History of Sweetgrass First Nation

Chief Sweetgrass (Weekaskookwasayin) signed Treaty 6 on September 9, 1876, with the Fort Pitt Indians but was killed about six months later.  He was succeeded by his son, Apseenes (Young Sweet Grass).  He was unable to hold the band together, which began to splinter.  In 1882, Young Sweet Grass & seventeen followers joined Wah-wee-kah-oo-tah-mah-hote (Strikes him on the back), who had signed Treaty 6 at Fort Carlton on August 28, 1876.  Wah-wee-kah-oo-tah-mah-hote was chief from 1876 to 1883: but he was deposed in 1884 and Young Sweet Grass became chief.

 A reserve was surveyed west of Battleford in 1884 for the melded band members, who sold hay & wood and maintained gardens & livestock.

Currently the band controls 20,573.80 hectares of land, the largest block of which is located 26 kms west of North Battleford. 

There are 2051 registered band members (as of Dec. 31/2019),  749 people live on reserve which includes non-first nation people as well as people from other first nations.

HISTORICAL CHIEFS:

1876: Sweetgrass

1876 - 1883: Wah-wee-kah-oo-tah-mah-hote (Strike him on the back)

1884 - 1886: Apseenes (Young Sweetgrass)

1920 - 1924: Harry Atcheynum (Son of Strike him on the back)

1925 - 1964: Sam Swimmer (Son of Yellow Mud) Last hereditary Chief

1956 - 1957: Andrew Swimmer

1957 - 1958: Ben Atcheynum

1958 - 1959: James Favel

1959 - 1960: Solomon Albert

1961 - 1962: John Weenie

1963 - 1964: Adam Paskemin

1965 - 1966: Ben Atcheynum

1967 - 1970: Joseph Weenie

1971 - 1972: Ben Atcheynum

1972 - 1973: Stephen Pooyak

1973 - 1974: Ben Weenie

1974 - 1979: Stephen Pooyak

1979 - 1982: Gordon Albert

1983 - 1984: Roderick Atcheynum

1985 - 1988: Don Pooyak

1989 - 1999: Edward Wayne Standinghorn

2000 - 2003: Tommy Whitecalf

2003 - 2005: Rod Atcheynum Jr.

2005 - 2011: Edward Wayne Standinghorn

2011 - 2017: Lori Whitecalf

2017 - 2019: Laurence Paskemin

2019 - Present: Lori Whitecalf

For a summary for our History in brief, find it on the Battleford's Agency Tribal Chief's Website at www.batc.ca/sweetgrass/