The study sought to explore possibilities of using African languages and their literature to enhance socio-cultural and economic development in Zimbabwe. In broad terms the study considered empowerment through language. Basically the research was an exploration of the different linguistic patterns and attitudes that prevail in the African continent in general and Zimbabwe in particular. The descriptive survey research design was employed for its usefulness in exploratory studies. A total of 600 people participated in the research. Respondents were from across the breath of linguistic divides in the country. Questionnaires, interviews, observations and documentary reviews were used to gather data. Data gathered was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis resulting in data triangulation for validation. Major findings of the research indicated a disparity in the roles and functions allocated to languages in Zimbabwe. English is preferred and over valued in administration, education and wider communication as a carrier of modern knowledge in science and technology Zimbabwe’s dependence on English provides selective access to socio-cultural and economic services that results in the exclusion of a majority of indigenous people. Zimbabwe’s dependence on English therefore limits adequate exploitation of potential in socio-cultural and economic development. The linguistic landscape of Zimbabwe is not adequately exploited. Zimbabwe is a multi-lingual and multi-cultural country without a clear defining instrument for the status and use of indigenous languages, (Gatawa, 1998; NLPAP, 1998 and Nziramasanga et al, 1999). A clear language policy that recognises that language is a resource is likely to be linguistically all-inclusive and facilitate socio-cultural and economic participation by all Zimbabweans Implementation of proposals for inclusion of African languages is retarded by centuries of linguistic marginalisation and fossilised attitudes in the belief that English carries modern knowledge, coupled with the lack of resources theory. Zimbabwe’s pursuance in the use of English is mainly for nationistic reasons.Proposals and recommendations to avoid reverse discrimination and come up with an all-inclusive multi-lingual policy that uplifts the status of indigenous languages and their literature without annihilating English were made. The level of development for English should illuminate and challenge the heights to which African languages can be developed. / African languages / D.Litt. et Phil.

Asians and expatriate Africans have been prominent in the SMME economy of South Africa. This work seeks to establish reasons for the growth and competitiveness of SMMEs run by these groups compared to those operated by local citizens. Reasons for this competitiveness are gleaned from existing literature and presented in accordance with the Perren model which attributes the growth of SMMEs to the owner’s motivation, expertise in managing growth, access to resources, and demand. In this work, the Perren model was first applied to Asians and Lebanese in East and West Africa to set a foundation for comparison with the South African situation. This work concluded that it is the four interim growth drivers acting together that cause competitiveness of Asian- or expatriate African-owned SMMEs. Policy recommendations to improve competitiveness of SMMEs owned by local citizens are then suggested at the end. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)

This dissertation is conducted in Gedeo, with the aim of revealing the dynamics of IK of agroforestry system of Gedeo. The dynamics were seen from the perspective of the intergenerational variation in IK acquisition and transmission. The study investigated drivers of IK changes and continuities and the implications to sustainability. The study employed an interdisciplinary approach whereby geographical concepts and approaches were supplemented by anthropological and developmental psychology approaches and concepts. Thus, an exploratory mixed research approach was used. The dynamics were seen by employing cross-sectional approach. Thus, synchronic data were collected from several sources, by employing ranges of qualitative and quantitative tools. The respondents were drawn from the local people and agricultural experts. Accordingly, 72key informants were chosen through purposive and snowball sampling. To determine the spatio-temporal variation of IK, 290 informants aged between 12 and 65 were chosen using multistage stratified sampling. For the household survey, 252 participants were selected using multistage stratified and systematic random sampling. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis and case summary while for quantitative data mean, standard deviation, ANOVA, chi-square, and t-test were employed. The analysis results have shown that the agroforestry system exhibits both indigenous and modern practices. The indigenous practices, which sustained for longer time through generational transfer, appear to be engulfed by modern practice. The study identified knowledge and skill gap between young people and adults. The gap is more significant in normative dimension of IK. This can be attributed to declining rate of IK transmission and acquisition among successive generations, which in turn is attributed to weak contact between young people and adults, and changes in the lifestyle of the young people. Besides, biodiversity loss, demographic pressure, modernization, introduction of market economy, and top-down development approach are among the drivers of the gradual loss of IK. The gradual loss of IK was to have an impact on sustainability of the system. This calls for concerted efforts to maintain the sustainability of IK through revitalization of IK transmission and acquisition. Finally, joint effort is required to document IK, include in school curriculum, and integrate with the modern practices. / Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)

Today, unlike yesterday we talk about Moral Regeneration amongst the Vhavenḓa youth of today and throughout the whole world. Strategies of combating this monster that is snatching our youth are recommended in this study. The problem dealt with in this study is the issue of Moral degeneration amongst the youth which needs to be regenerated. There are many causes of moral degeneration amongst the youth discussed in this study which are accompanied by the remedial strategies. As a way forward in this study, observations of researchers and scholars on how to find the solution about moral degeneration that has impacted on the lives of Vhavenḓa youth and other youth of today around the globe were focused on. The literature review in this study was based more on issues that are linked to Indigenous Knowledge Systems as discussed by various scholars. This study used the qualitative research methodology though quantitative minimally. The sampling of data was more purposive though there were cases of convenience and snowballing so as to get more data. Data for this research study was collected through questionnaires and interviews from a host of interviewees. This data was analysed using open and axial coding. The findings were grouped or categorised into major themes in terms of selective coding. Reasons behind the findings were explained too. Finally, consequences, implications for further study and also recommendations were indicated. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African languages)

Centred on the architecture of the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium, this thesis tangentially investigates the presence of Anglo-Saxon race mindedness in a place civic planners call the metropolitan centre of North America (Watt, 1932). The introduction situates the building tangentially in Manitoba's history. By thinking about the Civic Auditorium in a tangential manner I aim to attack the linear and sequential framework found in Eurocentric historical accounts. Doing this, my thesis criticises western architectural history and welcomes Indigenous reinterpretations of civic planning and urban aesthetics. I aim to philosophically attack the informational rhetoric of the cultural turn (Fabian, 1983). My thesis participates in the production of a material turn discourse, wherein the important philosophical relationship between objects and occidental culture is demonstrated (Otter, 2010; Bennett & Joyce, 2010; Hamilton, 2013). It utilises the Civic Auditorium as a touch stone to demonstrate the important ways that architecture has agency in the production of racism. / February 2016

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Sudan is a country that has been affected by a history of multiple destructive civil wars. Conflicts that, in a global perspective, have proven to be as devastating as interstate wars, or on occasion even more destructive, in terms of the numbers of casualties, refugee figures and the effects on a country’s society. The conflict in Darfur, in the western region of Sudan, is a civil war that illustrates one of the direst scenarios. In around five years of warfare, more than 200,000 people have died in the conflict, and around two million Darfurians were displaced, creating what the UN calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” The civil war was initiated by the attacks of two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, against government installations. Although presenting insurgency characteristics, the civil war in Darfur has been commonly labelled as a “tribal” conflict of “Africans” versus “Arabs”. An explanation that seems to fail to clarify the complex circumstances belying the situation. As seen in this study, although identity factors played their role as a cause of the conflict, the ‘ethnic hatred’ justification of war doesn’t seem to be sufficient to explain the present situation. Darfur appears to be a clear example that there is no single factor that can explain such a war. In the case of Darfur, various factors seem to have interplayed in creating the necessary conditions for the eruption of violence. This study focused on two of these factors – the environmental hazards that have been affecting the region, and the government’s use of the Janjaweed militia in its counterinsurgency movement. Both, and in different ways, seem to have contributed to dividing the Darfurian society between two poles, thus worsening the circumstances in the region and helping generate the high levels of violence that characterise the Darfur conflict. Most important, in analysing the conflict of Darfur with a point of view that goes beyond the “ethnic hatred” explanation, it seems possible to identify issues, such as land ownership, that are in vital need of being addressed in order to achieve peace in 4 the region. As seen in this thesis, it seems that it is only through a broad understanding of the complex causes of the conflict that peace negotiations might have any hope of success. While those continue to be ignored, any peace agreements or prospects of finding a solution to the conflict will be unrealistic.

第一章 開宗明義質問人類學與民族誌的排灣族如何與現今的自我認同相連？今日的排灣族「民族意識」很清晰的源頭不是出於主觀認同，而是出於外力強加。在人類學出現之前，其實今日被指稱為排灣族的人群，根本沒有「民族」的想像共同體存在。而是許多個以部落或部落同盟作為想像共同體的人群；這概念不同於民族的定義，不該被外來知識當作「必要的客體」而粗暴分類。而「台灣原住民族」分類之演變是基於日本帝國主義的殖民需求，由早期台灣殖民地人民的「原漢分類」輪廓，並以「高砂族」之改造為最終目的。列舉所引用的有關排灣族傳統文化的特徵，也試著回到本論文的主題「民族傳統文化」的辯證假設。借用部份人類學的知識文本，來開啟本論文場域中特定人群之民族邊緣、文化認同與社會變遷的探討。 第二章 就本論文所限定的區域範圍提供背景論述，以利讀者作為認知與思考的必要參考。包括一般性的地理與人文，以呈現其多重邊緣位置的特色。在被殖民統治前，其神話傳說建構的「我群」與權力體系之介紹，表明其有完整的知識系統以及對應的權力結構。而後敘及獅子鄉各村之行政沿革，新身份符號所使用的新概念系統，本文是以「鄉」作為一個觀察單位，以「鄉民」的認同與「族藉」認同再作另一層的觀察對比。 第三章 回顧歷史上發生在本區域的異文化接觸與外來統治。文化接觸在此分為兩個層面，即輭性的自然互動狀態以及武力對抗時期。當傳統文化優勢不再，民族邊緣的消長於是發生，民族認同的需要也進入當地人的心智中。而後更強烈的文化衝擊，來自異族的政治改造；使得傳統文化的優勢不但不可能繼續存在，反而有可能遭到根本的鏟除。 第四章 權力、知識、信仰與理論的興替：簡而言之就是不同的知識邏輯在強烈的競爭，建立自己的領域與穩固其優勢。而信仰、知識與權力是三位一體的，且三者之間運用各種理論來加強與包裝。本章試從三個角度解析，第一是頭目家庭權力勢微，並使得傳統的知識邏輯不再能執行應用程式之改寫。第二是國民教育取代傳統，新舊知識與權力鬥爭下此消彼長。第三當外來統治勢力更易後，處於信仰空窗期的人們受到新的、有組織的宗教團體所帶來的新文化刺激；祖靈信仰改宗基督，又一次的知識邏輯重組，族群與認同邊緣的形成受到更深度的影響。最後是與世界接軌後，多元文化思想論戰隨著台灣內部之民主化而成熟，傳統與新興勢力兩邊同時得到大量的知識擙援，新一輪的權力攻守值得進一步觀察。 第五章 文化認同與社會變遷實為一體之兩面，因為社會變遷的發生，迫使文化需要有新的程式來執行新的工作。例如新的法律身份、歷史意識建構等，而身份與文化認同的轉換又取決於外部社會的客觀條件。由傳統身份轉為現代身份，新的認同產生了重疊與多元的情況。尤其是民生需求之取得方式，出現了斷裂式的轉換。有關民族傳統文化風貌的變遷，藉由直接呈現獅子鄉現時的文化面貌，以對比的方式顯示截然異於同樣擁有「族藉身份」的北排灣區域人群，希望能引發進一步的思考。尤其出人意外，在最沒有「原味」的「原鄉」，竟舉辦國內規模空前絕後的全國原住民族嘉年華「麻里巴狩獵祭」，無疑是一個值得觀察與探討的重點。 第六章 反思與回顧，希望能藉由思辯的方式進一步對本論文所建構的民族邊緣、文化認同與身份認同間的互動關係與社會變遷作整體性再思考。由對「民族傳統文化」的認同力度，去思考民族邊緣的移動。有關人類學與民族認同，是否該回到「想像共同體」的論述脈絡中，重新檢視一個被人類學所建構的民族邊緣。而這個民族的邊緣經過一個世紀的煅煉是否有了民族意識或文化內涵之「中央」與「邊陲」的相對性出現。另外，「教育、教化與同化」過程中，從知識的生產與再生產去觀察，進一步探討民族認同與文化認同間的互動關係。甚至應該思考所謂的國民教育是為了建構「現代國家」認同或是「民族傳統文化」認同。本地區的另一大特色是戰爭與文化重生，這項因素遠大於一般性的社會變遷，對於初民社會人群與民族國家體制直接戰爭對抗時，所產生的傳統知識邏輯斷裂之可能性，以及族群對歷史選擇性的遺忘，作反思探討並回顧學界漢化、土著化、在地化等論述的實地驗證，並提出本論文所獲之研究心得「權力化」觀點，供思考目前台灣「民族問題」與「認同問題」時另一新視野。 結論 作全篇寫作精神、信念、風格與意義的總結。 / Since 1872 Japanese troop invaded this area, for the first time, the indigenous people in the mountain tribes met the nation’s force of the outside world. In 1895 Japanese occupied Taiwan, and started its colonial careers, the indigenous peoples in the mountain area were treated as wild beast never been protected under the constitution or law. After 10 years military suppression in 1915 all the weapons of indigenous people had been taken away, and strictly police control system had set up. In 1942, after the Japanese stated the Pacific War. Thousands of what so called volunteers had been leaded to the front line of jungle battlefield from the indigenous people’s tribes, more than 70% died, the others almost all of them wounded when they were sent back in 1946. In 1949, the Chinese ruler party KMT lost the civil war and slipped to Taiwan. Since then by the excuse of anticommunist, millions of people in this island live under the martial law for 40 years, of course those indigenous peoples were included. After the dictatorial president Chiang died in 1989, some of the Taiwanese tried to found an independent nation, Culture identity and nation identity became the biggest issue in this island especially during the campaign of voting seasons. Unfortunately, more than half million indigenous people can’t stay away from the arguing, and somehow be used to prove that Taiwanese is not Chinese. In 2000, for the first time what so called the president of Republic of China, has been taken by a 13 years old young party from the one who is already more than 100 years old. But almost more than 90% of the indigenous people’s voting were not supporting this young party, the ironic result push the new ruler has to face his idol with a much more serious attitude, and the latter aware of his un-replaceable value in this new political market. The culture identity especially for the traditional part has been changed more than twice in last century, the article is trying to find out the relations between indigenous people’s psychological activities inside and the social’s reforming outside during last 100 years. Shih Tzu country (which is a basic administrative unit comprising 8 villages about 5,500 in population) of Ping Tung country in southern Taiwan, people here were identified as Paiwan, they use the same dialogue as well as the other Paiwan, but except that there is almost no other traditional culture has left. From this very particular aspect caused the research in this title ahead.

The thesis is a study of a Guaraní community (comunidad) situated in the Department of Santa Cruz in the southeastern lowlands of Bolivia. The thesis uses the concept of ‘comunidad’ as a focus of investigation. While this concept is one that is familiar and firmly embedded in contemporary discourses throughout Bolivia, the meanings which different people and interest groups attach to it and the purposes which they ascribe to it are far from unanimous. Apart from the physical and legal entity, comprising a group of people, the land on which they live, and the legal title for its ownership, a comunidad is a multifaceted and multilayered complex of diverging and sometimes competing ideas, desires and agendas. Questioning the concept of ‘comunidad’ in this way opens up new perspectives on what people are doing and why that could easily be overlooked in continuing to assume that we know what we are talking about when talking about a ‘comunidad indígena’ in Bolivia today. The thesis explores the case of Cañón de Segura by eliciting and bringing together the various claims and perspectives that impact on the lives of its inhabitants (comunarios). Starting with a historical overview to situate the comunidad within Bolivian and Guaraní history, the thesis moves into an ethnographic discussion of the comunarios’ own perceptions and meanings of ‘comunidad’, followed by an exploration of various outsiders’ perspectives on the same topic that impact on the comunarios’ lives in different ways. The aim of the thesis is to illustrate the overlap and entanglements between these different positions in order to show how the different perspectives on the meaning and purpose of a Guaraní ‘comunidad’ all contribute to shape the actual realities of people’s lives ‘on the ground’.

Asymmetrical conflicts and power relations between extractive industries and Indigenous groups often have devastating consequences for Indigenous peoples. Many Indigenous groups are struggling to maintain their lands as Indigenous perspectives on connection to Country are frequently undervalued or dismissed in favour of extractivist ideologies. While this conflicted interface has been researched in various parts of the world, studies exploring conflicts and power relations with extractive industries from Indigenous perspectives are few. This thesis is an international comparison aiming to illuminate situations of conflict and asymmetrical power relations caused by extractivism on Indigenous lands from new viewpoints. By drawing on two single case studies, the situations for Laevas reindeer herding Sami community in northern Sweden and Adnyamathanha Traditional Owners in South Australia are compared and contrasted. Yarning (a form of interviewing) is used as a method for data collection and in order to stay as true as possible to the research participants’ own words a number of direct quotes are used. The analysis employs peace researcher Johan Galtung’s concepts of cultural and structural violence as analytical tools to further explore the participants’ experiences of interactions with extractive industries and industrial proponents, including governments. In addition, the thesis introduces the concept of extractive violence as a complement to Galtung’s model. Extractive violence is defined as a form of direct violence against people and/or animals and nature caused by extractivism, which predominantly impacts peoples closely connected to land. The concepts of structural and cultural violence are understood as unjust societal structures and racist and discriminating attitudes respectively. A number of main themes could be identified in the research participants’ narratives. However, the most prominent on both continents was connections to Country and the threat that extractive violence posed to these connections. The results show that although the expressions of cultural, structural and extractive violence experienced by the two Indigenous communities varied, the impacts were strikingly similar. Both communities identified extractive violence, supported by structural and cultural violence, as threats to the continuation of their societies and entire cultures. Furthermore, the results suggest that in order to address violence against Indigenous peoples and achieve conflict transformation, Indigenous and decolonising perspectives should be heard and taken into account. / Konflikter och maktrelationer mellan utvinningsindustrier och urfolksgrupper får ofta förödande konsekvenser för urfolken. På grund av assymetriska maktförhållanden mellan urfolk och majoritetssamhällen som råder på de flesta ställen i världen utsätts många urfolk systematiskt för rättighetskränkningar. Många urfolksgrupper kämpar idag för att bevara sina marker eftersom urfolks perspektiv och kopplingar till marken ofta förminskas eller ignoreras när de står i motsättning till extraktiva ideologier. Även om extraktivism och påverkan på urfolk och urfolksgrupper varit fokus för tidigare studier saknas forskning som utgår från urfolkens perspektiv. Denna avhandling är en internationell jämförelse med syfte att, från nya synvinklar, belysa konfliktsituationer och asymmetriska maktrelationer som orsakats av extraktivism på urfolks marker. Avhandlingen jämför och kontrasterar två fallstudier som utförts med Laevas č earru (sameby) i norra Sverige och Adnyamathanha-folket i delstaten South Australia. I fallstudien som utförts tillsammans med Laevas č earru ingår en grupp av totalt sex forskningsdeltagare, fyra män och två kvinnor. Det var dock framför allt två forskningsdeltagare som intervjuades med anledning av den konfliktsituation mellan Laevas č earru och gruvbolaget LKAB, som står i fokus för artikel I i avhandlingen. I den australiska fallstudien, som utförts tillsammans med Adnyamathanha-folket, ingår en grupp av sju forskningsdeltagare bestående av fyra kvinnor och tre män. Denna studie, artikel II, behandlar Adnyamathanhafolkets kamp mot de australiska och sydaustraliska regeringarnas förslag om att inrätta kärnavfallsdepåer på Adnyamathanhas marker. För att inhämta material användes yarning (en typ av intervjumetod) och för att återge forskningsdeltagarnas ord så rättvisande möjligt inkluderades ett antal direktcitat i texterna. För att möjliggöra en mer djupgående analys av forskningsdeltagarnas upplevelser av konflikter med utvinningsindustrier och förespråkare för extraktivism, inklusive regeringar och stater, användes Johan Galtungs modell, känd som Galtungs våldstriangel, som analysverktyg. Galtungs modell innefattar strukturellt, kulturellt och direkt våld. Direkt våld definieras som fysiskt våld eller hot om fysiskt våld, strukturellt våld utgörs av orättvisa och diskriminerande samhällsstrukturer och kulturellt våld är de attityder som får det strukturella och således även det direkta våldet att te sig legitimt. Föreliggande avhandling introducerar även konceptet extraktivt våld som ett komplement till Galtungs modell där xvi det ersätter direkt våld. Jag definierar extraktivt våld som en typ av direkt våld mot människor och/eller djur och natur orsakat av extraktivism som framför allt påverkar människor med starka kopplingar till sina marker. Extraktivism förstås här som alla typer av aktiviteter som extraherar stora mängder av resurser från marker och människor, exempelvis gruvdrift, skogsbruk, fiske, lantbruk och turism. I forskningsdeltagarnas utsagor identifierades ett antal nyckelteman. Dessa teman uppvisade både likheter och skillnader beroende på deltagarnas olika situationer och förutsättningar. Det mest framträdande temat på båda kontinenterna var dock ”connection to Country” eller kopplingar till marken. Båda grupperna beskrev hur marken och deras förhållande till den innefattade historia, kunskap, traditioner och kultur. För Adnyamathanhagruppen var det mest centrala att rädda och bevara heliga platser som hotas av extraktivism och för Laevas č earru sågs renskötseln och bevarandet av markerna för renarnas skull som det mest väsentliga. Avhandlingens resultat visar att även om de former av kulturellt, strukturellt och extraktivt våld som forskningsdeltagarna upplevde varierade, var effekterna av våldet slående lika. Båda grupperna identifierade extraktivt våld, understött av strukturellt och kulturellt våld, som hot mot fortlevnaden av deras samhällen och kulturer. Resultaten pekar även på vikten av att urfolkens perspektiv inkluderas och blir hörda om konflikttransformering mellan utvinningsindustrier och urfolk ska kunna uppnås.

L‘obésité constitue un problème de santé publique au Canada, particulièrement chez les populations autochtones où les prévalences les plus élevées ont été rapportées. D’après les écrits recensés, plusieurs méthodes ont été essayées pour étudier la relation entre l’alimentation et l’obésité, mais les résultats sont inconstants. Le but de cette thèse est d’identifier, en termes quantitatif et qualitatif, les différences dans l’alimentation des obèses et non-obèses. Pour y parvenir, nous avons développé une nouvelle méthode à l’aide d’une banque de données portant sur les enfants Mohawk de Kahnawake afin d’identifier les différences dans les choix alimentaires. Cette même méthode a été ensuite appliquée à deux autres banques de données (celle des adultes cris de la Baie James et celle des autochtones de l’enquête ESCC 2.2). Globalement, les résultats n’ont pas montré de différences significatives dans l’alimentation des participants selon les catégories d’IMC en considérant les indicateurs reliés à la quantité et à la qualité de l’alimentation comme l’apport énergétique total, l’apport énergétique en provenance des lipides, les fibres alimentaires, la densité énergétique et la diversité alimentaire. Par contre, les résultats de la nouvelle méthode fondée sur la sélection des items alimentaires fréquemment consommés par au moins 10 % des participants ont révélé que les enfants de Kahnawake à risque d’excès de poids consommaient plus fréquemment de croustilles (p=0.001) et moins fréquemment de craquelins que les enfants avec excès de poids ou ceux ayant un poids normal (p=0.015). Ensuite, en prenant la catégorie de poids normal comme référence, le rapport de côte (Odds ratio : OR) d’être à risque d’excès de poids était de 2.16 (95 % IC : 1.14 - 4.09) fois plus élevé chez les enfants de Kahnawake qui consommaient plus fréquemment de croustilles comparativement aux non-consommateurs de croustilles, et ce, après ajustement pour l’âge. Par contre, le rapport de côte d’être à risque d’excès de poids diminuait de 79 % (OR = 0.21; 95 % IC : 0.06 – 0.72) chez les enfants consommateurs de craquelins comparativement à leurs homologues non-consommateurs. Après avoir corrigé les quantités pour l’âge, on note que les enfants avec excès de poids consommaient plus de frites que les enfants à risque d’excès de poids ou ceux ayant un poids normal (p = 0.027). Chez les femmes cries, les résultats de la nouvelle méthode ont montré que le colorant à café était associé à un risque élevé d’obésité (OR = 4.64, 95 % IC : 1.04 - 0.54); alors que le lait faible en matières grasses était associé à un moindre risque d’embonpoint (OR = 0.38, 95 % IC : 0.17 - 0.82), après ajustement pour l’âge. Quant aux hommes cris, le lait entier était associé à un moindre risque d’avoir de l’embonpoint (OR ajusté pour l’âge = 0.38, 95 % IC : 0.20 - 0.71) et, en termes de quantité corrigée pour l’âge, les hommes obèses buvaient plus de boissons sucrées aux fruits comparativement aux hommes de poids normal ou ceux ayant de l’embonpoint (p=0.015). Selon les résultats de cette méthode appliquée aux données de l’enquête ESCC 2.2, les garçons à risque d’excès de poids ou avec excès de poids consommaient moins fréquemment de pain blanc que ceux de poids normal (p=0.048). En termes de quantité toutefois, ils consommaient plus de pain blanc (p=0.040), utilisaient plus de farine de blé (p=0.006) et de levure (p=0.002). Après avoir ajusté les quantités consommées pour l’âge et l’indice d’activité physique, les femmes avec embonpoint ou obèses utilisaient plus de farine de blé (p< 0.001) que leurs homologues de poids normal. Chez les hommes, il n'y avait pas de différences ni dans les fréquences de consommation ni dans les quantités consommées. Concernant les filles, leurs apports alimentaires n'étaient pas valides (facteur d'activité de Goldberg < 1.2 dans la catégorie embonpoint / obèse). Les résultats de cette méthode innovatrice pourraient d’une part, permettre d’axer la sensibilisation sur des aliments particuliers en plus des recommandations générales du Guide Alimentaire Canadien. D’autre part, ils nous renvoient aux données biologiques de laboratoire afin d’identifier les composantes des items susceptibles de contribuer au développement de l’obésité. / Obesity is a public health problem in Canada, particularly among Aboriginal populations where the highest prevalences have been reported. In the literature, several methods have been tried to study the relationship between diet and obesity, but results are inconsistent. The objective of this thesis is to identify differences in selected dimensions of diet quality and quantity across body mass index (BMI) categories for Aboriginal children and adults in Canada. To achieve this goal, we developed a new method by using data from Mohawk children in Kahnawake. The same method was then applied to two other datasets (James Bay Cree adults and off-reserve adults and children from CCHS 2.2). Overall, in each dataset, the results showed no differences in the diets of participants considering indicators such as energy intake, percent fat, fiber intake, energy density and dietary diversity. On the contrary, using the new method based on the most-frequently consumed food items by at least 10% of participants, we found that Mohawk children “at risk of overweight” consume potato chips more frequently (p=0.001) and crackers less frequently (p = 0.015), compared to normal-weight or overweight children. Compared to normal-weight, and after adjusting for age, Mohawk children who consumed more frequently chips increased their probability of being at risk of overweight (Odds ratio : OR = 2.16, 95 % CI : 1.14 - 4.09), while those who consumed crackers more frequently decreased their risk (OR = 0.21; 95 % CI : 0.06 – 0.72). In terms of quantity, and after adjusting for age, overweight children consumed larger portions of french fries (p = 0.027).Among the Cree women (compared to normal-weight, and after adjusting for age), we found out that nondairy creamer was associated to increase risk of being obese (OR = 4.64, 95 % CI : 1.04 - 20.54) while low-fat milk was associated to lower risk of overweight (OR = 0.38, 95 % CI : 0.17 - 0.82). Among Cree men, (after adjusting for age), whole milk was associated to a high risk of the men being overweight (OR = 0.38, 95 % CI : 0.20 - 0.71). Finally, in terms of quantity (after adjusting for age), obese men drank more sweetened fruit drinks compared to men of normal weight or those with overweight (p = 0.015). In the third dataset CCHS2.2, results of the new method show that boys at “risk of overweight” or overweight consumed white bread less frequently (p = 0,048) but in greater quantity when they do so (p = 0,040). They also used more flour (p = 0.006) and yeast (p = 0.002). After adjusting the quantities consumed for age and physical activity, women with overweight or obese used more flour (p < 0.001) than those of normal weight. No differences were found in terms of frequency and quantity for men. The data were not analysed for girls since their Goldberg activity factor was less than 1.2 with greater body weight. The results of this new method could, on one hand, allow us to focus awareness on foods in addition to general recommendations of the Canadian Food Guide. On the other hand, they refer us back to laboratory data to identify components of items that may contribute to the development of obesity.