An Incident Management Team (IMT) operates within ICS Canada’s standardized structure, which ensures clarity in decision-making, role assignment, and communication. The key components of an IMT in an Indigenous community include:

1. Incident Commander (IC) – Community Leadership Role

• The Incident Commander (IC) is responsible for overall management of the incident, setting response objectives, and ensuring decisions align with Indigenous governance and traditional practices.
• In an Indigenous context, the Chief, Emergency Manager, or a designated leader may serve as the IC, ensuring that the response follows culturally appropriate decision-making.
• The IC coordinates closely with Chief and Council, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers to ensure emergency efforts align with self-governance and Nation priorities.

Example: A wildfire threatens a remote First Nation. The Chief (as the IC) oversees the response, ensuring that emergency measures respect land-use rights and sacred sites.

2. Operations Section – Tactical Response

• The Operations Section executes response strategies, deploying resources such as fire crews, emergency medical services (EMS), and community volunteers.
• This section integrates traditional land-based knowledge into response efforts, such as using Indigenous fire stewardship practices in wildfire response.
• Includes liaisons with provincial or federal response agencies, ensuring external responders respect Indigenous protocols.

Example: A flood response team in a First Nation uses both modern hydrology data and historical flood knowledge from Elders to decide where to reinforce barriers.

3. Planning Section – Information and Coordination

• The Planning Section develops action plans, conducts risk assessments, and tracks resources.
• It integrates Indigenous perspectives on disaster risk, traditional knowledge, and climate adaptation.
• In an Indigenous Nation, the Planning Section may involve Knowledge Keepers mapping out evacuation routes based on ancestral travel paths.

Example: A remote Inuit community uses satellite mapping combined with oral histories to determine safe permafrost-stable evacuation sites.

4. Logistics Section – Resource Support

• The Logistics Section ensures that emergency response teams have the necessary food, supplies, transportation, and shelter.