Mary McPherson is a daughter, sister, auntie, and an Ojibwe member of Couchiching First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. She grew up in Thunder Bay, working as a visual artist while pursuing an HBFA with a minor in Indigenous Learning at Lakehead University. She has since obtained a JD from the University of Ottawa and a LLM from Queen’s University, and she is currently working on a PhD in Law at Queen's.