sakâskoc · mahkiyow A History of Onion Lake Cree Nation

For generations before the treaties, the wild onions growing in profusion along the marshy lakeshore made this a welcome change from a winter diet of meat. Cree families and fur traders knew the place as a meeting ground through the late 1700s and early 1800s — a stop on the well-travelled trail between Fort Carlton and Fort Edmonton.

Fort Pitt was built along the fast-flowing North Saskatchewan River (kisiskâciwan) as a trading post midway between Fort Carlton and Fort Edmonton, operating until it was relocated in 1890. Buffalo hunters had earlier made it a headquarters, and family names from that fur-trade era — Dumont, Patenaude, Trottier, Cardinal, Nolin and others — are still heard in the area today.

Paymotayahsoo (pimohteyâsiw) and his band adhered to Treaty 6 in 1877, and Chief Makaoo’s band adhered in 1878. Over the following years their members — and those of the Sweet Grass and Thunder Companion bands — gradually moved onto and settled together on the Seekaskootch Reserve, the beginning of the community that would become Onion Lake.

Reserve No. 119 (about 38,400 acres) was surveyed in May 1879 for Chief Seekaskootch, who had signed the treaty at Fort Pitt. Reserve No. 120 was surveyed for Chief Makaoo (mahkiyow) and his band. The community’s first Indian Agent, Thomas T. Quinn, was appointed that September.

Reverend Charles Quinney came to the area, opened the first school at Onion Lake and built the Mission House. These were hard years: reports of starvation across the North-West Territories were reaching Ottawa, and while rations were distributed, agents were instructed to require labour from able-bodied people in return for any supplies.

George Gwynne Mann was appointed farming instructor in April 1882. That spring the Church of England school recorded 29 pupils enrolled, with an average attendance of fifteen. The school operated until the events of 1885 interrupted life across the district.

St. Barnabas Church was built. The Sweet Grass, Paymotayahsoo and Thunder Companion bands officially amalgamated with the Seekaskootch Reserve, gathering the community together on one reserve — a coming-together that would be formalised in law decades later.

Father Félix Marchand, O.M.I., became the first Roman Catholic priest at Onion Lake and, with Father Fafard, requested permission to build a Roman Catholic school. Both priests were among those killed at Frog Lake the following spring.

A North-West Mounted Police detachment opened at Onion Lake, and George G. Mann — formerly the farm instructor — was appointed Indian Agent, beginning a long period of close government administration over daily life on the reserve.

A large number of families from the Kihewin and Frog Lake reserves settled at Onion Lake. The reserve was formally established, and the growing community now included two missions — Roman Catholic and Church of England — each with its own boarding school.

The Hudson’s Bay Company moved its post from Fort Pitt to Onion Lake. With the new post, a police detachment and the two missions, Onion Lake became a busy trading centre on the northern plains.

The St. Barnabas Indian Residential Boarding School opened on Makaoo’s reserve, built and paid for by Rev. John R. Matheson. Its dormitory first accommodated about ten children — a number that grew rapidly in the years that followed. This marked the beginning of a residential-school era that would affect generations of Onion Lake families, a history the community continues to carry and honour today.

About 400 people lived on the reserve, doing considerable farming and raising nearly enough grain to support themselves. Through the winter they cut logs and ran a grist mill and sawmill, supplying lumber for local demand — a self-reliant community economy.

Onion Lake held its first Sports Day — beginning a long tradition of community gatherings, competition and celebration that continues to this day in powwows, rodeos and sports.

Elizabeth Matheson received her degree as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Trinity College in Toronto. She went on to serve Onion Lake as a physician for decades, and by 1901 was officially recognized and paid by the Department of Indian Affairs. At the Anglican St. Barnabas school, children were taught to read and write in both Cree and English — a rare exception for the era.

A smallpox outbreak struck in February — forty cases appeared at the school, though it did not spread to the reserve and caused no deaths there. Over the following decades the community would endure repeated waves of measles, influenza, whooping cough and typhoid, against which there was little immunity.

The Province of Saskatchewan was established on September 1, 1905. Around this time the original St. Barnabas school was dismantled log by log, the logs numbered and freighted to Lloydminster, where the timber was used to build St. John’s Minster.

A hospital was completed by workmen from the Barr Colony, with an operating room and four wards on the upper floor and a laundry and carpentry shop below. During epidemics, nurses travelled from Winnipeg to help — an early foundation for what is today one of the most developed First Nations health systems in the country.

The government built a new, larger Indian residential school seven miles from the old site, and the Diocese of Saskatchewan took over administration of the Anglican boarding school. Rev. Matheson died that August, and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Matheson, became principal.

The global influenza pandemic reached Onion Lake, taking many lives — including eleven students. Those who died were laid to rest together in a mass grave on the northwest side of the Roman Catholic cemetery, part of a pandemic that killed millions of people worldwide.

The parents of a student at the Anglican school received a letter describing children who were hungry, and several who had run away. Forwarded to a reporter and then to Indian Affairs, the complaint was brushed aside by officials — even though inspectors had already reported concerns about the food. The episode is one small record of the conditions families endured under the residential-school system.

A new, government-built St. Barnabas Indian Residential School opened in January with an authorized enrolment of 80 — a number soon exceeded. The school’s farming operations expanded across more than 200 acres of cultivation and pasture.

Joseph Taylor (Hikicos) — orphaned by an epidemic and raised in the residential and industrial schools, where he learned farming, carpentry and sawmill work — was first elected chief on July 4, 1927. He returned to serve the community as farm instructor, sawmill operator and house-builder, and led across two periods until his passing in 1950. Chief Taylor School later carried his name.

A fire, found to have been deliberately set, broke out at the residential school. The two young men responsible first gave warning to the other students, ensuring everyone could escape safely. Both were sentenced to five months in Prince Albert — an episode that speaks to the difficult realities of school life in that era.

As the Second World War began, men from Onion Lake enlisted to serve. Victor Harper, who had married Christina Heathen in 1935, joined the army in 1940 and served two and a half years overseas with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, taking part in the raid on Dieppe, France, in August 1942. He was one of many Onion Lake veterans across both world wars and Korea.

On August 4, 1942, a training aircraft from No. 35 Service Flying Training School at North Battleford crashed on the Onion Lake reserve — one of the local echoes of a global war then underway.

On March 25, 1952, Onion Lake was brought under the election provisions of the Indian Act and selected its chief and councillors under that system for decades. The Nation would later choose, by community vote, to replace it with its own election law — a journey completed in 2016.

Several Onion Lake men served during the Korean War era. Eric Dillon served as a radio operator and parachutist with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and was chosen for honour-guard duty; Joe Stick trained for the airborne regiment with the same unit. They were among many community members who served in Canada’s armed forces.

Most of Onion Lake was connected to electricity through Saskatchewan Power during this time — a major change in daily life on the reserve.

Mary Fox became the first woman elected to the Onion Lake council — a milestone in the community’s leadership, opening the door for the many women who have served on council in the years since.

Brothers Richard, Arnold and Elwood Harper formed “The Native Feelings,” a band that played through the community and beyond from 1965 to 1975 — part of a strong musical tradition at Onion Lake that continues with artists today.

On June 20, 1970, more than 1,000 people aged 5 to 72 walked 16 miles from Alcurve to Lloydminster to raise money for a new indoor rink. The walkathon — one of many fundraising efforts toward the $60,000 goal — raised $8,000 and an enormous amount of community enthusiasm and cooperation.

The Seekaskootch Arena and Curling Rink — begun in 1969 and built largely by community volunteers — was completed. The Onion Lake Border Chiefs hockey team took to the ice, continuing a deep hockey tradition that runs through the community to this day.

Chief Taylor / Central School opened its doors — and the same year, the Onion Lake Roman Catholic St. Anthony’s Residential School closed, beginning the shift toward community-run education. Chief Robert Chief, a long-serving leader, passed away that September.

Beretta Pipeline Construction began in 1977. Later purchased by Onion Lake Energy, it grew into a diversified company providing pipeline, civil construction, road-building, environmental reclamation and oilfield services across Western Canada — one of many Onion Lake businesses today.

The first Grade 12 class graduated from Chief Taylor / Central High School — a class that included Raymond Mac Donald, one of the compilers of this very history. It marked a turning point toward education delivered by and for the community.

The first graduates of the Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP) from Onion Lake — including Angus MacDonald, Raymond Mac Donald, Sharon Jimmy, Vina Muskego, Janet Stick and Brent Dillon — earned their Standard “A” teaching certificates, beginning a generation of community members teaching their own children.

The community’s decision to take direct control of its education inspired what became Many Nations Co-operative — a member-run financial services organization providing affordable, culturally appropriate group benefits and pensions to Indigenous communities across the country. Its founding director of education, Joe Carter, believed there had to be a better way to serve Indigenous organizations and their employees.

The band operated a cow-calf ranch feeding about 210 head of cattle and farming some 1,500 acres, ran two group homes and an elders’ lodge, and signed its first gas lease. With most band members then unemployed, Chief Leo Paul spoke of the goal of recycling money within the community — early, determined steps toward economic self-sufficiency.

A band-funded Health Care Centre opened in the central area, and the Ekweskeet Healing Lodge — a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre — opened on the south side. Both grew into cornerstones of the Nation’s health system; Ekweskeet would later become the only First Nations detox centre in Saskatchewan.

Gus Waskewitch — elder, councillor and Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations senator — was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada (appointed November 1988, invested April 1989). A community development worker and dedicated field worker, and a strong supporter of education, he appealed to his people to recall their past and take responsibility for their future.

The Sunline Centre opened, and Makaoo Mall Developments began as a grocery and convenience store — growing over time into a mall, gas bar, confectionary and post office. It remains a notably unique First Nations retail business, operating across both Alberta and Saskatchewan tax systems on the straddling-border reserve.

Eagleview High School opened, graduating its first class that same year. Onion Lake also signed the Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement with Saskatchewan, the federal government and 26 entitlement bands — opening a path to apply for and purchase Crown land owed under the treaty.

On September 9, 1999, Onion Lake held the first modern Treaty 6 Gathering at Fort Pitt — returning to the very place where the treaty had been signed 123 years earlier. The annual gathering has continued each September since, leading toward the 150th anniversary in 2026.

The Onion Lake Elders’ Council was established to guide the Nation’s decisions with traditional knowledge and the original spirit of the treaty. A new community primary school also opened that year.

Goaltender Clinton Chocan — who played for the Onion Lake Border Chiefs, Braves and Pointed Hill teams — won provincial senior titles, inter-provincial championships and the Allan Cup national championship with the Lloydminster Border Kings. The 2000–01 Border Kings were inducted into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

Onion Lake received approval to expand its territory as Treaty Land Entitlement lands became reserve. The Nation bought out Beretta Pipeline and signed a joint venture with Pan Global Energy and Tennax Energy, holding oil and gas permits on roughly 160,000 acres of band lands — the foundation of Onion Lake Energy.

The Nation passed its Convention Law, part of its growing body of self-governance. In culture, Delia and the Waskewitch Boys won the Traditional Drum category at the 2005 Indian Summer Music Awards for “Under the Same Sky.”

Onion Lake enacted its own Citizenship Law, defining belonging to the Nation on its own terms — one of a growing series of community laws through which Onion Lake asserted its right to govern itself.

The Montanaville fire and a simultaneous flood tested the community in spring 2013, prompting sudden evacuations but no loss of life, thanks to the efforts of Onion Lake Fire Rescue and volunteers. That year the Onion Lake Daycare opened, the Log Church held its grand opening, and the Nation’s Land Law came into effect.

Onion Lake marked 100 years since amalgamation, and the Stanley Cup visited the community. When the federal First Nations Financial Transparency Act was imposed, the Nation launched a $50-million court action against Ottawa that November — with Chief Wallace Fox calling the legislation a continued violation of treaty rights.

The Nation passed its own Health Law and Privacy Law — grounded in the Treaty 6 medicine chest — opened a modern dental clinic, won a key case in Federal Court alongside Sawridge First Nation, and purchased Victoria House in Saskatoon to serve its growing urban membership. That year Onion Lake also became the first Indigenous group in Canada to file for emergency action with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination over the Financial Transparency Act, with Chief Wallace Fox asking the UN for international supervision.

Councillor Joe Dillon passed away in office after 36 years — eighteen terms — serving the people of Onion Lake, among the longest-serving councillors in the Nation’s history and a steady presence through decades of change.

The Onion Lake Teepee Monument was unveiled — a community project connecting education with tradition. Each family contributed a tablespoon engraved with their name and a virtue they bring to the community: respect, thankfulness, responsibility, honesty, trust, love, forgiveness, sharing, strength, patience and hope, among others.

The community mourned two of its women lost to violence, and the man responsible was sentenced to life in prison. Onion Lake continues to stand against the national crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls — through solidarity marches, advocacy and remembrance — carrying its members in memory and working for justice.

Ground was broken for a new school, and the Onion Lake RCMP detachment held its grand opening. Youth from Eagleview recorded “Young & Happy” with the N’we Jinan mobile production studio — featured on a national compilation album of 150 First Nations youth.

Onion Lake shut down on March 16 as COVID-19 reached the community — among the first recorded cases in a Saskatchewan First Nation. Through the waves that followed, the community adapted, and in a hopeful gesture the first photographs of high-school graduates were hung on lamp posts along the road through the reserve.

Onion Lake launched legal action against the Saskatchewan First Act and the Alberta Sovereignty Act, arguing the laws asserted provincial control over lands and resources without consultation. As Chief Henry Lewis and the Nation’s duty-to-consult team stressed, the case was about education, understanding and the protection of treaty rights at the heart of Onion Lake’s governance.

Educator Pete Chief — a Cree-first-language speaker raised in Onion Lake — was recognized on the University of Saskatchewan College of Education’s Wall of Honour for his leadership in Cree language and culture education. His teaching philosophy, learned from his father, is that before children learn their language, they should first learn who they are: “The spirit of our language is in us.”

Sharon Pahtayken brought home first place at the VNEA World Pool Championships in Las Vegas, becoming a 2024 World Champion in 9-ball, while the Onion Lake Lady Snipers won the Indigenous Billiards Championships in Cold Lake — part of a long run of athletic achievement across hockey, soccer, golf, billiards and more.

Darwin Peter Chief was serving as Chief of Onion Lake Cree Nation, leading a council carrying forward the Nation’s work across governance, lands and resources, health, education, housing and culture — through a network of community-owned companies and departments employing hundreds of members.

The new Sakâskohc High School — named for the Nation’s first Treaty 6 chief — served its students. Brian MacDonald received a national Indspire Award for Culture, Heritage & Spirituality, honouring more than 40 years revitalizing the Cree language: from recording Cree songs still used in classrooms today, to co-founding the Kihew Waciston immersion school. In his words, “Without the language, you become incomplete as a Cree person… The fight to retain the language is ongoing.”