The food sovereignty movement is building around the world and while there is no universal definition, it can be described as the newest and most innovative approach to achieving the end goal of long term food security. Indigenous food sovereignty is a specific policy approach to addressing the underlying issues impacting Indigenous peoples and our ability to respond to our own needs for healthy, culturally adapted Indigenous foods. Community mobilization and the maintenance of multi-millennial cultural harvesting strategies and practices provide a basis for forming and influencing "policy driven by practice".

While the language and concept of food sovereignty has only recently been introduced in Indigenous communities, the living reality is not a new one. Indigenous food related knowledge, values and wisdom built up over thousands of years provides a basis for identifying four key principles that guide the present day food sovereignty movement in Indigenous communities.