August Sangret was born in Battleford, Saskatchewan, on 28 August 1913. He was of mixed race; being part French Canadian and part Cree Indian. Little is known of Sangret's early life, but his family was poor, his early years were blighted with illness, and at least one of his siblings died at an early age from tuberculosis. Sangret received no schooling in his childhood, and was unable to read, or to write beyond signing his own name. Nonetheless, he has been described as being modestly intelligent, and in possession of an excellent memory. In addition to English, Sangret spoke the Cree language fluently, and learned some of the traditional skills of his ancestors in his youth, some of which were honed throughout the years he worked as a farm labourer in the town of Maidstone in the 1920s. As a result of this outdoor work, Sangret developed a lithe, muscular physique.