Episode 5
A National Obsession
Feature Stories
Fred Sasakamoose Blazes A New Trail
The first aboriginal from Canada to play in the NHL, Fred Sasakamoose has served as a leader in the native hockey community for decades.Born on Saskatchewan's Sandy Lake reserve in 1933, a young Sasakamoose first took to the frozen ponds near his home on bob skates. A talented hockey player, he attended St. Michael's Residential School in Duck Lake, Sask., before moving on to the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Western Canadian Hockey League. Sasakamoose starred in his four years in the junior ranks with Moose Jaw, scoring 74 goals for his career and earning most valuable player honours in 1953-54, his final season, when he netted 31 goals in 34 games.
Sasakamoose played so well in his last junior campaign that the NHL's Chicago Black Hawks called up the 19-year-old for 11 games. Though he failed to record a point in his brief tenure with Chicago and never returned to the NHL, Sasakamoose succeeded in becoming the first Treaty Indian to reach the pinnacle of pro hockey.
Following a respectable couple of years in the minor leagues, Sasakamoose ended his pro career in B.C.'s Okanagan Senior Hockey League, scoring 26 goals for the Kamloops Chiefs in 1957-58, his last full season, before retiring two years later following a brief comeback. For his inspirational accomplishments, Sasakamoose was made an honorary chief of the Kamloops Indian Band.
After retiring as a player, Sasakamoose moved on to developing hockey schools for aboriginal and non-aboriginal children, and he formed an all-star team that traveled to Europe for exhibition contests. An advocate for sports and recreation in the native community, he has also worked for the NHL's diversity committee.
In 2002 the Blackhawks invited Sasakamoose back to Chicago to honour the trailblazer in a pre-game ceremony.
Fred Sasakamoose, Courtesy of Barbara Poirer
