Norman Alexander Easton

Norm Easton arrived in the Yukon in January 1986. In March he had secured funding to serve as the director of research for the Yukon Underwater Diving Association’s Yukon Underwater Heritage Resources Inventory. He applied to Yukon College for support in the way of an office and a typewriter. By September, he was teaching anthropology courses at the college. In 1987, he started working with Yukon government archaeologist Ruth Gotthardt on the community-based Fort Selkirk Culture History Project. At that time independent research was the purview of southern universities and Norm and his Yukon College colleagues needed an institutional framework to create a northern research program. He worked with Aron Sekpiel who developed the Northern Studies Program. Easton worked with Aron, Deby Chubb, Ken Coates, and two students to create The Northern Review. Eston was the first managing editor. In 1991, the College received a grant and Norm took a three-year secondment as director of the Northern Research Institute with offices in the new Northern Building Science Centre. Norm was the director of the Northern Research Institute from 1991-1994 and then returned to being a lecturer in anthropology and northern studies at Yukon College.¹⁾

Norm Easton is perhaps best known for his work in and publications about the Yukon Scotty Creek region.