St. Kateri Center of Chicago

The St. Kateri Center was established in 1982. The name sake of the center is Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk Catholic who suffered from small pox and survived the disease but in the process became blind. She lived during the time of the Beaver Wars and her family was most likely of the Francophile faction of the Iroquois described in Daniel Ritcher's book The Ordeal of the Longhouse, which is available in the Newberry's Special Collections on the fourth floor. The call number for Ritcher's book is: Ayer E99.I7 R53 1992

In addition, the Newberry holds Susan Sleeper-Smiths Indian Women and French Men: Rethinking Cultural Encounter in the Western Great Lakes One of the chapters of the book deals exclusively with the reasons why the Pottawatomie were Catholic during the time prior to the Trail of Death. Call # Ayer E78. N76 S54 2001 Pages 96-115.

In 2012, St. Kateri became the first Catholic saint of Native American descent. The center's mission is to be a gathering place for Native people, where they can be both Catholic and Native.

The vision of the center is to:

• Provide American Indian Catholics with education in faith formation through catechesis and worship in collaboration under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
  
  
• Provide opportunity for quality education.
  
  
• Continue American Indian Culture and heritage studies.
  
  
• Build a foundation on Native ancestor’s wisdom and oral history.