Step 4 of 7
No-go Zones
What must be protected?
No-go zones refer to two things: your community and your territory. Some places are sacred. Others can’t be used as they are today. In this step, your community identifies both, records them on its own map, and decides how to care for them.
Who should be involved
Your Elders and knowledge keepers first, with leadership, harvesters and community members who know the land.
What you’ll need
Your large territory map, a new colour of dots or markers, a private place to keep notes, and the Step 4 worksheets.
You’ll finish with
Protected areas and places that need repair, recorded on your own map and held by your community.
01 · LEARN
Two kinds of no-go zones
Are there any areas in your territory or community that are no-go zones? Some must be protected. Others need work before they can be used again.
Places to protect
Sacred places, hunting grounds, burial grounds and ceremonial grounds. These are important to mark on your territory map so they are kept safe for future generations.
Places that need repair
Ground that can’t be used for now, such as contaminated land where a gas station once stood, or old homes that have asbestos. What does your community need to do to make these spaces usable?
Why map your no-go zones?
- It helps retain cultural value in your community and on your land for future generations.
- It shows respect for your ancestors’ work in fighting for and maintaining your lands.
- It is easier to share with businesses that want to work in your territory, and it is better to share this information in advance.
- It may spur your community to invest time and resources in the upkeep and celebration of those spaces.
Your community decides what is shared
Knowledge about sacred and ceremonial places belongs to your community. You can tell a business where it may not go without telling it why. Decide together what is recorded, who keeps it, and who may see it.
Before you begin: prepare to listen
Your Elders, leaders and community members can very likely share this information readily. Prepare so it is shared in a good way.
- Follow your protocols. Ask your Elders and knowledge keepers how they would like to be approached.
- Agree how it will be recorded. Notes, a map, or both, and in what detail.
- Agree who will hold it. Decide where the record will be kept and who may see it before anything is written down.
02 · GATHER
Four community activities
Activities A and B can run at the same time. Bring what you learn together for C and D.
ACTIVITY A
Listen to your Elders and knowledge keepers
- Ask where the sacred places, hunting grounds, burial grounds and ceremonial grounds are.
- Ask what should never happen in or near each place.
- Ask what may be shared outside the community, and what may not.
- Record only what you have been given permission to record.
Worksheet 4A · Protected places
ACTIVITY B
Find the places that need repair
- List places on reserve and in your territory that can’t be used as they are.
- Look for contaminated ground, unsafe buildings and old homes with asbestos.
- Note what each place would need to become usable again.
- Note who might help: programs, governments or the businesses involved.
Worksheet 4B · Places that need repair
ACTIVITY C
Mark them on your map
Add your no-go zones to your large territory map, in a colour of their own.
- Mark places to protect differently from places that need repair.
- Show the boundaries businesses must respect.
- Keep any detail your Elders asked you to hold privately off the shared map.
Worksheet 4A · Protected places
ACTIVITY D
Plan for care and celebration
- For each protected place, ask how the community can care for it and celebrate it.
- For each place that needs repair, note the first step toward making it usable.
- Decide who will look after each one.
Worksheet 4C · Care and celebration plan
03 · DECIDE
Questions to answer together
- Which places are no-go for any development, now and in the future?
- Which places need repair, and what would it take to make them usable?
- What will we share with businesses about our no-go zones, and when?
- Who will hold our map and records, and who may see them?
- How will we care for and celebrate the places we protect?
Share in advance, on your terms
It is better to share no-go zones with businesses before they begin work in your territory. Share the boundaries they must respect, and keep the knowledge behind them with your community.
Two maps can help
Some communities keep a detailed map for their own use and a simpler one to share, showing only where outside work may not go.
04 · RECORD
Your Step 4 workbook
Capture your no-go zones in the Step 4 workbook. It becomes the fourth chapter of your community’s plan.
- 4AProtected places
- 4BPlaces that need repair
- 4CCare and celebration plan
Would it be helpful to work with someone?
ICDPRO’s team can help your community plan how to map and protect its no-go zones.