Teara Fraser
Founder and CEO, Raven Institute
Building bridges between Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples (reconciliation), Development of humans, teams, organizations, nations rooted in Indigenous worldview, Indigenous Women in Business and Leadership, Warriorship: Leading Brave-Hearted, Aviation, Safety
Media
When dreams take flight: Teara Fraser, pilot and CEO of Iskwew Air
Teara Fraser is the first Indigenous woman to launch an airline in Canada, Iskwew Air.
Teara was a single mother with two kids, working various jobs to provide for her family. At age 30, on a trip to Africa she took her first flight in a small plane and fell in love with flying.
“I can tell you everything about that moment. I just wanted to touch everything in the airplane and I wanted to know what everything was. And I think that was the beginning of my love for flying. It's such a clear memory of that moment where I said, I don't care what it takes to be able to do this. I want to fly an airplane.”
Teara pursued her new passion with fervor and dedication and within the year, she earned her commercial pilot’s license. She worked as a commercial pilot, then in 2010 started her own aerial survey company which she built from the ground up before selling in 2016.
“Becoming a pilot changed everything about my life. Getting my wings or getting my pilot's license has truly given me wings for everything else in my life. When I'm made that seemingly impossible thing to become a pilot possible. It opened the doors for other possibilities and for me to believe in other possible things, and literally gave me wings.”
During the 2010 winter Olympics, Teara had the idea to build an Indigenous airline. Tourists from all over the world were in Vancouver and many were interested in learning about indigenous culture and visiting Indigenous communities in BC. but there were few airlines able to provide service to these small remote communities.
“I started my own airline because I wanted a place where I belonged. I wanted to place where my kind of leadership was embraced and respected: matriarchal leadership. Our values are love and adventure, the warrior spirit, reclamation and reciprocity.”
“Sheer tenacity is been necessary through my career. I have a mantra: dream it, design it, do it. And when you have a dream, you figure out a path to make it happen. You need to overcome obstacles and barriers and be tenacious in what it is that you want.”
In addition to her work in aviation, Teara also founded The Raven Institute, a learning, reconciliation, resilience, healing, gathering place and space that weaves in traditional Indigenous practices and worldview.
Iskwew Air making the supply rounds to remote B.C. communities
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Biography
Teara Fraser is the Lead Executive Officer of Iskew Air, an aircraft service connecting people with each other and to the land.
Fraser established the Aviation Leadership Foundation in 2008, where she proudly served as Director, Executive Director and Strategic Advisor for the British Columbia Aviation Council (BCAC). She continues to offer her aviation expertise to aviation companies as a strategic advisor, regulatory advisor, safety expert, executive coach, incident/accident trauma coach, and leadership development designer. She is honoured to be a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of PAWN (Professional Aboriginal Women's Network).
Fraser has her Commercial Pilot’s Licence, and started her first business in 2010 – KÎSIK Aerial Survey Inc., providing aerial photography acquisition services directly to Governmental, Environmental, Mapping, Engineering, Utilities and Geospatial xusers. KÎSIK is a Cree word for Sky. She built this business from the ground up and sold it in 2016.
Fraser undertook the comprehensive Conflict Resolution certificate program offered by the Justice Institute of BC. She is a certified negotiator and facilitates conflict resolution workshops within aviation, as well as the wider community. As a facilitator, Fraser has been experimenting with World Cafés as well as Fishbowls and is convinced of the power to connect, share ideas, and harvest collective wisdom through meaningful dialogue.
Fraser holds a Master of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University and she is a Certified Executive Coach. She completed the Aboriginal Focusing-Oriented Therapy (AFOT) and Complex Trauma certificate at JIBC. The journey of learning now takes her to Fielding University where she is studying in the Human Development PhD program.
Fraser is a founding visionary of the Raven Institute, a gathering space to connect hearts, minds and hands. Rooted in indigenous ways of knowing and being, contributing to the development of humans, organizational systems, and community. The Raven Institute is a learning, reconciliation, resilience, healing, gathering place and space that weaves in traditional Indigenous practices and worldview.
Proud of her Indigenous ancestry, Fraser is a member of the Métis Nation of Northwest Territories.