Doris Young is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and a residential school survivor. She is also the assistant to the president on Aboriginal affairs at the University College of the North. A champion of treaty rights, human rights and social justice initiatives, she has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of Aboriginal people in Canada. A graduate of the University of Manitoba, she has lent her expertise to numerous boards and initiatives throughout her career. For example, in the 1970s she promoted the significance of the treaties in her role as director of the Indian Act Revision for the Manitoba Chiefs. In the 1980s she was the founding chair of the Aboriginal Services Committee, Health Sciences Centre Board. In the 1990s she served with the Aboriginal Justice Implementation Team and is presently a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Advisory Committee. Ms Young was also the founding president of the Indigenous Women’s Collective of Manitoba and played a major role in the passage of Bill C31 which gave back treaty rights for Aboriginal women and children. In 2010, Doris Young was appointed co-chair of the Premier’s Advisory Council on Education, Poverty and Citizenship.
