Fred Saskamoose is among the first Indigenous people to appear in an NHL game. He was a fine goal scorer in junior and went on to enjoy a minor league career in the 1950's and early 1960's.
At age six, Sasakamoose was taken by Royal Canadian Mounted Police from his home on the Sandy Lake Reserve in Saskatchewan and shipped 96 kilometers away to the St. Michael's Indian Residential School at Duck Lake. There, like so many Aboriginal youth, Sasakamoose was forced to endure extreme psychological and physical abuse. His only moments of refuge during his residential school incarceration came when he was on the ice. Sasakamoose dreamed of making it to the NHL. So much so that he would often trade his lunch to borrow other students skates for an hour of practice. Such sacrifice paid off as he led St. Michael's School to a provincial midget championship during his final year there.
Sasakamoose played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Canucks of the WCJHL for four seasons. In 130 games for the club, he recorded 74 goals and was named the league's most valuable player in 1953-54. That season he also accomplished his goal of suiting up in the NHL. Sasakamoose appeared in 11 games for the Chicago Black Hawks in what would prove to be his lone appearance on hockey's grandest stage. Following his 11-game stint with the Hawks, Sasakamoose played in the Western and Quebec leagues before moving on to the Okanagan senior loop. The hard working pivot scored 26 goals and notched 53 points in 51 games for the Kamloops Chiefs in 1957-58 and would end his career as a member of the North Battleford Beavers.
Following his retirement from the game, Sasakamoose became involved in the development of sports programs for Indigenous children, using his fame to promote opportunities for youth in sport. In 2002, Sasakamoose was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in the builders category and his work has been acknowledged by both the Assembly of First Nations and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
