Communications Roadmap for Indigenous-led Land Stewardship
PROJECT MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS TRAINING, 2022
WHO THEY ARE
Tataskweyak Cree Nation is based in Split Lake in northern Manitoba, where the surrounding forests and waterways have sustained Cree families for generations. The land remains central to harvesting, travel and the passing of knowledge between generations. Through its Traditional Resource Stewardship Centre, the Nation has invested in monitoring and caring for its lands and waters.
Hydroelectric development and other pressures in the region have made land protection an enduring priority. Tataskweyak has pursued Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) planning through its Aski Pahminahmaswin initiative, alongside wider land-protection work with neighbouring Cree Nations. Central to this work is the Nation’s authority over decisions affecting the land and its long-term stewardship.
WHAT THEY NEEDED
Tataskweyak needed a communications plan to support its IPCA initiative. Chief and Council needed consistent information, community members needed opportunities to understand and contribute to the proposed work, and neighbouring Nations, governments and industry required clear communication about Tataskweyak’s intentions and authority.
The communications work also had to fit within a larger 2023–2026 project. Governance, funding, research, stakeholder involvement and the stages of land protection needed to be organised into a manageable sequence. Planning had to account for future development pressures and overlapping territorial interests while supporting meaningful engagement with those affected.
WHAT WE DID
We led a three-day, case-based Project Management Planning Essentials engagement centred on Tataskweyak’s IPCA communications work. Working with the Nation’s project priorities, we clarified how communications would support the proposed protected area, convey Tataskweyak’s authority and prepare for meaningful engagement with those affected by land-use decisions. This established the mandate, purpose and scope captured in a Project Proposal for the Communications Plan.
BUILT THE PLANNING BACKBONE
With that mandate established, we shaped a coherent planning structure for the work ahead. Summary and detailed deliverables breakdowns brought five connected workstreams into one framework, linking communications strategy and outreach with funding, supporting documents and project management. Within that structure, we positioned the proposed IPCA description, declaration of authority and engagement protocol—essential elements for communicating Tataskweyak’s position and preparing engagement on the Nation’s terms.
MAPPED STAKEHOLDERS AND DELIVERY PHASES
We mapped the stakeholder landscape in a register spanning neighbouring First Nations, advisers, boards, government partners, industry and people who use the land. We also organised the wider IPCA project into a phased 2023–2026 pathway, extending from early preparation through development and implementation to evaluation and the planned transfer to operations. This situated communications within the broader governance and land-protection work it was intended to support.
RESULTS WE GOT
A CLEAR, SHARED FOUNDATION
Tataskweyak emerged with a coherent basis for directing communications around its IPCA priorities. The engagement brought the Nation’s land-protection purpose and assertion of authority into a defined communications mandate that leadership could use to guide future outreach. This gave the initiative a consistent footing for explaining its direction, representing community interests and approaching external parties with clarity.
ENGAGEMENT READINESS STRENGTHENED
The planning work made the range of interests surrounding the IPCA more visible before outreach advanced. Neighbouring Nations, government partners, industry and land users were identified within a structured stakeholder landscape, while the communications plan kept leadership and community engagement in focus. Tataskweyak was better positioned to approach these relationships deliberately, with greater awareness of where territorial overlap, development pressures and differing interests required careful consideration.
A PATHWAY FROM PLANNING TO STEWARDSHIP
The engagement also established a longer view of the decisions ahead. With the wider IPCA effort mapped across 2023–2026, Tataskweyak could consider early governance, funding and engagement requirements in the context of later protection, monitoring and operations. The phased pathway provided a practical basis for pacing future work while keeping the Nation’s long-term stewardship responsibilities in view.
IN NUMBERS
IPCA communications planning framework defined
Five connected workstreams aligned outreach, resources and project coordination around Tataskweyak’s authority and land-protection priorities.
YEAR 2023–2026 DELIVERY horizon MAPPED
A five-stage pathway connected early planning with implementation, evaluation and transfer to operations, keeping the Nation’s longer-term stewardship priorities in view.
MAJOR IPCA DELIVERABLE GROUPS MAPPED
Brought governance, funding and future land-protection requirements into one planning structure, giving Tataskweyak a stronger basis for coordinating the work ahead.