Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Isleta Pueblo New Mexico

by Debby Pueschel

Title

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Isleta Pueblo New Mexico

Artist

Debby Pueschel

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

This shrine, dedicated to St Kateri Tekakwitha, is inside St. Augustine church in the Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico. The church was established in 1613, and is one of the oldest missions in the United States.
Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk maiden, was officially canonized as the first Native American saint in 2012. She was born in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Osariemen, just a few miles west of present-day Auriesville, New York. Her Mohawk name, Tekakwitha, means “she who bumps into things.” Kateri was the daughter of Mohawk Chief Kenneronkwa. Her mother, Tagaskouita, was an Algonquian woman who was adopted and assimilated by the Mohawk before her marriage. This was a common practice among the Mohawk in the mid- to late-1600s, when they were trying to overcome population losses caused by European diseases and fur trade wars. Because of this practice, the community Kateri grew up in was very diverse, with new people and beliefs introduced all the time.
When Kateri was about four years old, her parents and younger brother died in a smallpox outbreak. Kateri survived the illness, but she was left with facial scars, damaged eyesight, and poor health. Kateri was adopted by her aunt, and her childhood was typical for a young Mohawk woman. She learned how to process animal pelts and make clothing from them; weave mats, baskets, and boxes from plant fibers; and plant, tend, harvest, and cook the crops that sustained her community.
At age 10, her village was attacked by the French. The missionaries hoped to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism, as was the practice of missionaries who came to settle the New World from Europe. Again, with most missionaries, they wanted the Tribes to give up their traditions celebrated for thousands of years and practice the rites of Christianity. For Kateri, this was very exciting.
In 1674, Kateri told a visiting Priest that she wished to learn more about this new religion. In 1676, she was baptized into the Catholic Church and took the name Kateri in honor of St. Catherine.

Featured in these groups:

*CATHOLIC ART GALLERY 1-12-22
*DAILY PROMOTION. 1-10-22
*TEXT ART 1-9-22
*INSPIRED QUOTATIONS 12-27-21
*CHURCHES 12-27-21

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December 26th, 2021

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