Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: Celebrate her feast day
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha has always been one of my favorite saint friends ever since I went to an overnight camp in middle school. The camp was literally called “Camp Tekakwitha” and all the cool youth group kids went every summer. I was finally allowed to go in 7th grade, and my experience at adoration there was actually my very first experience of beginning my personal relationship with Jesus. I remember coming out of adoration, looking up at the starry night sky, and feeling peace wash over me. I felt connected for the first time to my faith - even though I grew up Catholic.
In my early 20’s, when I served as a Catholic missionary, I spent a significant amount of time living amongst and serving the Acoma Pueblo and Laguna tribes of New Mexico. The way they live out their Catholic faith while preserving their unique indigenous cultures sparked something deep inside me, and my love for Saint Kateri Tekakwitha continued to grow.
Every year, I try to honor Saint Kateri Tekakwitha by simply celebrating her feast day, meditating on her story, telling others about her, and recommitting myself to the same kinds of practices that made her such an incredible saint: caring for the environment, caring for others, and adoring Jesus.
I’ve accumulated some of my favorite ways to celebrate her feast day.
Learn:
The story of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
The history of her name and how to pronounce it
Discover more about her tribe: the Mohawk Nation
Activities:
Go to Eucharistic Adoration
Make small wooden crosses
Live more environmentally friendly
Spend time in nature or simply go on a walk
Create an affirmation lily
Make traditional Mohawk Nation food
Read Laudato Si’ by Pope Francis
Support an organization helping indigenous people
Learn
The story of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
First Native American saint from the territories of what would become the United States and Canada
Patron saint of the Native American and First Nations People, integral ecology, and the environment
Kateri’s father was a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) chief and her mother was an Algonquin Catholic.
A smallpox epidemic that took the lives of her parents and younger brother, also left her forever weakened, partially blind, and with scarred skin. She was adopted by her two aunts and uncle (also a Mohawk chief).
Converted to Christianity at age 19
Chose to leave her tribe because of increased hostility she experienced because of her faith. Walked 200 miles (which took her 2 months) to a nearby Christian town where she lived the rest of her life. Known there as “Lily of the Mohawks”.
When she died at age 24, witnesses say that her scars disappeared, and her skin shone with a “holy radiance”
St. Kateri Tekakwitha blended her Native American upbringing with a love of God to take care of nature and praise God’s creation
Learn more at katerishrine.com or kateri.org
The history of her name
What her name means
Kateri’s baptismal name is “Catherine,” which in the Haudenosaunee (“Iroquois”) language is “Kateri.”
Kateri’s Haudenosaunee name, “Tekakwitha,” can be translated as “One who places things in order” or “To put all into place.” Other translations include, “she pushes with her hands” and “one who walks groping for her way” (because of her faulty eyesight).
How to pronounce her name
Kateri’s name is often pronounced as kä’tu-rē. Her Haudenosaunee name, Tekakwitha, is often pronounced tek”u-kwith’u. Tekakwitha is occasionally spelled Tegakouita.
The Haudenosaunee pronunciation of Kateri’s name is often described as Gah-Dah-LEE Degh-Agh-WEEdtha, Gah the lee Deh gah qwee tah, or Gaderi Dega’gwita.
Click this link to watch a video of how to pronounce it
Discover more about her tribe: the Mohawk Nation
Kateri was born in 1656 at the Kanien’kehá:ka (“Mohawk”) village of Ossernenon, which is near present-day north-eastern New York.
The name Kanien’kehá:ka (“Mohawk”) means “people of the flint” because they saw themselves as warriors.
They spoke Iroquois
Easternmost tribe of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy, a group of 6 Native Tribes. Known as the “keepers of the eastern door”.
Originally from north-eastern part of what is now New York state. Many retreated to Canada in the 1700s.
Lived in longhouses (not teepees!). Up to 60 people could live inside each longhouse - related families lived together. The longhouse is a symbol of Iroquois society.
The chief of the tribe was always a man, but only the women voted on who the chief would be
Food: Farmed beans, corn, and squash. Harvested berries and herbs. Baked and ate cornbread and a variety of soups and stews. Spring was welcomed by tapping the trees and boiling the sap into maple syrup.
Entertainment: Children had corn husk dolls and played a game where you throw a dart through a hoop. Lacrosse was played by both children and adults
Dress: Women wore leggings with skirts and poncho-type shirts. Men wore breechcloths with leggings and didn’t wear shirts unless it was cold. Both wore moccasins and snowshoes. Women had long hair and sometimes wore special beaded tiaras. Mohawk headdresses have just 3 eagle feathers (not a full headdress) and the mohawk haircut is named after them, as the men cut their hair this way before battle.
Crafts: Tribal masks, beadwork, quillwork (using porcupine quills)
Instruments: Drums and flutes. They put water in the drums which give them a distinctive sound.
Traveled in canoes made from hollowed-out logs and also sleds
Hunted with bow and arrows
You can learn more about the Mohawk people below:
Britannica
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe
Activities
Go to Eucharistic Adoration
Kateri would spend hours or even entire days in Eucharistic Adoration in the church, even during the coldest weather in Canada.
Make a plan to go to adoration this week for an hour.
If that’s not possible this week, tune into virtual adoration or carve out space for your own Holy Hour.
Other ways Kateri honored God in her day
In order to always keep the image of the Cross in mind, Kateri wore around her neck a small crucifix, frequently kissing it with feelings of gratitude.
Kateri loved the Rosary and carried it with her always.
Make small wooden crosses
When the winter hunting season took Kateri and many of the villagers away from the village, she made her own little chapel in the woods by making a wooden cross and spending time there in prayer, kneeling in the snow.
How to make a wooden cross like Kateri
Find two sticks
Tie them together in the shape of a cross with some twine or string
Leave them around your neighborhood or nearby natural area for others to find as a delightful surprise
Live more environmentally-friendly
The Indigenous worldview involves relationships built on reciprocity, respect, and responsibility that extends to the entire natural world. It is a worldview of giving thanks daily for life and the world around us.
Reduce single-use waste
Use washable rags & napkins instead of paper towels or paper napkins
Use cloth diapers instead of disposable
Carry a reusable water bottle & coffee mug with you
Carry reusable bags to the grocery store
Reduce environmental footprint
Unplug electronics when not in use
Start composting food scraps (and add them to make more fertile soil for your backyard garden!)
Unplug your WiFi at night (simultaneously reduces your exposure to harmful EMFs)
Switch to environmentally friendly & nontoxic products
Cleaning: Branch Basics, Meliora, Force of Nature
Laundry Detergent: Molly’s suds
Hair Care & Body Wash: Under Luna, Aleaveia, Inner Sense
Makeup & Face Care: Dime Beauty Co, Primally Pure, Wild Woman Rising
Reduce air pollution
Wear cleaner perfume or none at all (alternatives: Dime Beauty perfume or essential oils)
Unleash your inner plant lady: plant trees & keep potted plants
Swap your air freshener: Grow fragrance
Think of ways to reduce car emissions by driving less or carpooling
Use pure beeswax candles or other nontoxic alternatives
Spend time in nature or simply go on a walk
Kateri often went to the woods alone to speak to God and to listen to him in her heart and in the voice of nature.
What parts of God’s creation around you are you grateful for? What is God’s creation teaching you today about His nature and His promises?
“He who feeds the birds of the air, will not let me want the little I need to live.”
Create an affirmation lily
When St. Kateri converted to Christianity at age 19, she was bullied, threatened, and shunned by many members of her tribe. So much so, she chose to leave and walk 200 miles (which took 2 months) to a Christian town, where she lived for the remainder of her life.
Though she was ostracized by many of her own people for her faith, she was welcomed by her new Catholic community and soon became known as “Lily of the Mohawks” in her new town.
Her last words were, “Jesus, I love You.” Like the flower she was named for, the lily, Kateri’s life was short and beautiful.
Draw a flower (or lily).
Write an affirmation to yourself on each petal.
Like St. Kateri, what’s something you like about yourself that you feel like other people don’t notice or don’t understand? What’s something you wouldn’t change about yourself no matter what?
For St. Kateri, I would write…
Purity
Kateri refused her arranged marriage in her tribe, in order to give her life fully to God. She is the first known Native American to take a perpetual vow of purity.
Honoring God on Sundays
Kateri refused to work on Sundays in order to honor God
Care for environment
Kateri’s indigenous culture influenced her deep love and care for nature
Storyteller
People in her Christian community would often ask Kateri to tell stories. She would often retell the stories of Jesus and people would sit at her feet for hours listening to her because they felt the presence of God when they were around her.
For myself, I would write…
Creates meaningful celebrations
Takes delight in the little things
Completely in the present moment
Spontaneous
Intensely loyal
Make traditional Mohawk Nation food
Learn how to make authentic Mohawk cornbread, its history, and proper traditional techniques.
THE HIRSHON MOHAWK NATION CORN SOUP – ᎬᏃᎮᏅ ᎠᎹᎩᎢ
Soups and stews were common food staples for the Mohawk nation.
Maple syrup was a symbol to the Mohawk people of the gift of spring returning to the earth after long winter days. Learn more about Mohawk traditions with maple syrup here.
Read Laudato Si’ by Pope Francis
Pope Francis wrote an encyclical letter called Laudato Si’: Care For Our Common Home about ways people around the world can better care for God's creation (including his people!).
You can read the full encyclical here.
Or a brief summary here.
My favorite quotes from Laudato Si’:
“When we exploit creation, we destroy that sign of God’s love.”
“Only rarely does someone admit to having carried out an act of violence to nature, to the earth, to creation. We do not yet have awareness of this sin.”
“He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitely to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward.”
Support an organization helping Indigenous People
St. Joseph Mission School
https://www.stjosephmissionschool.com
This one is my absolute favorite, and I give annually to this school because of my special connection.
A Pre-K through 8th grade Catholic school that has served the Acoma and Laguna indigenous pueblos in San Fidel, NM since 1923. They believe in educating the whole child by giving them the tools to thrive in life, become life-long learners, deepen their faith, care for the environment and others, and affirm their cultural pride and traditions. Very passionate and committed to restorative justice for local indigenous communities. Encourages students to be fully native and fully Catholic.
When I was a Catholic missionary, I served the this school and the local indigenous community by helping them rebuild some of their classrooms that had fallen into disrepair. I am still very closer with the director of the school, and even have a friend who is a teacher there now!
Tekakwitha Conference
https://tekconf.org/
A Catholic nonprofit committed to advocacy & evangelization on behalf of the many communities of indigenous people across North America since 1939. They host conferences for Indigenous Catholic People to reinforce their Catholic identity, affirm pride in their cultures & spiritual traditions, and advocate for peace & justice & healing on behalf of Indigenous communities.
International Indigenous Youth Council
https://indigenousyouth.org
Survival International
https://www.survivalinternational.org
Indian Residential School Survival Society
https://www.irsss.ca
Shop First Nations
https://shopfirstnations.com/
Are there other ways you celebrate Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s feast day?
Let me know in the comments!
