Neil Sasakamoose (left) and Chief Larry Ahenakew with Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs stand alongside the statue of Fred Sasakamoose on May 18, 2022. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

By Angela Brown

Local legacy

Town recognizes Indigenous hockey hero Fred Sasakamoose

May 19, 2022 | 5:41 PM

The Town of Battleford gave a tribute to the memory of local Indigenous hockey champion Fred Sasakamoose at this week’s meeting.

Sasakamoose was honoured with a memorial statue at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon during a special ceremony May 18.

“That will be a great way to honour the first Indigenous hockey player in the NHL,” Mayor Ames Leslie said.

The statue project was approved by Saskatoon City Council last year and was commissioned by the Synergy 8 Community Builders, and partnered with Saskatoon Tribal Council, Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation, and the Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs.The Battleford Mayor mentioned he was aware the statue was being installed in Sasakamoose’s memory.

Fred Sasakamoose. (Twitter/Paul Seeseequasis)

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Sasakamoose passed away in November 2020 from symptoms of COVID-19.

May 18 is officially known as Fred Sasakamoose Day in Saskatchewan.

The book, “Call Me Indian,” the memoirs of Fred Sasakamoose was released in Canada on May 18, 2021.

Mayor Leslie also mentioned at the town’s meeting that Fred Sasakamoose’s son Neil Sasakamoose, executive director with Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC), will be retiring on June 1.

According to BATC, Neil Sasakamoose helped build the Tribal Council with a team of employees, and under the leadership of the elected members of each of the neighbouring First Nations’ chiefs and councils.

“The long-time chair and president of the BATC and the BATC Community Development Corporation (CDC) has retired,” Leslie said. “So we will have a changing of the guard in the BATC here shortly.”

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW