NEWS :: Red Cloud Indian School

Parish News: 2010 Kateri Tekawitha Conference
by Shannon Grooms, Our Lady of the Sioux Church
posted on August 6, 2010

The 2010 Kateri Tekawitha Conference was held in Alberquerque, New Mexico from July 28th – 31st. This year’s conference theme was, “Walk in Beauty with Kateri in the Land of
Enchantment” and had roughly 800 attendees. The conference is a gathering for Native American and Aboriginal people from Canada and the United States; along with those who minister to them, to come together for prayer and workshops.

Pine Ridge Reservation Parishes sent approximately 20 people to this year’s event. According to Our Lady of the Sioux’s (Oglala, SD) lay minister George Looks Twice, “It’s nice to see that the crowd is getting bigger from year to year. It’s a good feeling to see interest growing, however, we do still need more young people.”

According to long time attendee John Apple, lay minister from Our Lady of Sorrows, (Kyle, SD) “The southwestern area is such a neat place to have the conference. It’s nice to see how the tribes from that region have held on to their culture and traditional ways.”

Blessed Kateri grew up in a village in New York State. She contracted small pox at the age of four which left her scarred, visually impaired, and weak for the remainder of her life. It also left her orphaned as her mother, father, and baby brother died during the epidemic. Eventually, Kateri met a Catholic Priest, expressed an interest in baptism, and was baptized. It was hard to openly practice Catholicism in Kateri’s village, so eventually she fled to a place near Montreal. There she had her first communion and took vows of perpetual virginity. She devoted her life to teaching children prayers and caring for the sick and elderly until her death at age 24.

The national office for the Tekawitha Conference is in Great Falls, Montana. One of the goals of the organization is to unify Native American Catholics while respecting tribal differences. If you are interested in learning more about the history of Blessed Kateri the person or the organization visit: http://groups.creighton.edu/tekconf/.

Shannon Grooms is a member of Our Lady of the Sioux Church. She taught Religion at Red Cloud Elementary School for four years until the birth of their oldest daughter. Shannon, her husband, and her two daughters live on a ranch nine miles north of Oglala, SD.

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