Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples

Whether you are an indigenous scholar or research of indigenous issues, this text provides helpful guidance to approach the research and writing an appropriate, ethical and meaningful way. I highly recommend it.

A very useful reference book for anyone referring to Indigenous peoples in written works.

This guide provides a detailed, comprehensive analysis of an extremely complex topic. It is compact and concise; think of it as like Strunk's Elements of Style for Indigenous writing...it won't solve all your problems, but it'll absolutely help you recognize them.

This should be in the Library of everyone writing for and about any Indigenous people anywhere!

I expected this book to focus solely on questions of writing style, to guide authors on how to write about Indigenous Peoples with sensitivity and respect. The book certainly includes that, but it does much more. As it turns out, the sections that I found most valuable don’t actually address “style” per se, but instead questions of intellectual property. Western systems of recognizing scientific contributions (patents), cultural works (copyright), and identifying marks (brands) do not work well with Indigenous Law. Traditional Knowledge and Oral Traditions often have collective owners, predate Western law, and may include Protocols that prescribe or limit sharing. Younging’s discussion of these issues, including a long “appendix,” his, provide a very helpful introduction to the issues.Younging writes for a Canadian audience, though he also knows US usages well; he rarely refers to practices in Australian or New Zealand. This means that Younging calls the word “Tribe” offensive, though it is the normal term for an Indigenous People in the United States. The term “Aboriginal,” which has specific legal usages in Canada, will strike most people in the United States as bizarre, and it has a contested history (and present) in Australia. Similarly, Younging finds “Native” offensive, while recognizing that people in the United States often use both “Native American” and “Native.” As a result, he provides no guidance for terms such as “Native News Online,” an online journalism site that reflects common use of “Native” as an adjective.Younging knows all this, and he mentions many of these issues, but he doesn’t really *engage* these differences. What does the varied status of an “offensive” word mean for a global publishing industry in which the English language dominates? Sure, there’s some convergence toward the terms “Indigenous” (adj.) and “Indigenous Peoples,” but languages always innovate. For example, Younging does not consider how outsiders might engage modern in-group references such as “NDN” or “Indianz.”As my comments suggest, and as Younging says at several points, Indigenous style continues to change. Indeed, Appendix D of this book reprints a 2015 essay by the author in which he had to edit his own style of just three years previously. Unfortunately, Younging has passed away at too young an age, so he will not be able to update this guide. Take it seriously but remember that this book’s recommendations are not the last word.

As a First Nations person, this book was still loaded with information that I never thought of to include. It's a great learning guide for anyone who wants to understand Indigenous peoples and how to write and communicate appropriately. It should be a mandatory read for all government organizations working and interacting with Indigenous peoples.

This is beautifully written with an excellent perspective and I am grateful to have a solid guide to refer to, and refer authors to, on this important topic.

An indispensable resource for writers and editors who want to write effectively, accurately, and respectfully about Indigenous peoples. It's straightforward and offers clear explanations for the recommendations. I wish I had this years ago. Like most reference books, I wish it was ring bound, but I know that's pricey to produce. Every editor should have a copy of this.

Looking for a place to start learning about Indigenous peoples? Start right here with the Words. Why? Because it's the words that we use that shapes most how we think...and it's how we think that needs shifting. Should be a standard issue in all communications schools.

An important topic, well handled by a superbly qualified author. This is, belatedly, a topic of concern to all who are writing books, articles, essays and opinion pieces that contain or relate to matters pertaining to Indigenous People, in Canada and many parts of the world. We are reminded that such cultures have been, often egregiously, treated with lack of due respect, and it is high time that this was corrected.