The First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) and Firelight are proud to announce the release of a new co-published primer: ‘An Introduction to Indigenous Led Assessment: Key Considerations and Principles’. This timely resource is designed to support Indigenous Nations in exercising their authority to lead their own assessment processes for major projects affecting their lands, rights, and people.

For years, many Indigenous Nations across Canada have expressed frustration with government-led impact assessments that often fail to reflect their values, knowledge systems, and decision-making authority. In response, some Nations are developing their own Indigenous-led assessment processes—distinct from or collaborative with existing federal and provincial frameworks.

The new primer provides step-by-step considerations and practical tools to help Nations design and carry out ILAs, whether undertaking their first assessment or strengthening existing processes. It includes real-world insights from Nations that have led ILAs, references academic and regulatory research, and provides examples of collaborative and independent approaches.

“This primer supports the advancement of Indigenous-led Assessments and provides essential tools for Indigenous Nations to carry them out,” says Melody Lepine, Business Lead for Indigenous-led Assessment at Firelight. “Indigenous-led assessments aren’t new— this primer captures the lessons learned so far, so Nations can shape and define their own assessments based on their laws, values and decision-making processes.”

“Indigenous Nations have the right to make decisions about what happens on their lands,” says Angel Ransom, Senior Vice President of Environmental Services at FNMPC. “This primer supports that right by helping communities lead their own assessments, on their own terms, and with a clear path to engage with proponents and governments in a way that upholds Indigenous values.”

This co-published primer is part of FNMPC’s ‘Don’t Tickety Box Me’ campaign, to support Indigenous self-determination and responsible project development in Canada. It reinforces the message that space must be made for Indigenous processes, not only within regulatory frameworks, but in the early planning and relationship-building stages of project development.

The primer ‘An Introduction to Indigenous Led Assessment: Key Considerations and Principles’ is now available for public download on the websites of both FNMPC (www.fnmpc.ca) and Firelight (https://firelight.ca).

Explore the Primer Now