Cowboys and Cree hockey players face off in 40th edition of the Battle of the Little Big Puck

Hundreds of people will jam into a hockey rink in Maple Creek, Sask., on Saturday night to watch rodeo cowboys face off against their Cree neighbours in a long-standing charity hockey game dubbed the "Battle of the Little Big Puck."

It's the 40th edition of what the town near the Alberta border calls "an epic hockey game" between members of the Nekaneet First Nation, located just south of Maple Creek, and local cowboys who are current or former rodeo competitors.

In the third period, players trade their hockey gear for traditional wear. The cowboys play in their chaps, cowboy hats, plaid shirts and, sometimes, even spurs on their skates. The First Nations players wear headdresses, animal hide and face paint. The referees are RCMP officers who change into their red serge.

"We're just neighbours. That's all we really are," said Nekaneet Chief Alvin Francis, who played in the first game in 1979 and continued on until he hung up his skates about 10 years ago.

He said outsiders may raise an eyebrow at the teams calling themselves "Cowboys" and "Indians," but he believes people who take the time to learn about the community — and the history and spirit of the game — come to realize it's about mutual respect, unity and friendship.

"I understand it's politically incorrect … but they consider themselves cowboys and we consider ourselves the old term of 'Indians,' which today is First Nations, right? So that's the way we look at it," Francis told CBC News. "We can laugh at each other and make jokes with each other — just to be neighbours — because that's the way the world is supposed to be. That's how we see it."

Every year, the game raises thousands of dollars for the local health centre, youth activities or people in need. This year, part of the proceeds will help Sandy Cooper, a teenage bronco rider who was paralyzed at a recent rodeo.

It was 1978. Three friends stopped for a beer on a hot summer day.

Tom Reardon, now 75, hatched the plan with another local cowboy, Nick Demchenko, and their buddy, Raymond Anderson, a member of the Nekaneet First Nation.

"It took more than one beer to plan it," joked Reardon. "All we were doing was planning a fun Sunday afternoon. We weren't visionaries or anything like that."

Reardon came up with the game's name, Battle of the Little Big Puck, inspired by the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

"I went into the bathroom at the bar, there, and while I was there, that entered my mind. I came out and Nick and Raymond had a mouthful of beer when I said that, and it splattered all over the table."

The cowboys and Cree players faced off in their first game in January 1979, raising $180 for the local hospital, then staged a rematch in 1980.

"It was tied. Each team had won a game. We just thought, 'Well, that's good,' " said Reardon.