Alexander Decoteau
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Alexander Decoteau, ( 19 November 1887 – 30 October 1917), was a Cree Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Alexander was born on the Red Pheasant Indian Reserve (Sask.). He attended school there and at the Battleford Industrial School. He moved to Edmonton where the City Police hired him as a constable in 1909. He made sergeant in 1914. During this period he won most major middle or long distance races in western Canada. In 1912 he finished sixth in the 5000 metres competition.
Decteau enlisted in 1914 and, after arriving in France in 1917, DeCoteau was part of the Canadian attack on Passchendaele, where he was killed. He was buried at Ypres (Ieper), Belgium.
Many of DeCoteau’s accomplishments are included in the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame, where he was inducted a member in 1967. Also, the Edmonton Police Museum and Archives contains may of his personal and military trophies and awards. In 1985, the Cree performed a ceremony in Edmonton "to bring his spirit home". Honours were provided by the Red Pheasant Band, the Edmonton Police Department and the Canadian army.
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