Kateri Tekakwitha rises again at MoCNA

Kateri Tekakwitha was back from the dead at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, on Friday night. Not really. But seriously, i felt like she was there with me as i went through the new exhibition Soul Sister: Kateri Tekakwitha. The nineteen varied interpretations of Kateri Tekakwitha (Mohawk), who was a sixteenth century saint, were layered and rich, drawing the viewer to contemplate and reflect on different aspects of her life: that of saint, sufferer, Native woman, icon, Indian princess, reverent, sauvauge, blessed. I really enjoyed the plethora of media, beadwork, film, painting and sculpture used to give this saint new life blood and the overlapping of these media in the space. For example, a video of Kateri screened against a backdrop of pages from the Old Testament, showed an embodiment of Kateri bleeding and suffering with cuts on her face and body, an intense meditation on the personal and spiritual tribulations that this woman went through and a criticism of colonial power, namely the Catholic church, which has used this saint as an example of the converted "savage." Across the space, Rosalie Favell's beaded devotional piece with a film of her in a red Hudson Bay blanket and sash on the interior, was like a votive offering to the saint and also reminds one of how clothing has been used by metis and other native people to reclaim their identity. Moving through the space, I was drawn to a large altar piece, by Sherry Farrell Racette, with paintings on hide of Kateri juxtaposed with english, french and Anishinaabek text, reminescent of illminated manuscripts. The altar was a bowl with rosary beads, placed ontop of a hide, suitable for this native saint, at once personal and immediate. The sounds of a fire crackling allowed the viewer to think of this saint as a person, making bannock bread over the fire.
These are just some of my first impressions. I need to return to visit with Kateri again.

(image courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Native Arts)