While the sun beat down outside and temperatures rose into the 90s, members of the Native American community danced and celebrated their culture on June 21 during the annual St. Kateri Center Pow Wow held in the gym at St. Benedict Preparatory School, 3900 N. Leavitt St.
Members of different tribes danced in the sacred circle while men drummed and sang. Vendors sold clothing, jewelry and other cultural items.
“It’s just a time to bring the community together to celebrate our heritage and our culture,” said Jody Roy, director of the St. Kateri Center.
In the wake of the scandal surrounding the Catholic Church’s involvement with residential schools for Native Americans, it is important for the community to come together and to heal, Roy said.
“It’s a really important time now to bridge that healing of our culture and traditions and the Catholic Church,” she said.
In 2024, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops apologized for the church’s involvement with the schools.
Spirituality is a big part of the powwow and the identity of Native Americans, Roy explained. Many of the songs and dances are tied to prayer, with the drums playing a key role.
“Our drums are grandfather drums. They are the heartbeat of Mother Earth,” Roy explained. “The songs that are sung here today are songs of healing, songs of prayer. We’re a spiritual people and a lot of these dances here today, people are dancing for our community. They’re holding those prayers for us while they dance.”
The powwow is also a time to celebrate, she said.
“This is a great opportunity to rekindle our friendships, reconnect with families, strengthen our bonds, and especially for non-Natives to come and experience our culture and our heritage and what we’re about,” Roy said. “And see that Native Americans are still vibrant here today in the city of Chicago.”
The St. Kateri Center first opened as the Anawim Center in 1982 in Chicago’s Uptown community as a place where Native Americans could celebrate their Catholic faith while learning about their Native religious practices. In 1987, it became a program of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and it moved to the St. Benedict Church campus in 1997.
In 2010, the name was changed to honor Kateri Tekakwitha, who would become the first Native American Catholic saint in 2012.
St. Kateri, known as “the Lily of the Mohawks,” was born to a Christian Algonquin mother and a Mohawk father in 1656 along the Hudson River in what is today upstate New York. She was baptized by a Jesuit missionary in 1676 when she was 20 years old.
Each first and third Sunday of the month, the center holds Masses that are open to the public.
Roy said non-Native people are welcome to attend the Masses or visit the center to learn more about Native American culture.
“We’re trying to change the narrative and stereotypes of our people,” Roy said. “So come, learn, help change it.”