Almost two years ago, fair-haired Chikotah Duffy started growing his hair long.

Last week he had it all cut off short and donated his long platinum locks to be made into a wig for a child with cancer.

Chikotah, 9, and a Grade 4 student at Marie Sharpe Elementary School, set out with the idea of helping a child less fortunate than himself, but ended up paying an unexpected price for that generosity.

Instead of being praised for his efforts, other kids at his school ridiculed and bullied him unmercifully.

“I actually like my hair short, then I don’t get called a girl,” Chikotah said as Michelle Wilson at Total Aspect finished styling his new short cut last Wednesday afternoon.

Chikotah says students at Marie Sharpe and sometimes students from other schools waiting at the bus stop with him after school called him a girl, a loser, and other names.

Then, this September, the verbal bullying escalated to hitting and punching.

To protect himself, Chikotah decided to bring a pocket knife to school to protect himself. And that unfortunate decision got him expelled from school in October for an indefinite period.

His mom, Carmen, says she doesn’t condone Chikotah taking the knife to school but understands why he did it.

While she says Marie Sharpe is working on reinstating Chikotah at the school, she says he feels so bad about all of the bullying he has taken that he doesn’t want to go back.

So she has enrolled him at the Lakecity Christian Academy on Fox Mountain.

She says Chikotah decided on his own to grow his hair to be made into a wig for a child who is taking cancer treatment and has lost his or her own hair.

She says their family is very, very aware of the work of the Canadian Cancer Society because they have family members and friends who have had cancer.

She says she notified Chikotah’s school last year that he was growing his hair for a wig, but the bullying continued to escalate.

School District 27 superintendent Diane Wright said she may not be able to speak about the individual case due to confidentiality issues, but that there is a complaint protocol, which the district follows to resolve complaints of bullying and situations where prohibited items are brought to a school.

Wright said Friday was a professional day for educators and she likely wouldn’t have time to discuss the situation with Marie Sharpe principal Cheryl Dew until the middle of this week because she would be in meetings on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.

Sharon MacDonald from the Williams Lake Branch of the Canadian Cancer Society picked up Chikotah’s shorn mane and presented him with a certificate honouring his contribution.

“You are a very brave boy,” said MacDonald, a cancer survivor.

Chikotah’s hair will be sent to Eva Wigs in Vancouver to be made into a wig for a child for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Locks for Kids program.