William George Lindsay

About Me

William George Lindsay (Cree-Stoney) B.Ed. M.A. is retired as of 2022 after working for a quarter century in post-secondary education. This was preceded by a career in the hotel-restaurant industry. He served most recently as the Senior Director, Indigenous Directions at Concordia University in Montréal. He has experience as a college professor, university educator, researcher and published writer, student services coordinator, Associate Director, Director, and Senior Director, across the following institutions: Concordia University, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, Douglas College, Institute of Indigenous Government, and Native Education College.

William’s book ‘Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces’ was released on Amazon in December 2021. The Vancouver Sun and The Province published book reviews in May 2022, calling it “A new classic of Indigenous lit” and “An Indigenous Odyssey for TRC Times”. During 2022-24, it was chosen for the following literary awards: SHORTLIST/FINALIST, Whistler Independent Book Awards, Fiction Category, 2022; WINNER, Best Indie Book Awards, Native American Fiction, 2023; DOUBLE FINALIST, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, BIPOC Literature and A First Novel Over 90,000 Words, 2023; DOUBLE FINALIST, American Legacy Book Awards, Coming-of-Age Fiction and Multicultural Fiction, 2024. The book has been added to libraries across Canada and into the United States. It made the Burnaby Public Library’s list of the “Best Books of 2022”. It has been featured at numerous events and conferences, including the Burnaby Festival of Learning in May 2023 and as the keynote presentation at the International Society for Metal Music Studies conference in Montréal, Québec in June 2023.

William’s hobbies include playing the guitar, studying languages, daily walks, reading, journal writing, haiku poetry, travel, movies, mahjong, cards, cats, coffee, and the CBC. William is fluent in English, conversational in Mandarin Chinese, and has some ability in Cree and French.

LinkedIn Biography

My Book

Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces

Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces is an unnerving and realistic depiction of the effects of Indian residential school upon a generation. Set in the protagonist’s youth and written by someone who was there, William George Lindsay explores residential schools, the reservation, addiction, violence, and life as a runaway on the city streets of Canada. His Dickensian tale does not forget, however, the love, hope, humour, and courage that Indigenous people at the time exhibited, cultivated, and passed on, as a way to survive and even thrive. Readers are taken on a phantasmagorical journey as the protagonist goes from angry member of the punk generation to a possible redemptive and reconciliatory future. But will he and his cohorts survive to make it that far? A brutal, hard, yet ultimately uplifting read, and one grounded in truth, Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku evokes prose, poetry, and music, telling a nuanced philosophical tale of life, death, and dignity amidst the chaos and carnage of the times.

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Reviews

“
Stuart Derdeyn, The Vancouver SunRez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces
“A new classic of Indigenous literature.”

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The Province, Book ReviewRez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces
“An Indigenous Odyssey for TRC Times.”

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Jury, Whistler Independent Book Awards, 2022Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces
“William George Lindsay's Rez Dog Blues is essential, needed, indispensable, crucial, and vital.”

Highlights

BIBA awards

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Whistler Independent Book Awards, Jury Review

American Legacy Book Awards

American Legacy Book Awards

Book used to teach creative writing and haiku poetry in the Writing 101 Program, University of British Columbia, 2022-23

Book featured in conference presentations at Simon Fraser University (Facilities Directors, October 2022) and Concordia University (ISMMS Conference, June 2023)

Book featured as Keynote Presentation at the ISMMS Conference, Montreal, Quebec, June 2023

Positive book reviews in The Vancouver Sun and The Province

Nominated for ‘Shortlist’ then ‘Finalist’ for the prestigious Whistler Independent Book Awards

Below the Radar podcast series

The book has been added to the following library collections

Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces has been added to the following library collections: Library and Archives Canada, United States Library of Congress, Harvard University, University of Maine, Washington State University, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Alberta, MacEwan University, University of Saskatchewan, University of Winnipeg, Laurentian University, University of Toronto, Brock University, Carlton University, Trent University, York University, Concordia University, McGill University, Douglas College, NorQuest College, Langara College, Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, Native Education College, and the civic libraries of Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Whistler, Prince George, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Toronto, Whitby, Palliser Regional Library, Southeast Regional Library, Wapiti Regional Library, Wheatland Regional Library, Lakeland Regional Library, Chinook Regional Library, and Vancouver Island Regional Library, as examples.