Marilyn Gunner-McLeod is always looking for the best in people regardless of their background or history.
Born and raised in Moose Factory, Gunner-McLeod, 42, works as a health director at MoCreebec Eeyoud.
She loves her job and the amazing work that her team does. If a crisis call comes in on a Friday evening, Gunner-McLeod doesn’t see it as an obligation at that moment.
“For me, it’s a genuine concern. I want to make sure they’re good. And then, we set them up with resources, perhaps, outside of the community,” she says. “It’s about the community. You go above and beyond to help your people.”
She’s also a lead singer and guitarist with Moose Factory’s NorthBound 51.
The band is going to release its debut self-titled album by the end of October.
As a new songwriter, she says she’s still learning about the process and she’s very humbled by it.
“It’s very humbling because there are so many great songs. There are so many great artists out there who will write their own songs. And I have so much respect for them like, ‘Wow, how did you do that?’” she says. “So that’s something I’ve definitely like working on.”
She wants listeners to find something uplifting and positive in the songs.
“I just want to impose the positivity that no matter how bad things are, that it’s going to be OK. Not maybe necessarily right away,” she says. “But it’s going to be at some point. You just have your faith, whatever you believe in, and that is just going to be OK.”
Gunner-McLeod has some songs relating back to her childhood but she’s never shared them publicly because they’re so close to her heart.
She has a special, close-knit bond with her two younger sisters. Gunner-McLeod was almost 12 when her first sister was born. She remembers feeling so proud and was very protective of her because she’s always longed to be a big sister.
Her second sister came into the world when Gunner-McLeod was 17. She keeps in touch with her sisters every day and she’s very proud of how they turned into phenomenal women and mothers.
“Your family is always a core piece of everything that we do,” she says. “I feel proud of both of them. And I love it. There’s not a day that I don’t talk to my sisters.”
Gunner-McLeod is also proud and grateful her two sons, Ty and Jordan, have a strong connection and are protective of each other.
She has studied at several institutions including Humber College, Mohawk College and Carleton University. She also studied Aboriginal Focused Oriented Therapy at Justice Institute of British Columbia.
She’s now looking forward to starting her political science at Athabasca University.
“Just trying to build upon the education skills and looking at things in our community to really find ways that that can help our people in our area,” she explains.
Initially, Gunner-McLeod wanted to be a police officer or work for RCMP because her father was a police officer. She also wanted to be a lawyer but then pursued social work because that’s where her heart was.
"I look at the best in people regardless of whatever background or history. I see you and I validate you," she says. "Because maybe at some point I was there. I just want the best for everyone."
Before working as a health director, she was a family service counselor for MoCreebec. Her boss at the time was George Small Jr.
Small Jr. become the health director for MoCreebec in 1996. He was the deputy chief when he died in 2020.
Gunner-McLeod has fond memories of Small Jr. who she says was always calm and collected.
“He was a great man, humble, kind and gentle. I couldn’t have asked for a better boss or a better mentor,” she says.
With her sons living in Timmins and her working in Moose Factory, living between two communities can be tough but she always makes sure to stay in touch with her family by texting them every morning to wish them a good day and telling them she loves and misses them.
Her love for her family comes first and foremost.
“No matter how old they are, they’re always going to be my babies. I’m proud of that. And then, that they can learn from seeing me and my mistakes, and grow,” she says.
First Nations people tend to be shy but they’re resilient and family-oriented, Gunner-McLeod says. She loves her community, the Cree culture, her family, her job and the people she works with.
Her maternal family comes from a First Nation community called Eastmain, Quebec. When Gunner-McLeod was born, she went under her mother’s First Nation and about four years ago, she became a Moose Cree member.
“There’s a lot of good in our home, and our families, and our communities. We just have to learn to celebrate it and be confident because I think First Nations people downplay it,” she says. “I’m a member of our people. We band together as a community and it’s amazing.”
She is proud of her resilience and determination that get her through some days. Although it can be hard to stay positive in life, at the end of the day, Gunner-McLeod reflects back on how she treated people.
"Was I good to them? Was I kind? Did I say something I shouldn't have? I really try my best to be as good as I can. We can all get better, " she says. "I try to be a good person. Not for me but my family and the community, too."
