Mary McPherson is currently pursuing her PhD in Law at Queen’s University. Her research explores liberal politics of recognition and its critiques in relation to the current changes in Canadian legislation and common law affecting Aboriginal peoples, and the role of Indigenous philosophical revitalization in these legislative and judicial changes.
Mary earned an LLM from Queen’s University. Her thesis focused on incommensurability between Indigenous and common law traditions. She received her JD from the University of Ottawa and an HBFA from Lakehead University. Mary has taught Indigenous historical and contemporary issues at the Royal Military College of Canada, and she has worked in areas of research and consultations with the Ontario Native Women’s Association. Mary grew up in northwestern Ontario where she continues to maintain a practice as an award-winning artist, with her work having been displayed in solo and collaborative exhibitions. She is a proud Anishinaabe member of Couchiching First Nation and dedicates time on the land and with the inspiring people in her community.
Mary is a recipient of the Eric W. Cross Fellowship in Law (2024), the Teyonkwayenawá:kon Graduate Scholarship (2023), and the Queen’s Graduate Award (2023).
Thesis: Escaping a Legal Quicksand: Indigenous Philosophical Revitalization as a Struggle Towards Purging Canada’s Colonial Legal Identity
Co-supervisors: Dr. Mark Walters (Law) and Dr. Danielle Lussier (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)