Wendy Jocko

Wendy Jocko (born 1959/1960) is a former chief of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, and a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Early life
Jocko was born in Pembroke, Ontario. While living in Petawawa, at age 4, Jocko decided she wanted to be a soldier.

At age 15, Jocko began working for the post office as a sorter for mail and packages.

Career
In 1979, at age 19, Jocko joined the Canadian Armed Forces, where she served for 23 years. She trained at Canadian Forces Recruit School Cornwallis before being posted to CFB Edmonton as a supply technician. She served two tours in Bosnia and Croatia in 1993 and 1998, where she worked as a United Nations peacekeeper. Her final deployment was in Haiti.

After leaving the military in 2002, Jocko moved to Scotland, where she worked as a funeral director and embalmer. She eventually became a regional director of the British Institute of Funeral Directors.

In 2013, Jocko returned to Canada. She worked in Saskatchewan as a tractor truck driver. In 2015, she reconnected with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation.

She was elected chief of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation in 2020. She was defeated in the 2023 tribal elections by Greg Sarazin.

Personal life
Jocko is married and has four children. Her son, James McMullin, served with 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1RCR).

In 2023, Jocko was awarded an honorary degree from Algonquin College. That same year, Elaine Goble painted a portrait of her as part of a series on Indigenous military veterans.