Ethan Walker
Native Americans have had a long and complex relationship with the Catholic Church. While some Native Americans have embraced the Church while still valuing their indigenous heritage, others have protested against the Church, arguing that its missionary efforts were tied to colonization, which devastated indigenous cultures. According to estimates, around 20% of Native Americans identify as Catholic, and there are over 700,000 Native American Catholics in the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Percentage of Native Americans who are Catholic | 20% (some sources state 25%) |
| Number of Native Americans who identify as Catholic | 580,000 (2008 figure) |
| Number of Native Americans who are Catholic out of all American Catholics | Less than 1% |
| Number of parishes serving predominantly Native American congregations | 101 |
| Number of Native Americans who live on reservations | 40% |
| Number of Native Americans who gather for Mass in Montana | 400 |
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What You'll Learn
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Around 20% of Native Americans residing in the United States identify as Roman Catholics. This equates to approximately 780,000 people claiming some Native American/Alaska Native ancestry who are Catholics in the United States.
After her conversion, she was harassed, stoned, and threatened in her village. She fled 200 miles to the Christian Indian mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint Louis, near Montreal. Here, she found a community of other Native Americans who had also converted and dedicated herself to a life of prayer, charity, and penance. She was known for her kindness, faith, and heroic suffering, and was given the name "Lily of the Mohawks".
Tekakwitha refused to marry a Mohawk brave and remained celibate. She was said to have slept on a bed of thorns while praying for her relatives' conversion and forgiveness, a practice that was traditional among the Mohawk and other Haudenosaunee nations. She died at the young age of 23 or 24 in 1680, and her canonization process began in 1932. She was beatified in 1980 and was officially recognized as a saint by the Vatican in 2011 after the certification of two miracles attributed to her intercession. She was canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
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Native American ministry
The History of Native American Ministry
The history of Native American ministry is complex and often tied to colonisation. When Europeans first arrived in the Americas, they brought with them their own religious beliefs and systems. This often resulted in conflict with the Indigenous cultures that had their own spiritual traditions. Violent acts of war, the development of reservations, and the enforcement of boarding schools were just some of the ways that native people were alienated from their culture and beliefs.
The Present Day
Today, the Catholic Church has a presence in many Native American communities. According to estimates, around 20% of Native Americans residing in the United States consider themselves Roman Catholics. This percentage has also been estimated to be 25%. This means that there are approximately 580,000 Native American Catholics in the US, with an additional 200,000 Americans with some degree of Native American ancestry who are also Catholic.
Organisations and Initiatives
There are several organisations and initiatives that specifically focus on Native American ministry, including:
- The Catholic Extension Society: This society has been supporting Native American ministries since 1973, providing grants for church buildings and other essential spaces.
- Native Ministry: This ministry brings the Gospel to Native Americans throughout the US and Canada, with a focus on reaching every Reservation.
- The Red Road: This organisation provides teaching, encouragement, and tools for reconciliation and healing in Native communities throughout North America. They work with local tribal members, churches, and ministries to identify and serve those in need.
- Native Ministries International: This organisation focuses on connecting all Native Tribes and First Nations, providing informational resources and directory listings.
These organisations aim to enhance the lives and culture of Native Americans while also sharing the message of Christianity.
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Native American Catholics in cities
Native American Catholics have a long, complicated, and difficult history with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church's relationship with Native Americans goes back hundreds of years, with missionaries spreading the Gospel to Native Americans in what is now South Carolina, Florida, and New Mexico. While the Catholic Church has played a significant role in the colonization of Native American lands, today, it is estimated that approximately 20% of Native Americans identify as Roman Catholics. This percentage translates to about 580,000 Native Americans who are Roman Catholics out of the 2.9 million people who identified themselves as Native Americans or Alaska Natives in 2008. In addition, approximately 1.6 million Americans claim some degree of Native American ancestry, of which about 200,000 are Roman Catholics, bringing the total number of Native American Catholics in the United States to approximately 780,000.
Native American Catholics face various challenges, including pervasive poverty, substance abuse, unemployment, and suicide. Many reservations lack running water and other essentials, and healthy food and educational opportunities can be limited. Despite these hardships, only about 40% of Native Americans live on reservations, with many others moving to cities. This transition comes with its own set of complications and a different context for Native American ministry. Native American Catholics often find that other Catholics are surprised by their religious affiliation, as they constitute fewer than 1% of American Catholics.
Native American Catholic communities are spread across the United States, with over 340 parishes serving predominantly Native American congregations. These communities intertwine their rich native traditions with liturgical worship, creating unique expressions of the Catholic faith. One example is the annual Indian Days hosted by the Blackfeet tribe in Browning, Montana, where thousands of participants gather for a Mass that incorporates Native traditions.
Gallup, New Mexico, also known as the "Indian Capital of the World," has the highest percentage of Native American Catholics in the country. The town is approximately half Native American, and the Diocese of Gallup is the location of the first contact between native peoples and Christian European missionaries in the continental United States. In 1539, Franciscans led by Fray Marcos de Niza met the people of Zuni Pueblo, where Gallup now stands. The Diocese of Gallup also includes the famous mission sites founded by St. Junípero Serra in California.
The Catholic Extension Society has played a significant role in supporting Native American ministries, dating back to its first church building grant in 1911. The society has provided financial support to struggling faith communities, including ministries in 40 Native American reservations and communities across the country over the last decade. This support helps build and sustain the Catholic faith in these areas.
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Native American Catholic leaders
Native Americans have a long and complicated history with the Catholic Church. While the Catholic faith was brought to the Americas by European missionaries, some of whom committed grave injustices against the indigenous population, many Native Americans have since adopted the religion and practice it to this day.
Bishop James Conley of Lincoln is one of the few Catholic bishops with Native American ancestry. Conley, who is of Wea descent, acknowledges the complicated history between the Catholic Church and Native Americans but also highlights the diverse ways in which Native American cultures have expressed the Catholic faith.
Patrick Mason, Supreme Secretary of the Knights of Columbus, is a member of the Osage Nation. He speaks of the important yet often overlooked role that Native Americans have played in the history of the Catholic Church in the Americas. The Knights of Columbus is an organisation that has been advocating for Native Americans and First Nation tribes since the 20th century.
Father Ed Kohler is the pastor of the only Catholic Church in town, Little Flower Parish, which is located on a reservation in Montana. Kohler and the Catholic Extension Society have been supporting Native American ministries in the Diocese of Helena since 1973.
Sister Kateri Mitchell is the executive director of the National Tekakwitha Conference, an organisation that promotes devotion to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint. Saint Kateri, a 17th-century convert to Catholicism, is a symbol of the Catholic Church's complicated relationship with indigenous people.
Rev. Maurice Henry Sands works in the Black and Indian Mission Office and has spoken about the experiences and needs of Native American Catholics today.
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Native American symbols and rituals
Approximately 20% of all Native Americans residing in the United States consider themselves Roman Catholics. This equates to around 780,000 people claiming some Native American/Alaska Native ancestry who are Catholics in the United States. However, the relationship between Native Americans and Catholicism is a complex one. Native Americans have had a long and often troubled history with Christian missionaries, who often sought to convert them from their traditional spiritual practices.
Native American religions were prevalent in the pre-Columbian era, including state religions. Traditional beliefs are usually passed down orally in the form of myths, oral histories, stories, allegories, and principles. These religions often involve a supernatural world of deities, spirits, and wonders, such as the Algonquian manitou or the Lakota's wakan, as well as the Great Spirit, Fifth World, world tree, and the red road. The supreme beings are closely associated with the World Tree, a central cultic symbol in the great rites of the main regions, especially in Northern America. Traditional religious rites included hunting, gathering, planting, and war ceremonies.
The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and the Peyote Religion, is a syncretic religion that combines traditional Native American beliefs with elements of Christianity, especially the Ten Commandments, and the sacramental use of peyote. The religion originated in the Oklahoma Territory in the late 19th century and is now the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the US (excluding Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians), Canada, and Mexico, with an estimated 300,000 adherents. The use of peyote is meant to induce visions, which are seen as a communion with the metaphysical, and to heal social, personal, and communal problems.
The Dreamer Faith is another example of a syncretic religion that combines Christian and Native beliefs. This religion involves the Waashat Dance, which involves seven drummers, a salmon feast, the use of eagle and swan feathers, and a sacred song sung every seventh day.
While some Native Americans have embraced Catholicism, for others, the issue of indigenous people converting to Catholicism is a sensitive one due to the history of forced conversion and the association of missionary efforts with colonization. Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th-century convert to Catholicism and the Church's first Native American saint, is a symbol of the Catholic Church's complicated relationship with indigenous people.
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Frequently asked questions
Approximately 20% of Native Americans residing in the United States consider themselves Roman Catholics. This equates to around 580,000 people.
In 2008, around 2.9 million people identified themselves as Native Americans or Alaska Natives. This was an increase of about 400,000 from the year 2000.
Native Americans have a complex history with Catholicism, which is often tied to colonisation and the decline of indigenous culture. Many Native Americans believe that the Catholic Church is moving beyond the mistakes of the past.
The Catholic Church has been working to address the unique challenges faced by Native American Catholics, including issues of poverty, isolation, and limited access to education and healthy food. The Church has also recognised the need to respect and preserve Native American cultures and traditions, incorporating them into Catholic practices.
