- Shina Novalinga, an Inuk throat singer, shared a TikTok video in August that went viral.
- This footage revealed the high prices of certain food items in Indigenous communities.
- Grapes were $28, while ketchup was $16.
One woman showed the high grocery prices to highlight food insecurity that affects some Indigenous communities.
Shina Novalinga, an Inuk throat singer, posted a TikTok video last month that’s since garnered more than 2.2 million views and sparked conversations among her three million followers.
“Did you know how insanely expensive food costs in Indigenous communities?” Novalinga added the caption.
Novalinga shared photos that looked like they were taken in grocery stores within Indigenous communities. According to the video, strawberry cost $14, Kraft Peanut Butter cost $11, and Heinz Ketchup cost $16.
A bag of green Grapes was estimated to cost $28.
Novalinga finished the video by encouraging her followers to spread awareness about the issue, support Indigenous peoples, and join groups like Made Good’s Un-Wreck the Futureto fight food insecurity.
Insider reached Novalinga for comment but she did not respond immediately.
She noted that “groceries cost more than twice the national average in Nunavik & Nunavut” in a separate Instagram post. NunavikandNunavut are two of four Inuit homelands in Canada, according to the global nonprofit organizationFacing History and Ourselves.
Thehigh cost of groceries for some Indigenous communities has been a continuous problem. Insider’s Leanna Garfieldreported that food is sometimes delivered by plane or ship to parts of northern Canada due to its isolation. Because of the harsh climate, it can be difficult to grow food in northern Canada’s sub-Arctic region.
In 2017, some everyday food items like a jug of Sunny D cost $28.31.