His mother, Dr Rosalyn Ing,[8] was 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.

[11] Because his father received training in electrical engineering and was posted to the Canadian Forces Base Lahr, he spent his teen years in Germany.

[12] Younging served as assistant director of Research for the Canadian federal government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada.

[13] He has worked for a number of other organizations including: The Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples, Assembly of First Nations, Committee Of Inquiry into Indian Education, Native Women's Association of Canada.

[15] 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.