Kenneth Thomas Chee Chee (26 March 1944 – 14 March 1977), known as Benjamin Chee Chee, was an

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Canadian artist born in

Temagami Temagami, formerly spelled as Timagami, is a municipality in northeastern Ontario, Canada, in the Nipissing District with Lake Temagami at its heart. The Temagami region is known as ''n'Daki Menan'', the homeland of the area's First Nations co ...

, Ontario.

Early life

Chee Chee's early life was troubled and he lost track of his mother, for whom he spent many years searching. He moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 1965 where he developed his love of drawing, and moved back to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in 1973.

]

Career

Chee Chee's first exhibition was held in 1973 at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. Soon after he gained fame as he developed his unique style of clear graceful lines and minimal colour, depicting birds and animals. Though his art featured a great deal of iconography often used by Canadian First Nations artists, Chee Chee had denied his art had symbolic meaning. He instead referred to the animals featured in his art as "creatures of the present". He also specifically referred to himself as an Ojibway artist, as opposed to allowing himself to be categorized under the broader net of simply an "Indian" artist.

Death

After finding his mother and achieving success as an artist, Chee Chee died by suicide in an Ottawa jail in 1977. He was buried in

Notre Dame Cemetery Notre Dame Cemetery, is a Catholic cemetery in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1872, it is the most prominent Catholic cemetery in Ottawa. The cemetery's western edge is located in Vanier, just south of Beechwood Cemetery. Its eastern lim ...

in Ottawa, Ontario. Chee Chee's work has been exhibited posthumously throughout Canada.

Legacy

Chee Chee has been mentioned in Canada's Parliament &

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

by MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette in a tribute to the artist about his influence. Ouellette said "Let us also recognize one of the finest artists of Canada, Benjamin Chee Chee. He always refused to be an indigenous artist; he was a proud Anishnabeg. He drew simple lines, usually acrylic on paper. Highly influential in his time, he said he did not paint the past but the present, the living of today. We can see his works, like the flock of four geese. They represent the four directions of the unborn, the youth, the adults and the elders all moving in the same direction. Even though he died in tragedy and is buried in Ottawa, far from his land and people, he still inspires today." https://openparliament.ca/debates/2019/5/2/robert-falcon-ouellette-3/only/

Anthony Rota Anthony Michael Gerard Rota (born May 15, 1961) is a Canadian politician who is the 37th and current speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, he currently serves as the member of Parliament (MP) for ...

, Speaker of the House of Commons and Member of Parliament (Nipissing–Timiskaming) announced that the Government of Canada is investing $97,200 in the Temiskaming Art Gallery to support its exhibit of the work of Ojibwa artist Benjamin Chee Chee. Mr. Rota made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism. The investment was made through the Access to Heritage component of the Museums Assistance Program, will allow the "Benjamin Chee Chee: Life and Legacy Tour" to travel to communities throughout Northern Ontario over the next three years. This funding promotes collaboration in the preservation of Indigenous culture and helps support the Government of Canada's commitment to reconciliation.

References

Sources

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External links

Benjamin Chee Chee on-line cemetery

Benjamin Chee Chee art sold recently at auctions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chee Chee, Benjamin Ojibwe people 1944 births 1977 suicides First Nations painters Artists who committed suicide Suicides by hanging in Ontario Canadian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Canadian detention People who committed suicide in prison custody Artists from Ontario 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters Woodlands style People from Temagami 20th-century Canadian male artists Burials at Notre-Dame Cemetery (Ottawa)