Fred Sasakamoose, torn from his home at the age of seven, endured the horrors of residential school for a decade before becoming one of 120 players in the most elite hockey league in the world. He has been heralded as the first Indigenous player with Treaty status in the NHL, making his official debut as a 1954 Chicago Black Hawks player on Hockey Night in Canada. Sasakamoose played against such legends as Gordie Howe, Jean Béliveau, and Maurice Richard. After twelve games, he returned home.

When people tell Sasakamoose’s story, this is usually where they end it. They say he left the NHL to return to the family and culture that the Canadian government had ripped away from him. That returning to his family and home was more important to him than an NHL career. But there was much more to his decision than that. Understanding Sasakamoose’s choice means acknowledging the dislocation and treatment of generations of Indigenous peoples. It means considering how a man who spent his childhood as a ward of the government would hear those supposedly golden words: “You are Black Hawks property.”

Sasakamoose’s story was far from over once his NHL days concluded. He continued to play for another decade in leagues around Western Canada. He became a band councillor, served as Chief, and paved a way for youth to find solace and meaning in sports for generations to come. This isn’t just a hockey story; Sasakamoose’s groundbreaking memoir sheds piercing light on Canadian history and Indigenous politics, and follows this extraordinary man’s journey to reclaim pride in an identity and a heritage that had previously been used against him.

The Author

AYAHKOKOPAWIWIYIN or FRED SASAKAMOOSE was born in 1933 on what is now called Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. A residential school Survivor, Fred is known as the first Indigenous player with Treaty status to play in the NHL. After retiring from hockey, Fred dedicated his time to activism in order to improve the lives of Indigenous peoples through the power of sport. Sasakamoose is recognized for his achievements by the Assembly of First Nations and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. He has been inducted into four different sports Halls of Fame, served on the NHL Diversity Task Force, was a board member for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and became a member of the Order of Canada in 2017. He passed away in 2020.

MEG MASTERS, a Toronto-based writer and editor, worked with Fred Sasakamoose to put his story on paper. She is also the co-author of the bestselling A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose by Samra Zafar and Andrea Constand’s The Moment: Standing Up to Bill Cosby; Speaking Up for Women, as well as nine other books. Her bestselling children’s book Five Minute HockeyStories was published under the pen-name Meg Braithwaite. As an editor, she has worked with many of Canada’s bestselling authors, and for twenty-five years, was the story editor for both Stuart McLean’s award-winning books and his enormously popular “The Vinyl Cafe” show on CBC radio.