A survey of the traditional food consumption that may contribute to enhanced soil ingestion in a Canadian First Nation community.

Soil ingestion rates in the order of 400 mg d(-1) have been proposed and considered plausible for use in human health risk assessments (HHRA) of Aboriginal populations and justified by qualitative assessments of the traditional subsistence activities that could enhance soil ingestion. The purpose of this study was to assess and document the subsistence activities and food consumption practiced by a First Nation Community living in a wilderness community in Canada to allow for a comparison with the previous qualitative assessments of Aboriginal populations and a quantitative mass balance tracer element study of the community conducted concurrently. An ethno-cultural survey was conducted of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nations community living in the Nemiah Valley, approximately 230 km west of Williams Lake, British Columbia. The community diet was observed to consist mainly of fish and big game, and was supplemented by berries and roots. Outdoor cultural gatherings, hunting and food gathering trips and sporting events, with their attendant potential for enhanced soil exposure, were observed to be an important facet of community life. The survey concluded that a significant portion of the Xeni Gwet'in practise a lifestyle similar to the subsistence lifestyles of other indigenous communities, where soil exposure scenarios in the order of hundreds of mg d(-1) have been proposed.