partners to ensure ethical engagement, reciprocity, and accountability. 

Categories of Placement Experiences 

IEL experiences are scaffolded across three categories: 

• Foundational: Observation and introductory learning; 

• Service Learning: Active community contribution with reflection; 

• Advanced: Leadership, design, and complex implementation. 

Learners complete 600 hours of IEL across four years, with progressive responsibility and depth each year. 

BISFS IEL Course Learning Examples 

Four IEL specific courses (IELF 1000–4000) support progressive learning aligned with the Four Rounds framework. Each course links experiential activities to program learning outcomes and reflective assessment, culminating in community focused projects and knowledge sharing.