John Martial Merasty was born in Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan in 1952. He is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. John attended the Guy Hill Indian Residential School from 1959 to 1967. He is knowledgeable in the Cree language, written and spoken. His skill in Cree Syllabics was encouraged by his mother Jane Merasty (Colomb). John has translated for several publications and teaches Cree to whoever is interested. To John language is identity.