FINALLY! : Kateri Will Become the First Native American Saint
Native American Kateri is a soon-to-be saint who recently entered my life with divine
synchronicity. The whole story is too intricate to share here, but I will tell you that I
recently bought this book: Kateri – Native American Saint. This beautiful book is great
for children or anyone who appreciates nice artwork.
On Monday night, I put this precious book in a display case in my office with a
drum. Drums are used in Native American religious ceremonies. That same day,
unbeknownst to me, the news came out about Kateri’s upcoming canonization!
I feel like I know Kateri because of all of the little coincidences that have peppered me
over the past few weeks. In 2011, I became fascinated with Native American culture
again. As a teen, I had turquoise jewelry and Minnetonka thunderbird moccasins. This
year, I re-bought some of those items and got the moccasins as an early Christmas present
from my husband. I even met a real shaman!
This book features a photo of a Kateri Prayer Group, and one of the women is holding a
drum. The drum in this context, for me, symbolizes integration of European and Native
American cultural traditions, or at the very least, respect for ancestors who walked
American soil before we did.
Why did this canonization take so long? So many people have chosen this woman to be
their patron saint even though her status is “Blessed,” a notch below sainthood. The
campaign for her canonization was passionate. This book already has her sainted in the
title, but included a prayer card for her canonization. Hence, for the past few weeks, I
was confused about her status on the canonization track, and wondered why it was taking
so long to certify her holiness. She died in 1680!
My instinct is that her ancestry and cultural identity caused some hesitation, or
suspicion. The history of Europeans pushing Native Americans off of their land isn’t a
story of kindness and compassion, yet Manifest Destiny was still taught by some teachers
as if it was an undeniable fact when I was in school. This 19th century concept supported
the idea that God wanted the European settlers to take over. Sometimes the push for
domination was violent and inhumane, yet under Manifest Destiny, it was justified
because the Europeans were be destined to rule. Thankfully, my parents provided some
perspective on this when I got home from school.
Nevertheless, this long history of European settlers arising victorious over many
indigenous tribes probably meant that it took a long time for Kateri to get her due. Even
now, comparative religion textbooks often gloss over or completely skip indigenous
spiritual customs as if they don’t matter, or are somehow irrelevant to the story of the
human race. Remember that the victors get to write history. However, if most people on
this planet before Christ were not Jewish, it seems like we could learn something about
how humans interact with their Creator by studying ancient indigenous traditions.
Kateri was brave. She accepted Christ even when it was sure to cause problems in her
tribe. Yet, she’s more than just another Catholic saint with a courageous story. She’s a
Native American. Hopefully, her canonization will show Native Americans that the
Church accepts them, and maybe even pave the way for more sincere and meaningful
interreligious dialogue with people who still practice ancient traditions.
If you want to hear more about this exciting news, try this story from a Montreal-based
network.