- Around 1989, Indigenous leaders, Bill Erasmus, Rosemary Kuptana, and Norma Kassi began working together to lobby for funds and to establish a working structure to conduct CINE's activities. This work resulted in an award for infrastructure funding through the Arctic Environmental Strategy (AES) of the Department of Indian and Northern Development (DIAND), an initiative of Canada's Green Plan.
- This funding began in March 1992 and physical space for CINE at McGill University was renovated and opened in autumn 1993.
- Within McGill, steps in the approval process for the Centre were made through the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, the McGill Senate, and the McGill Board of Governors, with the Board of Governors signing the authorization for CINE in December 1993.
- The creation of CINE was approved by the Quebec Department of Higher Education and the Quebec Department of International Affairs. Partnership agreements were signed between McGill and the Governing Board of CINE, and with Arctic/Aurora College in the Northwest Territories and Yukon College to carry out the Centre's mission for research and education.
- CINE was envisioned by Indigenous leaders as a permanent multidisciplinary research and education resource with an international outlook. It was designed to operate at arm's length from the government and to work closely with communities of Indigenous Peoples on topics related to their traditional food systems.
- The initial funding through the Arctic Environmental Strategy defined a priority to work with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the circumpolar North, in particular those served through the Arctic Environmental Strategy. Additional funding has extended CINE activities to other parts of the world. It was recognized that the focus of environmental and cultural changes that impact on traditional food systems and nutrition of Indigenous Peoples have global similarities and significance.
CINE