ICP students arrive at the Musqueam Cultural Centre
ICP students plan with Siska partners
ICP students graduate
A concentration of SCARP's Master of Community and Regional Planning
Walk in two worlds:
honour all ways of knowing and being
plan in partnership with Indigenous communities
to support Indigenous self-determination.
Honoured friends and relatives,
As Chief of Musqueam Indian Band, I welcome the Community and Regional Planning students that have come to the University of British Columbia, located on the traditional, unceded lands of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking Musqueam people.
Through a strong partnership, the SCARP program incorporates Musqueam’s award-winning Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP): nə́c̓aʔmat tə šxʷqʷeləwən ct (We are of One Heart and Mind). First created in 2011 and updated in 2018, we are working hard to implement the Musqueam CCP recommendations and realize our community vision.
Whether you are new to this territory or have lived here for many years, on behalf of Musqueam, I hope you enjoy your time learning and living in Vancouver.
Thank you all, hay ce:p q̓ə
Chief Wayne Sparrow
What is ICP?
- ICP is a concentration in SCARP's dual-accredited Master of Community and Regional Planning program, and has been designated a noteworthy practice by the Planning Accreditation Board.
- ICP is a partnership with First Nations in cultural learning, community engagement, and planning.
- ICP trains a new generation of planners to break with the colonial legacy and culture of planning, working instead in respectful partnership with Indigenous communities, aligned with their values and priorities.
Who is ICP for?
There’s many answers to this question. Are you passionate about:
- Community work or advocacy?
- Protecting the land and waters?
- Learning the best tools for supporting Indigenous communities?
- Understanding the history and possible futures of Indigeneity and Planning?
- Contributing to the wellbeing of current and future generations?
ICP invites Indigenous and non-Indigenous students from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds, each with important insights about how to build and protect communities and environments.
Every community has a vision, aligned with its values and rooted in the land that nourishes it
ICP teaches a blend of Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Planning with contemporary planning methods. You’ll gain education grounded in on-reserve learning, community experience, and knowledge sharing.
In partnership with Musqueam Indian Band, SCARP co-designed and co-delivers the Masters of Community and Regional Planning program’s Indigenous Community Planning concentration. SCARP is honoured to be in a teaching and learning partnership with the Musqueam Indian Band in the design and delivery of the ICP concentration. This concentration attracts both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, from a range of academic and professional backgrounds, who want to work with Indigenous communities. Ten committed students are accepted each year to enter into this concentration.
"The Indigenous Community Planning program is not so much a way of doing Planning as it is a way of teaching a way of being a Planner;
- Who is attuned to the living nature of the world, and the transformative nature of community;
- Who is attuned to relationship-building;
- And to the importance of working in a way that is flexible and relational and interconnected and healing and centered on Indigenous self-determination and wellbeing, as well as that of the Planners."
A word from grads
Roraigh Falkner, Class of 2023
First job as alum: Community Planner, David Nairne + Associates
"ICP was a profound journey, discovering where my passion could make a meaningful impact. ICP not only sharpened my analytical skills but instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility toward the communities I serve. As I embark on my career, I carry the lessons, memories, and friendships from SCARP as guiding lights to create positive and sustainable impacts on Indigenous communities."
Dawn Smith, Class of 2022
First job as alum: Policy Analyst, BC Public Service
"[ICP] taught the skills and insights I needed to take up my work to decolonize planning, and support other non-Indigenous professionals in putting our labour and minds to meeting the challenge of reconciliation. I'm proud of my time at SCARP, and the path that it has put me on in the public service."
Andrea Bolen, Class of 2026
Job in graduating year: Manager, Individual Giving: Covenant House Vancouver
"One of the reasons this program is so special is because of the extraordinary generosity the Musqueam community bestows on us from day one. Thank you for that foundation and for the care that come from building it within us. We've had the chance to practice how to hold a mirror up to these systems, and apply a decolonising more holistic approach to mainstream planning, not only for our work but perhaps to rise the tide in planning overall."
Some more words about ICP
“The Indigenous Community Planning program (MCRP-ICP) is the leading example of its kind in Canada, and perhaps North America. Given the extraordinary circumstances of Indigenous land claims in British Columbia, this program is a vital offering for the Faculty, University and Province to meet their Reconciliation obligations and new responsibilities stemming from the adoption of the UNDRIP. SCARP and the collaborating First Nations should be commended for the long and difficult work to establish the partnerships required to deliver this important program.”
-Planning Standards Board representatives during their 2022 accreditation of MCRP program
The people of ICP
Leona Sparrow, Musqueam/UBC Liaison
Leona Sparrow is the Director of the Treaty, Lands and Resources Department at Musqueam Indian Band. Leona provides invaluable teaching and direction to all aspects of the ICP program.
Maggie Low, Assistant Professor and Chair
Maggie Low is a community engaged scholar and Indigenous planner who has worked with First Nations and Indigenous organizations across Canada. She joined SCARP in 2019 and is now the Chair of the concentration.
Jessica Barudin, Assistant Professor
Jessica Barudin is Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw and a member and elected leader of the ‘Na̱mg̱is First Nation. Her work focuses on revitalizing Indigenous knowledge, languages, and wellness practices through community-centered initiatives, trauma-informed and spirit-based inquiry. She is dedicated to upholding ancestral teachings and values while learning Kwak’wala. She joined SCARP and ICP's faculty team in 2023.
Jessie Hemphill, Assistant Professor of Teaching
Jessie Hemphill (Tlali'ila'ogwala, or "Bridge Between the Worlds") is from the 'Nakwaxda'xw, Ligwitlda'xw and Métis nations. Jessie was raised in rural Port Hardy, BC, on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Her love for her community led her, among other things, to a career in community planning and facilitation, working with First Nations and organizations all over Canada through her company, Sanala Planning Inc
Scott Graham, Adjunct Professor
Scott Graham is a multi-award winning planner, governance advisor and credentialed evaluator who has had the honour of working alongside many First Nations, Indigenous organizations, non-profit societies and public sector organizations to create innovative approaches for de-colonizing human care systems.
Shauna Johnson, Adjunct Professor
Shauna Johnson is an ICP grad and a member of the Ts’awout First Nation, now working with WASANEC. She is a practicum supervisor.
William Trousdale, Adjunct Professor
Will Trousdale is the Principal and founder of EcoPlan International, an award-winning Vancouver-based consultancy. Will teaches the Strategic Planning for Sustainable Community Economic Development core course for ICP.
Wendy Simon, Indigenous Student Recruiter
Wendy Simon joined the ICP team in 2024 with the vision of developing outreach programs among Indigenous nations and people. She works to affirm and develop SCARP's partnerships and population of Indigenous students in ICP.
Leonie Sandercock, former co-chair (now retired)
Leonie Sandercock was fundamental in the formation as well as the running of the ICP concentration. She co-developed and co-ran ICP from its foundations. She's now a professor emerita and enjoying retirement, while we benefit from what she built alongside us.
Applicants admitted to the program will commence full-time studies in September. The School of Community and Regional Planning does not admit students at any other time of year.
Remember this webpage describes a Concentration of SCARP's MCRP Program. You can learn more about its structure and how to get involved on the MCRP page. What follows here describes the custom ICP Concentration.
Concentration design
During your first year, you’ll learn both Indigenous planning traditions and contemporary planning methods, and comprehensive context behind each.
In your second year you begin real partnerships in our immersive 8-month practicum with a host First Nations community, supporting either a challenge they face or their Comprehensive Community Planning process. In consultation with faculty and partnership with your host Nation, You’ll learn to fundamentally understand their values and needs. Through this lens, you’ll work together as partners to address a challenge they face.
Genuine partnership with a First Nation means the participation of the whole community, Council, and you, the planning students.