Dr. Earl Cook spent much of his life advancing education for Métis people. (Facebook/Earl Cook)

By Derek Cornet

honouring

Memorial pool tournament planned for late Métis Elder

Nov 2, 2023 | 2:44 PM

Friends of the late Dr. Earl Cook are hosting a memorial pool tournament in his memory on Nov. 18 at La Ronge’s Eddie’s Place.

He just loved playing pool. He’d come here and play. We’d play over at Kostas, wherever there was a pool table. He loved to play and he was very competitive and a good player,” said organizer Ray Seegrets.

“I hope we get a lot of participants, and everybody has a good time and has fun. That’s mainly what it is for.”

Registration is open now until noon on Nov. 18 with the tournament starting at 1 p.m. First place will receive 50 per cent of entries and those who place first, second and third will each receive a trophy. If successful, Seegrets hopes to make the event an annual one each fall.

Cook, who was a well-respected Métis Elder, passed away on Aug. 26, 2023. He was raised in a traditional lifestyle and was a fluent Cree speaker. Cook was passionate about education as, in the past, he served as the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) board chair and he was a former Minister of Post-Secondary Education at the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

Cook was instrumental in the creation of the Northern Saskatchewan Indigenous Teacher Education Program after the Northern Teacher Education Program lost funding, as well as securing funding for the Gabriel Dumont Scholarship Foundation, Gabriel Dumont College, and the Métis Nation University Sponsorship Program.

“His love for the North motivated his career as he spent his life dedicated to improving the well-being and education of the Métis,” a statement by GDI after Cook’s passing notes.

“Dr. Cook worked tirelessly right until the end of his life to put the ideals of reconciliation into practice and create a better future for Métis people in Saskatchewan. He has left an indelible mark on education in the province, and his work is carried on by friends, family, and students whose hearts he has touched.”

–

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com