'I always think of him' says friend of First Nations student who died

In the "frightening" and foreign-feeling city of Thunder Bay, Ont. James Benson says he met a fellow First Nations student whose love of people and untimely death became an inspiration for him.

Benson's friend Curran Strang was an 18-year-old student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations high school when he went missing in 2005. His body was found four days later in the McIntyre River. 

His death in Thunder Bay, along with that of six other First Nations students from remote communities, is the subject of an inquest currently underway. Benson testified on Wednesday.

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"I didn't want to testify," said Benson. "This happened more than 10 years ago and for me I'd rather leave his family be because they've been through so much."

Elders from Benson's home community of North Caribou Lake First Nation convinced him it was best to share his experiences and help with the inquest.

Strang was "a people person," Benson told CBC News in an interview after his testimony. "Whoever he met, he made them feel happy about themselves, he made them feel confident."

Jurors at the inquest heard how, after arriving in Thunder Bay for school in Sept. 2005, Strang returned home to Pikangikum for a funeral. His cousin and another person in the community had died by suicide. 

Within days of returning from the funeral, Strang was caught drinking and was grounded, but went out again anyway that Thursday night, his boarding home parent told the inquest.

'We told him to be careful'

In his testimony, Benson said he saw his friend at the mall that night asking for money to go to the liquor store.

"We didn't give him anything because we didn't want to be involved if something did happen," Benson testified. "We told him to be careful."

Jurors at the inquest heard that two other friends reported to staff at the school that they had been out drinking with Strang near the McIntyre River that night when he passed out and they left him behind. A search ensued and his body was found the following Monday.

Benson hopes the inquest helps "figure something out, like how to have better living experiences than what we experienced" in Thunder Bay.

His testimony, via teleconference from Weagamow Lake, delivered a moment of irony that drew chuckles from those listening.

"We would get egged by White kids, I mean non-Native" he said, quickly correcting himself. "Sorry to sound racist."

Having eggs thrown at them from passing cars in Thunder Bay was "scary" at first for students but "because it was an ongoing thing we were used to it after awhile," Benson said in an interview.

"It's very sad that these non-Native kids don't understand the cultural differences where we come from in remote communities," he said. "It would be really good if they would learn the history of our people, our culture and be sensitive."

Benson, now 29, works with Tikinagan Child and Family Services, helping young people in his own community. He said the work is a tribute to Strang.

"I always think of him just by doing that because he loved people and he loved working with just whoever he met, whether they were First Nations or non First Nations, he just loved people," Benson said.