b'TECH & INNOVATIONThe Road toBy Nikita DaySELF-DETERMINATIONQ&A with Indigenous Aerospace CEO Jacob TaylorFounder and CEO of Indigenous Aerospace, Jacob Taylor, is a band member of Curve Lake First Nation, Otter Clan member. He is also currently a PhD student at the University of NorthDakota.What is Indigenous Aerospace?Indigenous Aerospace is a First Nations-owned and operated drone company in Canada. We have a mission to build First Nations/Indigenous capacity to use drone technology to improve quality of life. Our vision of the future is Indigenous people doing drone work in their local area to improve their quality of life.The company was incorporated July 1, 2021, and that was an important date and time for us who made the business come together. We created this company to embrace the values that the TRC [Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada] 94 Calls to Action came out with, and those basically summarize on a high level into two points. One is the educa-tion of Canadians on the realities that Indigenous peoples have faced in Canada and continue to face, [and the other is] fostering means for Indigenous people to participate in the Canadian economy.22 INDIGENOUS INNOVATORS, ICONS & INFLUENCERS |ISSUE 1, 2023'