With a Name Like Chief: Reflections on Recovery and Identity Through the Seven Sacred Teachings

By Stu Slayen and Kevin Chief

Community leader and former Manitoba MLA, Kevin Chief shares his story of strength, resilience, recovery, and identity.

In With a Name Like Chief, Kevin frankly and honestly recounts growing up in poverty in Winnipeg's North End, navigating the challenges of growing up in a single-parent home with his alcoholic father, becoming an MVP basketball star and captain of his university team, overcoming his own alcohol addiction to find recovery, and being elected to the Manitoba legislature twice.

Along the way, Kevin shares how many educators and mentors helped him succeed, as well as insights into how the Seven Teachings of the Anishinaabe have guided his addiction recovery and helped him gain a sense of his identity.

This memoir will resonate with readers interested in stories about personal growth and the transformative power of community. Foreword provided by Phil Fontaine, OC, OM.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1774921960
• ISBN13: 9781774921968
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Highwater Press
• Length: 200 Pages