Native Americans honor Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha on feast day

By Rebecca Bostic, The Catholic Sun
May 17, 2007

LAVEEN — Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha served her Mohawk tribe more than 300 years ago in modern day New York. On April 29, more than 350 Native Americans gathered for her feast day at St. John the Baptist Parish.

The celebration wove together Catholic and Native American traditions to create a ceremony as unique as Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was in her time.

“For 300 years we’ve been waiting for the canonization of Blessed Kateri,” said Deacon Sidney Martin, parish life coordinator at multiple Native American mission churches in the Phoenix Diocese.

Deacon Martin waits eagerly as the Vatican confirms the miracles in which Blessed Kateri has reportedly been involved. He looks forward to her canonization because “she’d be the first Native American woman in North America to be canonized a saint, the first Indian.”

Native Americans from all 11 of the diocesan reservation missions gathered at the yearly celebration. The event began with a Native American story about the gift of tobacco from God.

The sending of smoke in the cardinal directions followed and a procession with a statue of Blessed Kateri and Native American dancers led the congregation into St. John the Baptist for Mass with Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted.

Food, fellowship and the presentation of the annual Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha awards followed Mass. The day ended with a smoke blessing in which intentions from the 11 missions were burned outdoors, the smoke lifting toward the heavens.

In his homily, the bishop focused on the strength of Blessed Kateri in her times of hardship.

“Blessed Kateri lived a joyful life in the midst of much suffering. Her joy came from a lively faith in Christ’s love for her and for the Native people of America,” he said.

“She inspires all of us, especially Native Americans, to respond to God’s love wherever He places us,” the bishop said. “She reminds us that the Gospel does not destroy or diminish a particular culture, but purifies and strengthens all its admirable qualities.”

Franciscan Father Dale Jamison, director of Native American Ministry for the diocese, noted the cultural significance of Blessed Kateri.

“She was totally 100 percent Indian,” Fr. Jamison said of Blessed Kateri.

“She knew her culture and yet she had personal choices toward the Catholic identity to maintain a spirituality in that direction.”

Fr. Jamison said Blessed Kateri’s ability to discern which aspects of her culture were healthy to maintain appeals to Catholics.

“People can admire her for standing tall in her own way of life and yet picking at choosing ‘this is not healthy for me and my culture, this is better for me,’” Fr. Jamison said.

Although Blessed Kateri is certainly worthy of the celebration, Fr. Jamison pointed out that she is just one of many spiritual Native Americans.

“She’s an example and she’s a role model and she’s the first one to be recognized by the Catholic Church,” he said. “There are many more that need to be recognized and certainly will be in all cultures — she’s simply the first.”

Even as only one of many, Blessed Kateri serves as a model when it comes to suffering from illness according to Deacon Martin. After surviving small pox, Blessed Kateri was left half blind with a scarred face that miraculously cleared up minutes after her death.

“Indian people are affected with diabetes and we always ask for healing,” Deacon Martin said.

“We can look to someone who in her own illness fought through it and still served the community where she lived,” he said. “A lot of Indian people recognize her as an example that even through human illnesses we still are loved by God our Creator and we do the works we can.”