Tekakwitha Conference
Encyclopedia
The Tekakwitha Conference is a Roman Catholic institution that supports Christian ministry among Native Americans
, primarily through its annual meeting.
convened 27 missionaries and three Native American laymen to discuss their pastoral concerns about Northern Plains native communities, in what became an annual event. In 1940, its participants named the meeting, the Tekakwitha Conference, in honor of Kateri Tekakwitha
. At the annual meetings, priests, religious brothers and guest speakers involved in region discussed concerns ranging from reservation life and Catholic schools, in the 1940s and 1950s, to urban relocation, native customs in Catholic worship, native deacons, and native self-determination, in the 1960s and 1970s. Prior to 1977, it is believed that attendance at annual meetings remained less than 100 persons.
From 1977 to 1979, the Conference reorganized after becoming moribund and having made previous attempts to update itself. The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
began to provide financial support and a substantial number of Native American Catholics attended, including priests, deacons, religious sisters and laity. For the first time, attendance at meetings exceeded 200 participants. The Conference welcomed them, it then established a board of directors and it incorporated in 1979.
Since then, attendance at meetings and membership has continued to grow. By the 1990s, membership included native people from throughout the United States and Canada with more than 100 native parishes establishing local chapters called Kateri circles. Through member involvement, the scope of meetings expanded to include Catholic mass with Native American rituals and symbols, such as smudging and songs and prayers in native languages, ongoing reports on the canonization cause of Kateri Tekakwitha and numerous workshops and discussion sessions on pastoral concerns.
In 1980, the Tekakwitha Conference established offices in Great Falls, Montana
and initiated a newsletter, now titled Cross and Feathers. Sister Kateri Mitchell, a member of Mohawk
Nation and the Sisters of St. Anne, has served as executive director since 1998. Bishop Donald E. Pellotte of Gallup
served as its Episcopal moderator from 1981 to 2008 and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
of Denver
succeeded him in 2008.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, primarily through its annual meeting.
History
The Tekakwitha Conference began in 1939, when Bishop Aloysius Muench of the Roman Catholic Diocese of FargoRoman Catholic Diocese of Fargo
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo is a Roman Catholic diocese in North Dakota. It was founded on April 6, 1897 by Pope Leo XIII. Fargo, North Dakota is the episcopal see of the diocese.-Bishops of the Diocese of Fargo:...
convened 27 missionaries and three Native American laymen to discuss their pastoral concerns about Northern Plains native communities, in what became an annual event. In 1940, its participants named the meeting, the Tekakwitha Conference, in honor of Kateri Tekakwitha
Kateri Tekakwitha
Kateri Tekakwitha or Catherine Tekakwitha was a Mohawk-Algonquian woman from New York and an early convert to Catholicism, who has been beatified in the Roman Catholic Church.-Her life:...
. At the annual meetings, priests, religious brothers and guest speakers involved in region discussed concerns ranging from reservation life and Catholic schools, in the 1940s and 1950s, to urban relocation, native customs in Catholic worship, native deacons, and native self-determination, in the 1960s and 1970s. Prior to 1977, it is believed that attendance at annual meetings remained less than 100 persons.
From 1977 to 1979, the Conference reorganized after becoming moribund and having made previous attempts to update itself. The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions was a Roman Catholic institution created in 1874 by J. Roosevelt Bayley, Archbishop of Baltimore, for the protection and promotion of Catholic mission interests among Native Americans in the United States.-History:...
began to provide financial support and a substantial number of Native American Catholics attended, including priests, deacons, religious sisters and laity. For the first time, attendance at meetings exceeded 200 participants. The Conference welcomed them, it then established a board of directors and it incorporated in 1979.
Since then, attendance at meetings and membership has continued to grow. By the 1990s, membership included native people from throughout the United States and Canada with more than 100 native parishes establishing local chapters called Kateri circles. Through member involvement, the scope of meetings expanded to include Catholic mass with Native American rituals and symbols, such as smudging and songs and prayers in native languages, ongoing reports on the canonization cause of Kateri Tekakwitha and numerous workshops and discussion sessions on pastoral concerns.
In 1980, the Tekakwitha Conference established offices in Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
and initiated a newsletter, now titled Cross and Feathers. Sister Kateri Mitchell, a member of Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
Nation and the Sisters of St. Anne, has served as executive director since 1998. Bishop Donald E. Pellotte of Gallup
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States, encompassing counties in the states of Arizona and New Mexico and and parts of Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Bernalillo, and Valencia Counties west...
served as its Episcopal moderator from 1981 to 2008 and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
Charles J. Chaput
Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current Archbishop of Philadelphia, serving since his installation on September 8, 2011. He previously served as Archbishop of Denver and Bishop of Rapid City .Chaput is a professed Capuchin and...
of Denver
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver
The Archdiocese of Denver is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for Denver, Colorado and the Colorado counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan and Weld in the northern part of the state. The Archdiocese's home is at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate...
succeeded him in 2008.