Today I want to share more about the life of Native American Catholic Saint Kateri (Catherine) Tekakwitha, who is memorialized by a statue at the Cross in the Woods Shrine in Indian River.

Kateri, a patroness of the environment who suffered terribly in life, inspired countless heavenly visions and acts of healing, contrition and forgiveness over the last four centuries.

Kateri was born in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon in central New York. She was the daughter of Mohawk Chief Kenneronkwa and Tagaskouita, an Alqonquian who had been adopted into the Mohawk tribe. 

Adoption was a common practice among the Mohawk because they experienced significant losses from war and European diseases. 

Her parents died from smallpox when she was four years old. She survived but was left with severe facial scars and damaged eyesight. Her aunt and uncle cared for her. 

Kateri’s limited vision resulted in the name Tekakwitha, which means “she who bumps into things.”

She learned Native traditions, including processing animal pelts, making clothes and weaving mats and baskets. Like everyone in her tribe, she also worked in the fields. 

In 1666, French explorers attacked Kateri’s village, forcing them to flee into the forest. 

The French only declared a truce after the Mohawk agreed to allow missionaries into their community. 

The missionaries wanted the Mohawk to surrender their customs, culture and identity. They pressured them to convert and move to Catholic villages. Many resisted, including Kateri’s uncle, who told her to stop talking with them. 

In 1669, Kateri’s tribe was attacked by the Mohicans, who were seeking control over the local fur trade. 

Kateri worked alongside the Jesuits to care for the sick and wounded from the battle.

Kateri was extremely impressed by how hard the Jesuits worked and their strong religious beliefs.

Kateri’s relatives tried to force her to marry her uncle. Kateri told them she would never marry and wanted to become a nun.

Five years later, she told a visiting priest she wanted to learn more about his religion. The priest instructed her in the prayers and rituals of the Catholic faith.

Kateri was baptized in 1676 when she was 20. Her tribe did not support her conversion and persecuted her. They also accused her of being a witch. 

For safety, Kateri’s priest advised her to move to the Jesuit settlement of Kahnawake (“place of the rapids”) located on the St. Lawrence River opposite Montreal.

She moved and was welcomed with open arms. A close friend of her mother became her mentor. Kateri’s cousin let her live in her longhouse.

Kateri next made two more important connections: Marie-Theresa Tagaiaguehta and Father Claude Chauchetier, a priest who had recently arrived from France. 

Marie-Theresa and Kateri became best friends. Father Chauchetier was impressed by Kateri’s devout faith. He instructed them on Catholic faith and practices. 

Kateri was extreme in following these practices, including self-harm and extended fasting. 

Kateri had always suffered poor health, and the extreme punishment she inflicted upon herself weakened her even more. 

Kateri told Chauchetier she wished to become a nun. He often referred to her journey as a model for the Jesuit mission.

Surrounded by Kahnawake community members, she died on August 17, 1680. 

Witnesses to her death swore that within minutes her smallpox scars disappeared, saying it was a true miracle and a sign that she was a saint. They built a chapel in her honor. Father Chauchetier wrote a book about her. 

Six days after she died, Kateri, looking toward Heaven, appeared in three visions to a local person.

Soon after, her followers started placing small paintings of Kateri on the dying, who experienced miraculous cures. 

Later, a family asked their priest to bless a dying man. The priest prayed to Kateri and gave the man a crucifix Kateri was holding when she died. 

When trying to get out of bed, the man fell. He fell into the deep, rattling sleep that often precedes death. He woke and was cured. 

A woman fell critically ill. The priest placed the same crucifix on her neck and she felt cured. The woman clasped the crucifix tightly, refusing to let go.

When the priest sprinkled powder from Kateri’s tomb on her body, she was cured. 

Stories of her miracles spread. Pilgrims arrived in large numbers to her tomb. Some reported miraculous healings.

Kateri was canonized in 2012 as North America’s first Indigenous female Catholic Saint.