Beringia and Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council were awarded GOLD for Our Sacred Land: Indigenous Peoples’ Land Use Planning Handbook in BC – in the PIBC category “Policy Planning – Small Town & Rural Areas.”

The Planning Institute of BC “annually recognizes the professional work and individual accomplishments of members across British Columbia and Yukon through its awards and recognition program. The Awards for Excellence in Planning honour the best in professional planning work undertaken by members in five categories.”

Project Partners: Indigenous Advisory Committee: Sema:th (Sumas) First Nation, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, Canim Lake Band and Xaxli’p Band

Project Summary: The First Nations Community Land Use Planning (LUP) Handbook was created to support BC First Nations’ efforts to strengthen their land governance system through community-based Land Use Planning (LUP). Working with an Indigenous Advisory Committee of four women and under the guidance of Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council (NmTC), Beringia Community Planning led the development of a collaborative design process. The Handbook draws on content and participant feedback from the 18 First Nations LUP workshops held between 2015 and 2018 in which 146 individuals participated, representing 108 First Nations throughout BC. Participants identified the need for a user-friendly guide to help overcome the often-technical complexity of LUP and enable communities to take control of the process. This hands-on practical guide documents the context for First Nations LUP in BC and describes an 11-step planning cycle that includes the theory, methods, examples, and tools to support a community-driven LUP process.