Not all heroes wear capes, as the saying goes, but Teara Fraser does have her wings and likes to fly B次元官网网址� with a social purpose.

The Vancouver-based Metis commercial pilot and owner of Iskwew Air is named one of 18 B次元官网网址渞eal-world heroesB次元官网网址� in a DC Comics upcoming graphic novel B次元官网网址淲onderful Women of History,B次元官网网址� which also includes late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and singer Beyonc茅.

B次元官网网址淚 feel surprised, I feel honoured and a sense of responsibility,B次元官网网址� Fraser said in a recent phone interview, B次元官网网址渁 sense of responsibility to honour the women that IB次元官网网址檓 alongside by continuing to dismantle systems of oppression and to stand for truth, justice and equality as the women on that list have done B次元官网网址� and as the Wonder Woman character was designed to represent.B次元官网网址�

Due out Dec. 1, the graphic novel also includes late transgender-rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, disability rights activist Judith Heumann, singer Janelle Monae, and tennis star Serena Williams, among others.

Author Laurie Halse Anderson edited B次元官网网址渢he anthology of Wonder Women,B次元官网网址� which has different writers and illustrators for each profile.

Writer Traci Sorell and illustrator Natasha Donovan are behind the Canadian pilotB次元官网网址檚 entry, titled: B次元官网网址淭eara Fraser: Helping Others Soar.B次元官网网址�

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B次元官网网址淚 feel completely in awe of that, but I suppose what I want is to acknowledge that there are real superheroes working at the grassroots levels, and that everyone has their own unique superpowers,B次元官网网址� Fraser said.

B次元官网网址淭here are everyday superheroes that are working hard to co-create a better world, one that serves all peoples.B次元官网网址�

The Hay River, N.W.T.-born Fraser announced the launch of Iskwew Air in Vancouver in March 2019 and started operating it last October. ItB次元官网网址檚 billed as CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first female-founded Indigenous airline.

Iskwew (pronounced IS-KWAY-YO) is a Cree word for woman. Fraser chose the airline name as an act of reclamation of matriarchal leadership, language, and womanhood in a male-dominated industry, she said.

The company also wants to create a sense of belonging for all people, Fraser added.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 important to me to uplift all those identifying as women and non-binary folk and Indigenous peoples.B次元官网网址�

Aviation is a field the 49-year-old Fraser didnB次元官网网址檛 consider until she was 30. ThatB次元官网网址檚 when she took her first flight on a small plane, on an aerial tour over the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and the pilot told passengers stories of the land and animals.

B次元官网网址淚 was like, B次元官网网址楾hat guy has got the coolest job ever,B次元官网网址� she recalled. B次元官网网址淎nd I came down from that flight thinking, B次元官网网址榃ouldnB次元官网网址檛 that be amazing? What if I could do what that guy is doing?B次元官网网址� Obviously IB次元官网网址檓 biased, but witnessing the land in such a sacred way, like a bird witnesses the land, is so powerful.B次元官网网址�

When she returned home, Fraser got her commercial pilotB次元官网网址檚 licence in less than a year, which opened up her world to more possibilities beyond her previous career of various entry-level jobs.

B次元官网网址淏ecoming a pilot seemed like an impossible thing for me,B次元官网网址� Fraser said. B次元官网网址淪o when I made that impossible thing possible, then I began to wonder what else might be possible B次元官网网址� and then I began to dream bigger.B次元官网网址�

In 2010 Fraser began her Master of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University and started her first business B次元官网网址� K脦SIK Aerial Survey Inc. B次元官网网址� which she sold in 2016.

It was also in 2010, while observing visitors flocking to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, when Fraser thought of the idea for Iskwew Air. She wanted to uplift Indigenous tourism, serve Indigenous peoples and communities, and showcase Indigenous peoples throughout the province.

The self-described B次元官网网址渟ystems disrupterB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渂ridge builderB次元官网网址� also wanted her industry B次元官网网址渢o think differently about diversity, and inclusion and belonging,B次元官网网址� she added.

B次元官网网址淚 wanted to create a space both for myself and for other people where we can be our whole selves B次元官网网址� love is one of our articulated values, and we wear love buttons B次元官网网址� and a place where we can energize humanity.B次元官网网址�

Fraser did a ceremony asking the Musqueam people for their blessing to do business on their territory with Iskwew Air in September 2018.

The company flies out of Vancouver International Airport, which Fraser says is the unceded territory of the Musqueam people.

So far the company offerschartered services throughout B.C.with five employees and one plane B次元官网网址� a twin-engine PA31 Piper Navajo Chieftain B次元官网网址� which can hold eight passengers.

B次元官网网址淚skwew Air is a humble start with a big vision,B次元官网网址� said Fraser, who established the Aviation Leadership Foundation in 2008 and has been involved in various roles at the British Columbia Aviation Council.

Like the pilot in Botswana, Fraser feels itB次元官网网址檚 important to acknowledge the land that theyB次元官网网址檙e leaving from, flying over and guests on. She shares stories with passengers as appropriate.

B次元官网网址淲e just connect people however we can with the land, because through that connection comes care,B次元官网网址� she said.

The aviation industry is reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, but Fraser remains determined and is still operating. The company has also been delivering care packages to Indigenous communities that welcomed them.

B次元官网网址淎s an Indigenous woman-owned business, literally itB次元官网网址檚 just as simple as Iskwew Air must survive this economic and social crisis,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 plan to look back on this time and say, B次元官网网址楻emember when I tried to start up an airline, and then COVID hit and I didnB次元官网网址檛 know if I would make it? And then I did. I made it.B次元官网网址� That is the story that IB次元官网网址檓 determined to have.B次元官网网址�

At the same time, Fraser is working on a PhD in human development. Coincidentally, sheB次元官网网址檚 studying a topic that also speaks to Wonder Woman and the DC Comics B次元官网网址淲onderful Women of HistoryB次元官网网址� list: the concept of warriorship.

B次元官网网址淚 define warriorship as standing fiercely, with deep love, for what matters,B次元官网网址� Fraser said. B次元官网网址淎nd that is exactly what I see the women on this list and the incredible impressive women around me are doing: theyB次元官网网址檙e standing fiercely with deep love for what matters. And in my view, what matters right now is ecological, social, racial, and economic justice, and Indigenous sovereignty.B次元官网网址�

Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press

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