Greg Younging (sometimes written Young-Ing; 18 March 1961 – 3 May 2019) was a Canadian editor and expert on

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

Opaskwayak Cree Nation The Opaskwayak Cree Nation (; OCN, Cree: ᐅᐸᐢᑿᔭᐠ , ''opâskwêyâhk'', meaning: at the wooded narrows) is a First Nations band government in Manitoba, Canada. Most of the on-reserve population lives near The Pas on the OCN 21E reserve ...

. He was the managing editor at Theytus books and published "Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guidebook for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples" in 2018. Younging died on 3 May 2019 in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

, British Columbia.

Personal life

Younging was born on 18 March 1961. He was a member of Opsakwayak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba. His mother is a residential school survivor and her experience of abuse influenced his decision to spend his career raising issues related to the impacts of colonization, and advocate for Indigenous knowledge.

Education

Younging earned a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts Degree from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

. He has a Master of Publishing Degree, from Simon Fraser University. He received a PhD from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, Department of Educational Studies. Younging's parents met in the Canadian military and Younging subsequently spent his childhood moving between Canadian bases. Because his father received training in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and was posted to the

Canadian Forces Base Lahr Canadian Forces Base Lahr (IATA:LHA, ICAO: EDTL, former code EDAN) was a military operated commercial airport located in Lahr, Germany. It was operated primarily as a French air force base, and later as a Canadian army base, beginning in the late ...

, he spent his teen years in Germany.

Career

Younging had a number of different roles during his career. Younging was the Managing Editor of Theytus Books from 1990 to 2003, returning to the role in 2016 until his death in 2019. Younging served as assistant director of Research for the Canadian federal government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada. He has worked for a number of other organizations including: The Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples,

Assembly of First Nations The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, wh ...

, Committee Of Inquiry into Indian Education,

Native Women's Association of Canada The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC; french: Association des femmes autochthones du Canada, nolink=yes FAC is a national Indigenous organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people in ...

. He was member of Aboriginal Arts Advisory Committee of the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

(1997–2001) and the

British Columbia Arts Council The British Columbia Arts Council (or BC Arts Council) is a statutory independent agency supporting arts in British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific O ...

(1999–2001). As a professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, Younging had a profound impact on the university. He was a professor and Coordinator of the Indigenous Studies Program at the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at the University of British Columbia–Okanagan. Younging was "instrumental in the development of the Indigenous Studies program." at the university. He published numerous works, including nonfiction and poetry.

Awards

In June 2019, Younging was posthumously awarded the President's Award from the Association of Canadian Publishers for his contributions to the field.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Younging, Greg 1961 births 2019 deaths Cree people Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Okanagan Canadian editors First Nations academics 20th-century First Nations writers 21st-century First Nations writers