The logo for the 2026 Tony Cote Summer Games.The announcement is made during a Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) community gathering on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Agrivilla in North Battleford on Sept. 30, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

By Kenneth Cheung

FIRST NATIONS SPORTS

Battlefords to host 2026 Tony Cote Summer Games, marking 150 years of Treaty 6

Sep 30, 2025 | 3:20 PM

More than 3,000 First Nations athletes will converge on the Battlefords next summer for the 2026 Tony Cote Summer Games, an event timed with the 150th anniversary of Treaty 6.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) awarded hosting rights to the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC), formally announced Sept. 30 on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in North Battleford. The Games will take place from July 26 to 31, 2026.

Organizers expect about 3,500 athletes from 13 tribal councils and First Nations across Saskatchewan. They will be divided into three age categories: 13U, 15U and 17U. With families, coaches and volunteers included, as many as 15,000 people could descend on the region. The operating budget is set between $1.1 and $1.3 million.

“This place has carried a heavy history marked by pain and division,” said games manager Kerry Sasakamoose.

“But today, together, we reclaim it as a space of healing, unity and hope. As we [will] mark 150 years since Treaty 6 was made [in 1876], we honor our ancestors who held the spirit of our treaty, and we uplift our youth, who will carry it forward into the future.”

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Games manager Kerry Sasakamoose, left, speaks as assistant games manager Gabriel Michael joins her during the announcement of the 2026 Tony Cote Summer Games at a Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Truth and Reconciliation gathering at Agrivilla in North Battleford on Sept. 30, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW staff)

The Games will feature seven sports: archery, canoe and kayak, golf, soccer, softball, beach volleyball and athletics.

Competitions will be spread across local venues, with Centennial Park hosting soccer, softball and track, Jackfish Lodge staging golf and King Hill set for archery. Canoe and kayak races are planned at Moosomin First Nation, while The Ridge will serve as the Athletes Village.

Other supporting venues include the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts and the Access Communications Centre.

Teams confirmed for 2026 include Agency Chiefs Tribal Council, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, Team Big River First Nation, File Hills–Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, Prince Albert Grand Council, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Southeast Treaty 4 Tribal Council, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Team Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation, Team Woodland Sector (PAGC North), Team Onion Lake Cree Nation, Touchwood Agency Tribal Council and Yorkton Tribal Council.

Assistant games manager Gabriel Michael said the event is both personal and historic.

“I grew up in the urban area, and I never had a chance to be with our relatives in the reserve … I just felt like I was an outcast. But the games allowed me to be a part of something,” he said.

“Celebrating 3,500 kids that are going to stimulate this economy and hopefully make history here in North Battleford and Battleford.”

BATC Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman, also known as Tanya Stone, of the Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation, called it “a really exciting time.”

“Bringing 3,500 kids, possibly even more … so all of us are all coming together, all the nations are coming together. It’s going to be a huge celebration,” she said.

BATC Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman, also known as Tanya Stone, of the Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation speaks during the announcement of the 2026 Tony Cote Summer Games at Agrivilla in North Battleford on Sept. 30, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW staff)

Moosomin First Nation Chief Quinton Swiftwolf, who also serves as a BATC leader, said the games highlight the importance of working side by side.

“Regardless of colour, regardless of race, I think we need to show people who we are … standing together, working together and uniting together,” he said.

North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin said the city is ready to play its part.

“Hosting an event of this scale is a significant undertaking for BATC and will require the support of our entire community — volunteers, sponsors and local businesses,” she said in a statement.

Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie added that sport has long built connections in the community.

“We’re here to celebrate something that is very fitting for the youth, and that’s the Tony Cote Games. Memories are made significantly through sports,” he said.

The Tony Cote Winter and Summer Games, launched in 1974 by Chief Tony Cote and the Cote First Nation, were created to give First Nations youth under 20 opportunities often denied by mainstream sport systems.

For BATC, which last hosted the Winter Games in 2012, the 2026 edition is being framed as both a showcase of youth talent and a step in reconciliation.

Sasakamoose said the Games schedule has already been approved and will be posted on the BATC website for the public to access.

Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs leaders, administration and local dignitaries gather during the announcement of the 2026 Tony Cote Summer Games at Agrivilla in North Battleford on Sept. 30, 2025.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com