Advisory and Policy Support

Grounded in Story, Guided by Responsibility

Within Indigenous communities, story is medicine. It carries memory, truth, and responsibility connecting what has happened, what is happening, and what must change.

As All Nations Driving Academy travelled highways and backroads throughout British Columbia, we were entrusted with stories that revealed the deep relationship between driver licensing, safety, and the ongoing impacts of colonization. These stories were not abstract. They reflected lived realities shaped by geography, enforcement-based systems, and generations of exclusion from services designed without Indigenous peoples in mind.

We understood early on that these experiences could not remain unheard.

From Lived Experience to Policy Insight ...

With care and respect for those who shared their stories, we took on the responsibility of translating community realities into conversations with policymakers and public institutions. This meant returning often and repeatedly to Victoria to share what was actually happening in communities and why existing licensing systems were failing to deliver equitable outcomes.

In the early days, we relied heavily on story and imagery to make visible what policy language often obscured. These were not advocacy tactics; they were acts of accountability ensuring that systems designed at a distance were confronted with their real-world impacts.

What became clear was not the failure of individuals, but the design of systems that separated access, safety, and opportunity.

The Road to Reconciliation ...

In late 2020, All Nations Driving Academy was invited by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs to formalize these insights and offer concrete recommendations for change. The resulting document, The Road to Reconciliation, was unanimously endorsed by resolution and directed to ICBC, RoadSafetyBC, and multiple provincial ministries.

The report marked a shift—from individual stories to collective responsibility and called for coordinated, systems-level action grounded in Indigenous experience and leadership.

Where We Are Today ...

Several years later, some of the recommendations outlined in The Road to Reconciliation have been implemented, while others remain unfinished. Research and policy related to Indigenous driver licensing in Canada are still emerging, and meaningful progress continues to be constrained by limited, short-term funding and fragmented responsibility across institutions.

What began as a response to a practical problem has evolved into a long-term commitment to supporting systems change rooted in lived experience, evidence, and Indigenous leadership.

Transportation as a Social Determinant of Health ...

Through this work, one truth has become increasingly clear: transportation security underpins nearly every other social determinant of health.

Access to safe, reliable transportation affects:

• Employment and economic participation
• Education and training
• Safety and freedom from violence
• Health and social services
• Community connection and wellbeing

These challenges are not isolated to one community or region. They reflect global patterns of colonization and the intergenerational impacts that continue to shape access and opportunity today.

Our Role Moving Forward ...

All Nations Driving Academy continues to work alongside communities, governments, and partners to support policy and funding approaches that are realistic, accountable, and grounded in lived experience.

Our role is not to speak for communities, but to help ensure that systems listen, learn, and adapt.

If systems can be built to separate, then they can also be rebuilt to connect.

Our Impact in Practice ...

The approach described here is grounded in years of community-based work and learning. To understand how this work translates into individual, community, and systems-level outcomes, we invite you to explore our Impact & Approach here.