• Age: 17
• Grade: 12

Benjamin Chee Chee lived with anger and frustration for more than thirty years before he took his own life. An Ojibway artist who killed himself just as he was beginning to gain international recognition, Chee Chee is one of the thousands of aboriginal peoples in Canada who have commited suicide. Noted suicidologist and former RCMP officer Al Evans explores Chee Chee's wild, reckless, creative life to reveal how the clash between Native and White society has affected the suicide rate of young Native men and women, now among the highest in the world.

Alvin Evans is professor emeritus at St Paul's United College, University of Waterloo.

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Chee Chee: A Study of Aboriginal Suicide

Evans, noted suicidologist, investigates self-destructive behaviours of Canada’s Aboriginal youth. Exploring how the friction between native and white society has caused young Canadian Aboriginals to have the highest global suicide rates, the book revolves around the tragic life of Benjamin Chee Chee, a gifted Ojibway artist who committed suicide at age 33. Evans parallels Chee Chee’s struggle with the widespread feelings of despair and addictive tendencies facing many young Aboriginals. Evans postulates that as many Aboriginal peoples experience life on the fringes of society, they feel victimized. He has worked in Aboriginal communities for 25 years.

Evans is a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo.