Mohawk spirituality: Then and now

(Saint Catherine Tekakwitha)

Since the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, there has been a renewed interest in Mohawk culture.

This is somewhat ironic since Saint Kateri could be considered more Algonquin than Mohawk.  Wikipedia reports that although her father was a Mohawk chief, her mother was "a Roman Catholic Algonquin who had been adopted into the [Mohawk] tribe after capture."  Because Mohawk society is matrilineal, it is likely that Kateri would have been identified as Algonquin.

Tom Porter, current spiritual leader of the Mohawk Community of Kanatsiohareke, recently explained (during an April 6, 2013 Amsterdam Public Library presentation) that the name "Kateri" derives from the European name "Catherine" rather than from the Mohawk tradition.  Wikipedia states that "Catherine" was Kateri's French-missionary baptismal name.   Porter also spoke about the name "Tekakwitha," which he translated as "she comes and picks something up and moves it from one place to another."

Elder wisdom has long been a key component of Mohawk spirituality.  Porter's latest book, And Grandma Said…  Iroquois Teachings, is a testament to that.   The Mohawk Community website describes it as "a collection of memories about the oral history and traditional teachings of the Haudenosaunee ['People of the Longhouse'] passed down through the generations."

Porter explained that almost all of the older Mohawk people were seers.  They could see and hear things that "the regulars" couldn't.  Because of this gift, they were considered to be the protectors of the tribe.  Porter also stated that the Mohawk way of life had been "very spiritual before the Europeans came."

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kateri_Tekakwitha

Tom Porter at Amsterdam Public Library - April 6, 2013

Copyright April 8, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved