Shirley Tolley

Shirley is a proud member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (KZ) First Nation. Shirley resides in the Gatineau area – in the heart of Alqonquin unceded & unsurrendered territory where her ancestors hunted, travelled and traded along the majestic Kitchi Sibi river and happily goes back and forth from the city to her community because all her family & friends live there.  She will readily admit that she has the best of both worlds (urban and community). 

She retired from the Public Service in 2013 from the First Nations & Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada and has since worked with several Indigenous non-for-profit organizations in different capacities since then. 

Shirley was elected in May of 2021 as the Women’s Representative for the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation Tribal Council (AANTC) and was recently elected as the Algonquin Women’s Alternate for the Quebec Native Women in October of 2022. 

Shirley is also a Federal Indian Day school survivor and is well versed in cultural and traditional protocols. 

She considers herself a very active activist and was involved in many battles when she was in the Public Service to improve Indigenous representation in the workforce.  Today she continues to work tirelessly to engage and advance the social and economic conditions of all women of the Algonquin Nation. 

Shirley greatest success is being called Mom by her 3 adult children, and Kokomis to her 5 grand-children.   She spends most of her leisure time with them running to hockey arena’s, ski hills or in the local gyms.