Planning in a Good Way Commons: A Shared Collection of IPCA Planning Tools and Templates

Prepared by: The IISAAK OLAM Foundation 

Publication Date: September 2025

Overview

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are a modern application of the values, laws, and knowledge systems Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) have held within their territories and homelands for millennia.

This resource offers considerations for centring ceremony, language, and laws in an IPCA planning process.

Creating Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles for IPCA planning often draw on traditional laws, values, protocols, or teachings, and reflect the shared beliefs of a Nation or community. Guiding principles can help shape decision-making, offering inspiration to realign or refocus efforts in ways that reflect a community’s core values and identity.

Guiding Principles can be revisited throughout the planning process and are most powerful when co-developed with Elders, knowledge keepers, and leadership.

A Nation or community’s laws, values, protocols, or teachings are a strong foundation for Guiding Principles. These conversations may be focused on discussing: How will our laws, values, protocols, or teachings guide our planning process?

Language can hold much of the wisdom, principles, and protocols that communities may seek to include. Using Indigenous languages within the plan or as guiding principles is a powerful way to express values. Some communities also describe guiding principles through culturally significant species, recognizing the teachings from all living relations and the importance of including them in the planning process.

Video or audio recordings, drawings, or icons can help communicate guiding principles in a meaningful and memorable way.

The following activity can help guide the development of Guiding Principles for the IPCA planning process:

Additional Resources:

• West Coast Environmental Law’s Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water (RELAW) Program offers a more in-depth process on articulating natural law https://www.wcel.org/program/relaw

Overview

A vision statement describes what the Nation or community is working towards over the long term. It reflects the Nation or community’s values, responsibilities, and hopes for the lands, waters, and ice.

Having a clear vision can help guide decisions and actions along the way. The vision for an IPCA sets the direction, and the plan provides the pathway to reach that vision.

A vision does not always need to take the form of written words. A vision can be communicated through stories, songs, and artwork. Whatever form it takes, the vision is “alive” when it is held collectively, shared with intention, and respected as a guide. A strong vision can keep efforts focused on what matters most, even as the work unfolds over time.

The following activity can help build a vision statement that feels inspiring, grounded, and shared:

A Closer Look At Vision Statements 

A vision describes what the future will look like when a plan is achieved. It may reflect the care and continuity that guides decisions across generations, from the teachings of ancestors to those alive and present today, and into the future. 

Tying the lifespan of the vision to that of a culturally significant species (e.g., 500 years, like the average lifespan of an old-growth cedar tree) can be a meaningful way to ground the vision in culture and place.

Below are some considerations that may support creating a shared vision:

• Once a vision statement has been created, it can be shared at the beginning of meetings or workshops as a reminder or to help ground the discussion.  
• Communities may choose different ways to express or document their shared vision. This might include crafting it in the Nation’s language or incorporating teachings, phrases, concepts, or principles from that language. 

Examples of Vision Statements for IPCAs and Similar Initiatives

Seal River Watershed IPCA (Manitoba):

“Our vision is to ensure our grandchildren’s grandchildren have the opportunity to engage in traditional practices such as hunting, fishing, and serving as Guardians of the land and animals within a healthy watershed.”

Arqvilliit IPCA (Quebec): 

“An intact, undisturbed ecosystem encompassing Arqvilliit that protects polar bears from any type of development or large-scale impacts in Hudson Bay and ensures the polar bear population will thrive into the future. 

Once protected, the islands will act as a safe haven for polar bears and many other animals.”

NEXWAGWEẐʔAN: Dasiqox Tribal Park (British Columbia):

“With the Dasiqox Tribal Park, the Tsilhqot’in people assert our responsibility and our right to protect this place.

Where the waters, land, forests, animals, and people are full of life, thriving, healthy, and strong in our relationships with each other.

We are part of the land; the land is part of us. We take care of each other. Our spirits are joined with this place, through time.

The Dasiqox Tribal Park is the heart of a strong Tsilhqot’in culture. It is a place where we hunt, fish, learn, teach, and share while spending time out on the land respectfully, a place where we feel happy and healthy.

It is there for us; it is there for future generations.

Nexwagweẑʔan”

Additional Resources

• Indigenous Guardians Toolkit – Chapter 4: Building a Vision 
• The IPCA Creation Guide offers considerations when creating vision statements: https://ipcaknowledgebasket.ca/resources/ipca-creation-guide#Vision

Overview

This series of templates offers guidance on community engagement throughout the IPCA planning process.

Different individuals in the Nation, community, or homeland will be involved in planning in various ways. For example, some may join an IPCA planning working group and attend regular meetings, while others may only participate in one community meeting. Thinking about barriers to participation and how to overcome them can help ensure the right people have a say at the right time.

Below are some templates to help engage the community and share responsibilities in IPCA planning.

Each template is available in two different versions. Once downloaded, these templates can be edited. 

Please note that each Google link opens a prompt to copy the document for individual use.

Template: Engagement or Relationship Map

Template: Terms of Reference* for an Advisory Group

*A Terms of Reference (ToR) is a document that defines the purpose and structure of a project, committee, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal.

Template: Who to Involve in Planning

Community Engagement Approaches

Community engagement can take many approaches, and may include ceremony, sharing meals, being together on the land, and other ways that are culturally and contextually specific.

The following questions can help guide decisions on how to engage community members:

• How can we share information about the IPCA planning process and outcomes?

• How can people participate in that process?

• What are some simple ways we can ask people to share their ideas without setting up another meeting or event?

• How does our Nation, government, or community typically engage members or citizens?

• Are there ways that we can build on existing initiatives (e.g., Elder dinners, BINGO nights, etc.)?

Thinking About Who to Engage

Many people may be involved in IPCA planning. Below are three broad groups to consider. Each group may participate in different ways, depending on their roles, interests, and experiences. Additional groups or approaches may be created to reflect a Nation’s or community’s unique ways of working.

Nation members, community members, or citizens

This is everyone in the Nation, community, or homeland. If this is a joint IPCA project between several Nations or communities, then it includes all members from each one. Specific groups could be invited into the planning process more intentionally, such as:

• Elders: Elders carry deep knowledge, language, teachings, and lived experience. Their wisdom can help to guide the planning process in powerful ways. Some Nations have created Elder advisory committees.

• Knowledge Holders, language speakers, and land users: A strong IPCA plan is grounded in Indigenous Knowledge of the lands, waters, and ice. This includes history, sacred sites, seasonal knowledge, cultural practices, and more. Involving these voices, especially during in-depth workshops, can strengthen the plan.

• Youth: Involving youth not only supports intergenerational knowledge sharing but also helps them to build identity and connection to place. Creating a Youth Circle can be one way to involve them in the process.

• Gender-diverse people: Including individuals of different genders in planning brings more ideas and experiences to the table.

• Families, clans, houses, etc: Depending on the community’s structure, it may be important to ensure that all families, clans, houses, or others are meaningfully included.

• On- and off-reserve/territory/homeland members or citizens: Those who live far away might have valuable insights to share. Involving them in the planning might help them feel more connected to their home.

It can be helpful to reflect on what might make it challenging for someone to participate (e.g., distance, timing, past experiences, technology, etc.). Identifying these challenges early on can reveal ways to bring people in with care and intention.

Working group (or project team, or planning committee, or advisory group)

An Advisory or Working group meets regularly throughout the planning process to discuss and guide all aspects of the project. Having a diversity of voices in the group can strengthen the IPCA plan. There’s no one “right way” to form your group; what matters most is that it reflects the community’s values and vision for the future.

Below are some considerations when forming an Advisory or Working Group:

• Include a mix of community members – Elders, Knowledge Holders, youth, women, 2SLGBTQIA+, on- and off-reserve/territory members, land users, and others connected to important organizations or initiatives in the community.

• Invite staff from the lead organization – This might be the Nation, a specific department, or a combination of departments, or another group leading IPCA planning.

• Include leadership voices – Including representatives from governing bodies (Indigenous Government, Chief and Council, Indigenous leadership or land claim organization), hereditary leaders, matriarchs, clans, or families.

• Ensure there is Land-based knowledge – Including people who carry knowledge of the Land, environment, culture, history, and/or traditions.

• Ensure there is practical knowledge – Identifying people with an understanding of the resources or assets (e.g., funding, staff, partnerships, etc.) who are available to support IPCA planning and implementation.

• Think ahead to implementation – Inviting people who may be involved in implementing the plan when it’s finished will help build long-term capacity.

Establishing a Core Team

The Core Team would be those who spend the most time developing and eventually implementing the plan. Where possible, core team members should be paid for their time.

Below are some key roles the core team might include. One person can take on more than one role.

• IPCA Lead (Coordinator, Manager, or similar title) – Helps guide the planning process. The IPCA lead may: coordinate the overall project, supervise other staff or consultants, manage relationships with leadership, partners, and the community, and/or support both planning and future implementation.

• Facilitator – Helps design and guide conversations in a good way. The facilitator can help with designing participatory workshops and meetings, supporting meaningful engagement, and creating welcoming, respectful spaces for discussion.

• Knowledge Harvester/Gatherer – Documents what is shared during meetings, workshops, and conversations, in whatever way is deemed appropriate.

Other optional roles could include:

• Logistics – Organizes meeting spaces, transportation, food, and other details. This is especially important for gatherings on the land, where extra planning is often needed.

• Communications – Someone who knows how to share information in appropriate ways. They might help spread the word about meetings, share updates, or collect feedback using tools that work for the Nation or community (e.g., word of mouth, social media, posters, newsletter, etc.).

Different Ways to Engage People in IPCA Planning

Below are some suggested approaches for involving the community in a meaningful way. These are also available in the Template: Engagement or Relationship Map:

• Community meetings can be effective spaces to exchange information, ideas, and concerns about the IPCA with the entire community. Some tips for hosting community meetings that feel welcoming and effective are:
  • Keep them short (i.e., 2-4 hours) and hold them when people are generally not working.
  • Make announcements in the local paper, radio station, or community Facebook page. Phone calls and visits to key people might also help.
  • Offer food, transportation support, and door prizes to encourage people to attend.
  • Make sure the outreach message connects with what people care about.
• Workshops, including on-the-land workshops, can be a chance to do a deep dive into the planning process.

• Meetings with smaller groups and/or the working group can allow for more focused work time. Some of the steps in planning are tricky and require smaller groups to tackle the work. Often, these meetings will revisit the information that came out of a workshop and refine it, prioritize ideas, or take it to the next level.

• Communications can help share information about the IPCA planning process. Not everyone may be interested or able to participate in the planning process, but keeping people informed helps to build transparency and trust. Some ways to share information include: local radio stations, newspapers or newsletters, social media, videos, announcements at community meetings or bingo, pamphlets delivered to every door, etc.

Other engagement methods can include:

• Presentations at schools, associations, or bingo nights.
• Surveys that can be shared digitally or in print format to reach a wider number of members or citizens.
• Social media discussions or surveys.
• An educational booklet geared to youth or other groups.
• Online meetings to better reach members or citizens who do not live in the territory or homeland.