Darlene Ahmo

Darlene Ahmo is the daughter of deceased Walter and Verna Fontaine from Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation, Canada. Her spirit name is “Beautiful Shawl Woman”.

She attended the Fort Alexander Residential School and Day School operated by the Catholic Church. In 1974 she married and became a young widow in 1978. She had one son William Ahmo Jr. in 2021 and his life was tragically taken by guards while incarcerated. She has two other children, daughter Dara and son Josh.

She was instrumental in assisting her parents in all areas of the management and planning for the Sagkeeng Oldtimers. There were many tasks assigned to Darlene that included many long hours of preparation for weekly Bingos. She and her son William worked alongside her parents in every way. A project idea by her mother Verna was to create a book “Sagkeeng Oldtimers - A Decade of International Competition”. This book was created through sponsorship by business organizations and funds from bingos. The book was completed by efforts of Darlene, her mother Verna and Morgan and Ted Fontaine.

After Darlene’s mother Verna passed in 1989, Darlene continued to support her father Walter. She assisted with all tasks required as she continued to work full time to support her children. Darlene made a coordinated effort with the Sagkeeng Oldtimers to have her mother nominated and inducted into the Canadian Oldtimers Hockey Hall of Fame and was posthumously inducted in 1990. She became the first women and first Indigenous women to be inducted.

In 2000, Darlene’s father passed away and she continued to promote and build the legacy of her parents and the team. She collected artifacts from the players and contacted Phil Pritchard, Keeper of the Stanley Cup, at the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) in Toronto. She coordinated to have the Sagkeeng Oldtimers artifacts preserved and to have their own personal storage area. Now in the HHOF Diversity Section the cow bell that Verna proudly traveled with to cheer on her team is showcased along with team jerseys that were worn by the Sagkeeng Oldtimers.

Darlene continues to promote and build the legacy of the Sagkeeng Oldtimers.