This thesis is an investigation of the Nunavut Parks participatory planning process, examining the participation of local communities in the planning process used by the Government of Nunavut. Local participation in the planning process is essential for successful socio-economic and political development of the new land-claim settled territory. After a review of literature on theoretical planning processes, interviews and internal Nunavut Parks documents were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methods to reveal the genuine processes of community participation. The results were merged comparatively, creating a theory of how practitioners can help the Nunavummiut public to be more self-reliant in park planning. The five features of this theory find that public participation process should have a holistic framework, a diverse and active public, a grassroots process, transformational experiences, and developmental goals. This research advocates that practitioners incorporate these features into practice to help communities become more self-reliant and politically active.