A Learning Journey in Indigenous Community Planning with the Gitksan Government Commission

Since 1986, the Gitksan Government Commission (GGC), located in Hazelton, British Columbia, has been providing technical, advisory and support services to their four member Bands (Gitanmaax, Gitanyow, Kispiox, and Sik-e-dakh). They have recently completed the planning phase of an extensive, community-based Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) project, and are now embarking on its implementation. The practicum requirement, for the University of British Columbia’s Indigenous Community Planning (ICP) program (at the School of Community and Regional Planning), provides a unique opportunity for Graduate students to gain hands-on experience with an Indigenous community that is engaged in a planning process. In Fall 2012, we (Lesley Campbell and Kate Kittredge) were invited to support the GGC, both on and off-site over a seven-month period, in their CCP implementation work. Once the GGC identified their implementation priorities, we dove right into the practicum partnership with Sandra Harris, our talented practicum partner. Through the development of the Learning Agreement, we collaboratively defined the objectives, deliverables, scope, principles, and ethics that would guide our work. Our partnership was grounded in a methodology inspired by collaborative planning theory, and was reflective of the GGC’s culturally based approach to planning. Together we embarked on 4 Pillars of Planning Action: 1) Practicum Preparation, Intercommunity/Interagency Cooperation and Support; 2) Housing: Community Awareness Raising and Education Initiative; 3) CORE Binders, an Information Management System, Cover Pages, and Indicator Proposal and Work Plan; and 4) Final Presentations. Based on the changing needs of the communities, we regularly adapted timelines and deliverables. The materials we created with them (such as the housing brochures and the Gitksan Indicator Project proposal) will continue to be adapted by them and, will support their ‘Next Steps’ as they continue with their CCP implementation work, and its ongoing evaluation and monitoring. The GGC is a unique and effective leader. Our practicum with them provided many learning opportunities. For example, we witnessed the centrality of relationships as the GGC continuously adapted to community needs, built capacity, and fostered partnerships among the four member communities. We observed how Gitksan culture and values guide dialogue and support challenging decision-making (specifically around housing arrears), the importance of using a strengths-based approach to ICP, and some comparative differences between mainstream and Indigenous planning. We also experienced the challenges and rewards of working with external partners, and as part of a student team. Supporting the GGC in their CCP implementation provided the opportunity to offer our facilitation, writing and analytical skills while learning about the complexity of ICP, on-Reserve, in a Northern Canadian context. The richness of our practicum experience has helped shape us as emerging Indigenous Community Planners.Applied Science, Faculty ofCommunity and Regional Planning (SCARP), School ofUnreviewedGraduat