By Jeff D’Andrea

What Peekeekoot’s home community of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation means to him

Jun 18, 2021 | 4:00 PM

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Dallyn Peekeekoot knows firsthand what the word “community” means.

After Peekeekoot was added to the Prince Albert Raiders’ roster midway through the pandemic-shortened season, his entire community of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation rallied behind him. They spammed likes and shared every little post about Peekeekoot. They already started planning on getting piles of season tickets to watch Peekeekoot play in person. They even erected a drive-in theatre to witness Peekeekoot and the Raiders take on the Saskatoon Blades, and allow everybody to come together and watch the game while still physically distanced.

Peekeekoot had a monster performance, registering a goal, two assists and a scrap in an intense 5-3 defeat on April 8.

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“It just means a lot to know that my community’s behind me and what I do. It’s just something that means a lot to me,” Peekeekoot said. “It makes me want to play better each game and put some points up on the board and make it interesting to watch—give the community something to look forward to in the future.”

That community, Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, is one of rich of history, both in hockey and the Cree people.

The first was Chief Ahtahkakoop, who the band is named after. Chief Ahtahkakoop was an important figurehead in negotiating Treaty 6 and was the second Chief to sign the document in 1876. He also picked out the original location for the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.

Translated into English, Ahtahkakoop means “Star Blanket,” which remains a symbol of the band. Their official flag is covered in stars and features the image of their original Chief Ahtahkakoop.

The official flag of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation (Reddit)

Peekeekoot said learning and preserving the nation’s history and their traditions remains quite important to him and the rest of the community.

“It means a lot. Culture’s everything to me and my community. It’s something that we practice quite a bit,” Peekeekoot said.

Another important figure in Ahtahkakoop’s history is Fred Sasakamoose, or “Chief Thunderstick” as he’s known in hockey circles. A residential school survivor, Sasakamoose is widely credited as the first player from a First Nation to play in the NHL—a feat he accomplished on Nov. 20, 1953 when he made his debut for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Boston Bruins. Sasakamoose has been recognized by many Hall Of Fames including in Saskatchewan and Prince Albert.

Sasakamoose died in Nov. 24, 2020, four days after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Fred Sasakamoose. (Twitter/Paul Seeseequasis)

Peekeekoot wishes he got to know Sasakamoose better but said Sasakamoose passed down just how important having a good work ethic is in life, especially in hockey.

That’s something that Peekeekoot has taken to heart, and something he is repeatedly complimented for. It’s largely why Peekeekoot made the Raiders in the first place, after being a 10th round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was very quickly impressed with Peekeekoot’s hard work and attitude. Danton Danielson always raved about how hard Peekeekoot worked when he coached him with the Prince Albert Mintos at the U18 AAA level. Raider assistant captain Reece Vitelli said he was “inspired” by how Peekeekoot played the game and gave the entire team a boost.

“I even remember waking up at 5 a.m. to go for a run, just because I wanted to. I had nothing else to do, so I was like ‘why not?’” Peekeekoot said. “I went back to a clean diet, really clean, and working out twice a day—once at seven in the morning and again at four [in the afternoon]—and doing that every day and just enjoying the weekends. That was a lot of work.”

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW