Mohawk author documents life of Kateri Tekahkwi:tha

A 17th century woman, known throughout the world as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” is the subject of a new biography written by one of her countrymen.

A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha is a bold new book about a saintly Mohawk woman that Pope Benedict XVI is considering for canonization. It has the distinction of being the first book about her that was written, illustrated, and published by her own Mohawk people.

It has been four centuries since European colonists first arrived in Mohawk territory. Our ancestors memorialized these early encounters by weaving wampum belts such as the Sighting of the First Europeans, the Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship, and the Two Row Wampum. The new book examines some of the controversies surrounding these events. It explores written descriptions left by the colonists as they ventured into Mohawk country for diplomacy, trade, warfare, and religious conversion. Along the way we encounter Blessed Káteri Tekahkwí:tha, a young Mohawk woman whose remarkable life takes over the narrative of the text.

Over three hundred books have been written about Káteri Tekahkwí:tha, but none of them have ever been written from the perspective of her own nation. Most of them leave out the details of her cultural background in favor of a more devotional theme, but the reality was that she was born and raised as a

traditional Mohawk. Jesuit missionaries studied our beliefs to ease acceptance of their teachings: Karonhià:ke, the Mohawk name for the Sky World of our creation story, became the word for heaven in the translated prayers. The concept of a human female having a union with a powerful, unseen spirit, which is so central to Roman Catholic teachings, occurs in the both our creation story and confederation epic.

A Lily Among Thorns doesn’t shy away from the more harrowing aspects of this history. Smallpox epidemics, wars with other aboriginal nations, and internal schisms within the Rotinonhsión:ni (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy are all depicted, which helps to explain what drove so many of our ancestors to leave their Mohawk Valley homeland to establish themselves on the mighty St.

Lawrence. The centerpiece of the book is the French invasion of Mohawk Country in 1666, which saw all of our villages burned to the ground, and which no doubt played a role in the removal of many Mohawks to the mission village established near Montreal in years to follow.

Not all Mohawks were converted to Christianity in the 17th century. The uncle who adopted Káteri Tekahkwí:tha was a leading chief of his village; he resisted the missionaries’ efforts, and refused to allow his adopted daughter to join the Christian Mohawks in their exodus to Canada. At the hands of her previous biographers, her uncle becomes the villain of the story, his cruelty getting more severe with every telling. He and his fellow traditional Mohawks finally get their day in court in this new book.

In addition to documentary sources, much of which was written by Jesuit missionaries who knew Káteri personally, A Lily Among Thorns examines what modern archaeologists have to say about the places where she once lived and the artifacts they found. Our ancestors were moving from clay pots and flint

points to brass kettles and muskets in the 17th century, and this transition wasn’t just taking place in the material culture—our spiritual beliefs were changing as well.

This is the second book by Ahkwesáhsne Mohawk Darren Bonaparte, author of Creation & Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois. In addition to local newspapers, he has written for Indian Country Today, Aboriginal Peoples, and Native Americas, and served as a historical advisor for PBS documentaries, The War That Made America, Champlain: The Lake Between, and The Forgotten War: The Struggle for North America.

The new book is illustrated with maps, photographs, and original pen-and-ink drawings that depict characters and scenes from the book. The portraits were based on photographs of modern-day Iroquois people in the period-specific clothing and makeup, which gives the book an even greater dimension of

authenticity. They were drawn by noted artist R. Kakwirakeron Montour of Kahnawà:ke.

A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha wasofficially launched in Kahnawà:ke at Kanien’kehaka Onkwawé n:na Raotitiohkwa on February 2, 2009. A book signing will be held in Ahkwesáhsne at the Ronathahon:ni Cultural Center on Sunday, March 15, from 2 to 4 pm. A Lily

Among Thorns and Creation & Confederation can be purchased in local stores and online at http://www.kateri.org