Former NHL player Fred Sasakamoose drops the puck at a hockey game for the Ehrlo Sport Ventures, at the Co-operators Centre Arena at Evraz Place in Regina. Photo courtesy of Shinoah Young
The first aboriginal Canadian to play in the NHL is sticking to what he knows to help troubled youth in his home community.
Fred Sasakamoose and other elders on Ahtahkakoop First Nation were brought in to help out after vandals left a path of destruction in a group of buildings in the community’s core in late November.
Four Ahtahkakoop boys, between 10 and 13 years old, were charged with mischief after the radio station, school, and band office were broken into and more than $20,000 in damages done.
Shellbrook RCMP Constable Joshua Terfry said that number will go up as more insurance claims go through.
When Terfry arrived on scene in late November, first at the bingo hall and then at the school, the destruction was a lot to take in.
“Fire extinguishers that were set off left a pretty big mess everywhere… that was pretty much throughout most of the buildings. And holes were put in the walls, and it was quite the sight,” he said.
It was so bad, that students and teachers lost at least four school days while repairs were done.
Throughout the school, “almost every room, I would say, had a window or door broken to gain entry,” Terfry said.
The boys were arrested and charged after a community member identified them as the suspects.
“There was some video surveillance from the school. The four youth that were arrested and charged were close by and a community member actually brought them by the school,” Terfry said.
For now, those boys are going through the court process.
In the meantime the RCMP, elders, and parents of the Ahtahkakoop boys are working to get the kids to channel their energy in positive ways, instead of destructive ones.
In a meeting about two months ago, Sasakamoose said he felt for the struggles of the single mothers raising those kids.
When they asked the kids to write down what they need, Sasakamoose said he was shocked by a 10-year-old boy’s response.
“You know the first thing what he said? He wrote down on the board, KidSport,” he said. “”They wanted to be involved but there was no equipment for them because the parents could not afford them.”
Sasakamoose says he’s a man of action so he reached out to KidSport and other groups to get things rolling. KidSport is looking to get more involved with Ahtahkakoop in the future, but Ranch Ehrlo ended up stepping to fill the immediate need for sports equipment.
“I got five bags of hockey equipment. These kids are fully dressed. It’s hard for these young people, to strap them down because they’re full of energy. They’re full of this, and they’re full of that, they’re mischeivous little guys. But you know, you gotta dig in there to help them. I’m 82 years old, you think I’m gonna lay down? No damn way, I said. I still go that energy to be able to help these little kids,” he said.
He admits that it’s tough to point out the problems with drugs on reserve, and to ask for help because “there’s a lot of pride in Indians.”
“It’s tough when we don’t have the money, it’s tough when you don’t have the resources,” he said.
Sasakamoose is not alone in using sports to heal Ahtahkakoop’s kids. His daughter-in-law JoLee Sasakamoose is on board with the idea of bringing sports to reserves.
But as the head of the University of Regina’s Health Advocacy and Training program, she comes at it from the perspective of an academic.
She describes a study she did recently, with aboriginal kids participating in Fred’s annual hockey camp.
“They didn’t define sport as necessarily a healthy behavior but they identified it as a way of achieving balance in their lives so they recognize sports and recreation as a key factor in staying healthy and being healthy,” JoLee said.
“And the big thing is not having role models, not having adults in the community and in particular, parents.”
She wants to establish long-term sports mentors in areas like Ahtahkakoop so that sports are not only funded, but community-driven. However, JoLee points out that would take a lot of money that isn’t currently available.